November marks 3 months that I have been swimming now. I have been swimming an average of 5 times a week and have just recently got my 800 yd. free down to 16 minutes and my mile down to 45 minutes. My question is how long should it take me to get my miles down to 30-35 minutes and my 800 down to about 10? I was involved in zero physical activity before I started swimming so my cardiovascular health was not at its peak. When I started I was doing good if I could swim 400 yards in 45 minutes. Perhaps I am being overeager or impatient but what sort of timeline should I set for the goals I mentioned above? If it matters I am 30 years old, stand rougly 6 feet tall and weigh about 165. This swimmer carries no extra bulk!! BTW, all of my swimming is done in regular boxer type swim trunks with pockets. When I switch to a jammer or brief will I notice a big difference in drag? I feel a lot of drag when doing my pushoffs especially. Thanks for any input.
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Originally posted by knelson
One mile is 1760 yards. That is exactly 70.4 lengths of a 25 yard pool. So 70 lengths is darn close. Do 71 if you feel shorted :)
The event that is swum competitively colloquially called "the mile" is actually 1650 yards, or 66 lengths. I think the reason for the strange length is because this is the closest yards equivalent to 1500 meters, which is also swum in competition.
Now, back to your question. I'd say it's difficult to answer without seeing you swim. Do you think you've improved your technique a lot over the last three months, or has most of your improvement been from better conditioning? If your technique isn't excellent you will definitely reach a point where your improvements will start to get smaller and smaller. The only way to get better then will be to improve your technique.
Wearing a competition style suit will definitely make you go faster. I disagree with nms about wearing trunks being a good idea in workouts. All this extra drag will cause your body position in the water to change. You should train in a suit that is at least similar to what you'd wear in competition. A little extra drag is o.k., but not trunks with pockets!
Thanks for the clarification on the mile. As for my technique, I would say it has improved. When I started my best stroke count for a 25 yard length was 17 to 18 strokes. After my TI modifications I can achieve 13-14 strokes per length with a good pushoff but no dolphin kicking. I now swim long front quadrant style with a low head and no hint of a dropped elbow above or below water. As for the competition suits, it seems to me that more drag will only force you to develop bad habits to overcome the drag and the effects it has on your body position.
Originally posted by knelson
One mile is 1760 yards. That is exactly 70.4 lengths of a 25 yard pool. So 70 lengths is darn close. Do 71 if you feel shorted :)
The event that is swum competitively colloquially called "the mile" is actually 1650 yards, or 66 lengths. I think the reason for the strange length is because this is the closest yards equivalent to 1500 meters, which is also swum in competition.
Now, back to your question. I'd say it's difficult to answer without seeing you swim. Do you think you've improved your technique a lot over the last three months, or has most of your improvement been from better conditioning? If your technique isn't excellent you will definitely reach a point where your improvements will start to get smaller and smaller. The only way to get better then will be to improve your technique.
Wearing a competition style suit will definitely make you go faster. I disagree with nms about wearing trunks being a good idea in workouts. All this extra drag will cause your body position in the water to change. You should train in a suit that is at least similar to what you'd wear in competition. A little extra drag is o.k., but not trunks with pockets!
Thanks for the clarification on the mile. As for my technique, I would say it has improved. When I started my best stroke count for a 25 yard length was 17 to 18 strokes. After my TI modifications I can achieve 13-14 strokes per length with a good pushoff but no dolphin kicking. I now swim long front quadrant style with a low head and no hint of a dropped elbow above or below water. As for the competition suits, it seems to me that more drag will only force you to develop bad habits to overcome the drag and the effects it has on your body position.
