Does anyone have advice about reducing lactic acid build up after swimming? I swim pretty hard 4-5X a week (3000-4500 yds per workout)and walk around with constant knots in my upper back and shoulders. I know to stretch, drink plenty of water (before,during and after workout), & warm up/ warm down. While I don't always do all of these things in combination - I do some of them . I have a straight right arm in freestyle that doesn't always enter the water very "gracefully" which I know contributes to this pain. Is there anything important that I need to be doing besides getting a new stroke ? Any secrets I need to know? Oh, and I will not be giving up my morning coffee so forget that advice!:)
You mentioned that you sometimes do warmup and warmdown. I think you should always do these two things. You need a long warmup, at least 1000 yds. I often do a 500 warmup and then repeats of shorter distances with rest to finish warming up. Your warmdown needs to be at least 500 with a combination of swimming, drills, floating with kicks. Try to loosen up your muscles during this time. Try this, it works for me.
You mentioned that you sometimes do warmup and warmdown. I think you should always do these two things. You need a long warmup, at least 1000 yds. I often do a 500 warmup and then repeats of shorter distances with rest to finish warming up. Your warmdown needs to be at least 500 with a combination of swimming, drills, floating with kicks. Try to loosen up your muscles during this time. Try this, it works for me.
