I love reading all the stories about how much people have improved and how much they have cut down their times. It's very inspiring and encouraging. But as I look at my own times, they don't seem to be coming down. They have dropped about 5 seconds since I started swimming again three months ago, but they have kind of stopped dropping. This is frusturating considering that I feel my form has improved dramatically. So basically I was looking for everyones secrets to making times come down. I work hard, I swim everyday, and it seems no matter what I do they just won't move. Any ideas would be helpful!! And keep up the good work everybody!!!
~Kyra
p.s. my 50 SCY free is about 40 some odd seconds..sometimes in the upper 30's (horrible I know)... and I want to be able to do it in at least 30 (lower) something, but upper 20's would be awesome.....most the rest of my strokes are the same time except for breaststroke which is slower.
Former Member
I agree - sprints workouts should help.
Also, I have found that I hit plateaus. I have been swimming for about 2 years. My times improve in bunches. I will drop a second or two over a couple of weeks. But then I will go months without an improvement. And, the longer I swim, the further it is between improvements and the improvements are smaller.
I am definatly going to add in some sprints when I get back in the pool(which is closed all week for the holiday!! :eek:IM GOING TO DIE!!!UGH!). So I have one final question, sometimes when I sprint it feels like I'm going slower than when I'm swimming at a comfortable pace. Like the water is heavy and I'm trudging through it rather than gliding. Any ideas of how to overcome this feeling? I just try to really concentrate on stretching out and keeping my hips up. Thanx!!
~Kyra
Seagurl, try setting a goal or training for a specific event, if that is 50 free, then every workout should have something aimed at that event. I swim longer events so I do much longer sets. You might want to consider adding some aerobic base training just to improve your conditioning. Twice a month I swim "a 1/2 hour of 100's" a baseline set where you are trying to see how many 100's you can do in a half hour, getting about 10 seconds rest in between each. I do it once all freestyle and since I am training for IM's the other time in the month I do it 100 IM's. It is a very challenging set but I have really noticed improvement in the four months since I started doing it regularly.
As far as sprint training goes (like 25's or 12.5's as someone suggested), I have been a little leary about sprint training personally because I don't really swim any sprints in competition.......I do some of it from time to time (don't get me wrong), but most of the time I do middle distance/distance related interval training.....I don't think I will ever be swimming any events in competition where I will be "all out" sprinting any parts of the race....I guess it depends on what you swim in meets as to how much sprint training you want to do??....but I definitely agree that general "interval training" is a very important key to dropping times....and I do try to simulate race-like conditions at workout....(i.e. I do believe in the whole philosophy of swimming fast at workout to swim fast at meets).
newmastersswimmer
I think the sprint training once a week or so would be good for middle and distance swimmers too. The all out swim for a short duration will give your arms and legs more explosive power that you will be able to use even on distances. Also, if you are in a tight race, you will probably sprint the last 25....
I think the sprint training once a week or so would be good for middle and distance swimmers too. The all out swim for a short duration will give your arms and legs more explosive power that you will be able to use even on distances. Also, if you are in a tight race, you will probably sprint the last 25.... Originally posted by Scansy
Yes, I agree.....I do some sprint training on ocassion for this purpose....but I probably do not do as much as some other people do.....In comparison, I would say that I do a lot less of it than most swimmers....Perhaps I should do more on a more regular basis?....Lately my coach has been giving me more sets that are sprint oriented and I do them (grudgingly).....When you're not use to doing a whole lot of sprinting (like me)....the sprint training has a way of making me excessively sore during and after practice....I guess I just don't like the way it makes me feel sometimes.
newmastersswimmer
Originally posted by Seagurl51
They have dropped about 5 seconds since I started swimming again three months ago, but they have kind of stopped dropping. This is frusturating considering that I feel my form has improved dramatically.
If you have made changes to your stroke, you will get slower before you get better. Think of it as a learning curve. Your new technique will end up more efficient, but right now you are learning how to optimize it at race pace.
