25yd/Meter or 50 Meter pool?

it's better to train than not train if you can find a 50 m pool that's great, there just aren't as many of them as 25 y or 25 m if you only train SCY, when you swim LCM you'll be wondering where the wall is and why you're so tired. correct splitting is critical when swimming LCM even in a 50. ande Originally posted by jswim I have been wondering about differences in pool lengths and competition issues between short course yards, and meters, and LCMs... I train in a short course yard pool, but had my first meet in a 25 meter pool. I didn't notice too much of a difference, and it didn't bother me. I am interested in doing more meets, but there are only a couple of short course meets, and more long course meets in the area. Is it suicide to train in a 25 yd pool then go to a long course 50 meter meet? has anyone done this before? I am interested in going for fun, and just to see the difference.. J.

Alot of people train only in 25 yards and do LCM meets. I met one swimmer who did a 2:21 in his 200 LCM fly and he doesn't train long course at all. It is best to train LCM as much as you can but if you can't, just train hard in whatever type of pool that you train in. I prefer LCM over Short Course, but since I am not in the shape that I was when I was an age grouper, I seem to do better in Short Course meets. My Long Course last season times were bloody awful. Well, this summer is a whole new season and at least, I will get a June meet in this summer.

great!.. well I'll give the LCM meets a go and see what happens!.. Also, the "team" (of about 4-5 people) lol.. that I've started working out with never did the meets, but since I went to this last one, it has sparked some interest from everyone! We may actually go to a meet as a team! how fun! cheers! J :)

I've just started swimming myself (in a 25 yd pool) so I've got no first hand observations to offer. My twins are on an age group club that trains exclusively at the same pool. One of them started swimming in September of 2003 (the other started about 6 months later) and, by the end of the Short Course season (end of March), had worked up to some "BB" times. She only swam 4 LC meets but ended the season with 2 "A" times (50 & 100 free) and one "AA" time (50 fly) so I don't really think it hurt her not to train in a 50 meter pool. I don't know how much difference it makes to swim the distance without having to make that turn.

Amanda Beard had only trained LCM twice before the 96 Olympic trials ... Realize that it'll be harder but that you can do it ... sounds like you have the right attitude. At about 20 yards you will be wondering where the wall is ... however on the flip side of this if you start training LCM and then go to SCY you will think wow the wall is here already. THAT is a great feeling!

training in a SCM for a LCM is possible and seems to be used successfully by some coaches. I recently read an article about this. They advised to train off distances (like doing 75's instead of 50's when you are training for a 50LCM) so you get the endurance you need to overcome the need to turn in the middle of the pool :D at first I couldn't believe that you are acutally slower in a LCM pool than in a SCM pool but now I realized that a good push off at turns will make you faster than you are while acutally stroking.

This is a relevant thread for me. Just yesterday, I swam in a 50 meter pool for the very first time. It was also the first time I went to a real Masters workout. I had taken some classes from the Masters group before, and all my previous swimming had been in 25 yard pools. The shock to me was that the 50 meter pool felt like it went on and on. It felt like more than double the usual distance, and it felt as if I would never reach the wall.

Jeanette, Last summer I trained as usual in a 25-yard pool, but before our long-course state meet, I found an outdoor LCM pool in town and trained in it just once for a small fee. I don't know if it provided me with anything other than a mental advantage, but it was fun to do and if you have a LCM pool in your area, I'd recommend it. You might also want to try swimming 125's or 225's in practice for time instead of 100's and 200's, to give you the feeling of racing a longer distance (although in the 100 that will be overshooting it a bit). It's definitely not "suicide" to swim in an LCM pool after practicing in SCY...you'll get through it just fine. As a youth I always trained in SCY but performed best in LCM pools. But I don't think I'll ever get rid of that feeling while swimming backstroke in a long-course pool..."WHERE are the flags? Did I miss them? Am I gonna hit the wall?!?" Katherine

The first meet I was ever in was a long course meet, and it was the first time I'd ever been in a long course pool in my life. I do remember, about halfway down the lane in my first heat (50m freestyle) hearing a little voice in my head saying "Haven't we reached land yet?" But I just ignored it. I don't remember that the fact it was LC instead of SC made much difference in 50 freestyle. But in backstroke, I ran into a problem because it was also an outdoor pool. I was used to being indoors, where I could steer off the ceiling, but all I had at the meet was a blue sky, and halfway down the 50m lane, I couldn't even see the flags. So I steered wrong and started bumping the lane line, and kept bumping it over and over and over again. My time was a disaster!

Originally posted by DAP , and all my previous swimming had been in 25 yard pools. The shock to me was that the 50 meter pool felt like it went on and on. It felt like more than double the usual distance, and it felt as if I would never reach the wall. It is more than double the distance. 50 meters equates to about 55 yards. Add in the fact that the turn eliminates about 5 yards of swimming in yards, and you're ending up swimming 50 yards in one length of a long course pool instead of 45 yards in two lengths of a short course pool. Interestingly, I had my first long course workout in nine months last weekend. Yeah, it hurts. But your body adjusts. In 1991 US Swimming changed the spring nationals from short course to long course for the first time. I was scared I wouldn't do well because we didn't have a long course pool to train in in the winter, and that I'd die hard on the last 50 of my 100 ***. But I did lots of overtraining, as Matthias pointed out. Instead of sets of 100's, I did sets of 125s. Whether it was the training or the fact that my coach told me that some of the other guys in the race probably didn't have access to a short course pool (which I didn't really believe because they all attended universities with long course pools), but I swam best times in all three of my events. I love racing long course. I hate training in long course.