training for 50 and 100 m. free

hooked you're still at a point where you can make dramatic improvements I don't think you should test where you are as often now it's kind of like planting a seed then digging up the plant to see how it's growing. Just put in the work and trust you're improving. you've got a good frame to swim fast there's plenty of college swimmers who are 6'1" and weigh 165 who's to say what you're truly capable of but I will write this you can become MUCH better than you think you can. ande

My experience is that it takes people at least two seasons to go from not having swum, to breaking a minute in 100 (yards or meters). There are exceptions, but I think that even with a coach it's not something you can expect to do in under a year. It took me three years of high school swim team to break a minute in the 100 yard backstroke. Right now I'm at about 1:15, which was my second year high school time. I calculate that it might take me at least 6 months to be able to break a minute. That is, if I reduce my time by at least 2% a month. But, that's not the way it works. We (you and I) will continue to improve, but will have breakthroughs and plateaus. I expect that my 6 months will turn into 10 months. Not because it's more difficult to drop 2% off a 1:01 time than a 1:15 time (in high school I didn't notice a difference), but because there are good days/weeks/months and bad ones. FYI: I calculate my improvement by the formula: (time dropped) / (your time) = (percentage of improvement) This calculation, however will give me a number that will slowly go down over time. Currently I multiply 2% by my time and the result is the time I hope to get next month. If you want a percentage that should never change, use: (time dropped) / ((fastest time possible for you) - (your time)) = (percentage of improvement) However, I don't use the second formula for the exact reason you asked the "can I do it?" question. Elite swimmers, who should only be gaining by small percentages have breakthrough performances. At the top of their game, faster than most anyone else in the world, they still drop a second or two. Yes, they worked harder for their second or two than I currently work for my second or two, but it's always possible to drop a second or two no matter what your current time is.

Again I find myself at work, thinking of swimming rather than working ... wow, I am a star employee ... actually I'm only here for another 6 months so I'm losing interest ... anyways ... You will definitely improve the most when you start. That much is obvious. As for plateau's, I've been on one for awhile now and I have myself get off of it in the last week or two. And since our championship meet is about a month away I couldn't ask for better timing. You will definitely go through plateu's some will be longer than others. Some will last for a year or more, some will last for a couple of months. As for going under a minute in less than a year, that would be impressive, but not unheard of. I think it depends on how much time one spends training and lifting. I think lifting is key.

Originally posted by SwiminONandON As for going under a minute in less than a year, that would be impressive, but not unheard of. I think it depends on how much time one spends training and lifting. I think lifting is key. Well, I jumped into swimming after lifting seriously for 5 years, so maybe that helped me since I have a muscle base.I did not lift since I started swimming(that is how much I fell for swimming), but I feel that I should make my way back to the gym again to help myself out with swimming, except now I am not sure how I should lift for swimming, 'cause before I lefted as a powerlitfter(small reps, big rests, basic excersises - squats, benchpresses, lifts, clean-and-jerks, etc.) Well, talking about going under a minute in a year, I will try to be one of those few who did it :-)))I will let you know in August... P.S.As a a matter of fact I should be able to go under a minute for yards already(my time for meters is 1:03-1:05)

I agree with Ande's last post about putting in the work and trusting that you're improving. Constantly testing yourself is a recipe for burn out. However, that being said, a cetain portion of your training must be sprint specific. Not every day, but maybe two or three days a week. That includes pure speed work (breakouts at half a length) and lactate tolerance to get you through last last length of the 100. I also agree with Ande that your size works very well for swim sprinting and that you will really surprise yourself in an actual race. I have to disagree with Marc that it is as easy to improve from a 1:20 to a 1:18 as it is to improve from a minute to a :58. As you go faster the resistance of the water increases exponentially as does the energy requirements. The faster you go, the more critical your technique in order to over come this fact. You cannot only rely on training harder. Using my self as an example, I've been swimming masters for 30 years and generally train very hard. The only way I feel I can maintain or improve my speed at this point is to improve my technique. For example, I know I am very inconsistant in my starting technique, so between last Nov. and Nationals in May I will do a minimum of 300 starts off the blocks. Only recently have I started to nail the majority of my starts. By the way, this commitment is only about 10 starts a week. Find a coach to help you refine your technique at racing speed and I predict you will improve very rapidly. Good luck!

Wow, that's impressive. I'm sure the weight training helped a great deal. Though I misinterpreted your question a bit, my answer still stands. You're about to go under one minute, and once you do go under a minute nothing changes. There will be good days/weeks/months, and periods of plateau's (or even set-backs). It's not a question of diminishing returns as it pertains to time, it's a question diminishing returns as it pertains to what you're doing for training. I'm splitting hairs, yes. But the point is: You can go from a 1:00 to a 58 just as easily as you go from a 1:20 to a 1:18. The difference between the two is that you are likely to need different methods of training to get to each. This is why most people choose to get a coach. It's really hard to know that what you're doing is the most effective thing for you.

Ande, I agree with you on not timing myself as often anymore, 'cause I get frustrated not to see the improvement, and to be honest, I think I overdo it with timing myself, I do it at least twice a week, usually more.I will just promise myself not to do any timing for a month and just check where I am once a month only, because I think it is becoming a problem, since every time I do not see an improvement I ask myself:ok, what's wrong , what should I change?Maybe that even hinders my progress, because I probably should not change much, but just keep on working hard...I do hope to improve though to under a minute by the end of August and hopefully under 55 sec. in another season.That could sound steep, but let it just be my dream for now :-))) Thanks for encouragement, P.S. should I work hard on other strokes though or back off a little bit and concentrate on what I do best?

While, my knowledge is not on the level of Ande's, I would strongly advise working on all the strokes. It'll help with muscle balance and development, help prevent injuries, and help prevent boredom.

How can you become bored, I only swim crawl now and a little bit of fly lots of kicking. When I swim, I think of swimming correctly and of everything else there is to think about, investments, my workout for the next day, you name it. After racing in the marathon swims and swimming so much front crawl, I get sea sick swimming back stroke (even in a pool), and *** stroke is a no for me with my new knee. George

If you get bored while swimming, you aren't working hard enough!