I've been a decent distance runner throughout high school but I've suffered numerous injuries that have left me out of training for weeks at a time. During this injury time I would go to the pool and do a "pool workout", actually I had no idea how to swim or anything so I wouldn't get a real good workout in. As time passed I learned the crawl. This year is my senior year in high school and I ran xc, swimming laps in the morning (1600m) all crawl. I remained injury free and had a good season. I swam during the winter on the swim team and learned all the strokes. I enjoyed swimming quite a bit and noticed many similarities to distance running in terms of preperation, pain, ect. Anyways my real question is now that swimming is over and track is starting I'd still love to incorporate morning swims to help my overall aerobic conditioning process along. I have time for about 2400m of swimming before school. What type of swimming workouts should I do in the morning to complement my running schedule??
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You're welcome.
Definitely mix up your workouts a bit. Too much of the "same old" will get stale after a while. Instead of all 400's, try a set that starts with a 600, the a 500, 400, 300. And you can also work on repeats of 200's or 250's as a variety. The thing about getting the most of your pool time is to elevate the heart rate for a *main set.* This might mean a 10 minute warm-up followed by a short set of kicking, and a short set of pulling. Like...6 x 50 of each on a moderate interval. Then head into the primary set followed by a good cool down.
Before finding the pool again, after a twenty year lay-off, I used to run about 35 miles a week. And the runner's workout is very different. You get the muscles warmed up after the first mile and then kick it into a stronger pace for the next 5. No interval training... just pace. In swimming you should try to 'raise the bar' rather than falling into a zen of just back and forth. That's why the clock is essential to keep track of. But don't just swim to get fatigued. Read more about better technique and really understand what you're doing. Believe it or not this sport is all about proper form. It will keep things interesting while you get in better shape. And then you can become....a triathlete.:)
You're welcome.
Definitely mix up your workouts a bit. Too much of the "same old" will get stale after a while. Instead of all 400's, try a set that starts with a 600, the a 500, 400, 300. And you can also work on repeats of 200's or 250's as a variety. The thing about getting the most of your pool time is to elevate the heart rate for a *main set.* This might mean a 10 minute warm-up followed by a short set of kicking, and a short set of pulling. Like...6 x 50 of each on a moderate interval. Then head into the primary set followed by a good cool down.
Before finding the pool again, after a twenty year lay-off, I used to run about 35 miles a week. And the runner's workout is very different. You get the muscles warmed up after the first mile and then kick it into a stronger pace for the next 5. No interval training... just pace. In swimming you should try to 'raise the bar' rather than falling into a zen of just back and forth. That's why the clock is essential to keep track of. But don't just swim to get fatigued. Read more about better technique and really understand what you're doing. Believe it or not this sport is all about proper form. It will keep things interesting while you get in better shape. And then you can become....a triathlete.:)
