I started swimming in August, since them I learned all the strokes and pretty much realised that I am most proficient in sprint freestyle events(considering my times for all the strokes).Well, I have a few questions:should I just consentrate on 50 and 100 m. free events then without paying much attention to other strokes, well, maybe just a little bit for a change...Or should I still keep working at all the strokes, maybe versatility in all of them will contribute to my freestyle improvement.Another question is: if I concentrate on freestyle sprint, how should my work-outs look like then?Should they consist of shorter distnace training only with occasional all-out sprint work-outs(25s and so) and a lot of interval training or should I still throw in distnace in my work-outs?I want to compete and compete in a good shape!I can do a 29 sec. 50 free(SCM) and a 1:03-1:05 100 m. free(SCM) depending on how I feel...Is that good considered I was never coached, did all on my own(videos, books, forums) and only introduced myself to swimming August, 2004?I am 24 years old, pretty tall (6'1")and lean(165lb.), so can I expect to go under 55 sec.(that is my goal) for 100m within a year or not?And what can I expect long-term(4-5 years), considering that I will probably get a coached program and will still be insanely passionate about the sport as I am now(I train 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day.How hard does it get once you go under a minute for 100 SCM?I improved dramatically since August(my time was 1:50 when I just started), , but now I feel that every second is a battlle...
I would appreciate everyone's input...
Thanks!
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Former Member
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?
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Former Member
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?