Increasing workouts

RE: Increasing workouts

Former Member — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 13:58:19 GMT

Originally posted by Bohemian What should I do for the warm up? What stroke? And, do I just do it very slowly? Best, Chris Try some slow swimming...maybe doing a drill of one hand extended with the other arm stroking. Then alternate. One armed freestyle and one arm fly drills are helpful in focusing on the *feel* for the water in your hands. Basically, you want to slowly build up your heart rate so that it's ready to work at a faster beat per minute. Too many lap swimmers dive right in and thrash their way through the first hundred yards...only to run out of gas,...tighten their muscles...and become exhausted before getting underway. Go easy and prepare yourself for the more intense part of the swim. Whether or not you're swimming 1000 yards or 5,000...the routine is always: warm-up.... main set(s)...and cool down. Dorothy has a great suggestion about kicking. Leg muscles can require a whole lot of oxygen...and in turn will burn calories. Grab yourself a board...or get some swim fins...and really work a set of kicking. Like (8) x 50.... or whatever is most comfortable. Adding interest to your swims will keep them fresh, and keep you interested.

RE: Increasing workouts

knelson — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 10:06:04 GMT

As others have said you'll probably eventually get bored doing just continuous, nonstop swims. don't be afraid to mix in some sets with varying amounts of rest.

RE: Increasing workouts

Former Member — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 08:15:51 GMT

Right now, it is taking me 20 minutes to do 500 yards. Maybe, I should do 1250 once a day? Does that sound better? That should last me over an hour and get my heartrate up. Best, Chris

RE: Increasing workouts

dorothyrde — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 08:13:46 GMT

I like to warm-up to freestyle, and it depends on the water temp and if I am awake(I swim a lot in the morning), how fast I go, but it is never more than moderate pace. I like to start with an easy to moderate 200 free, then go into a 50 back/50 ***. I have been following Mo's work-outs on the web. The next thing on those work-outs is drilling and kicking. You might throw a couple 100 kick and drill with your work-out. So if your goal is 850 yards, maybe 100 easy free, 100 drill/kick combos. 550 interval work using the pace clock, make the intervals challenging, but not impossibile, and 100 cool down, and stretch. Valhallan is much more professional than I and gives great ideas. I really like the workouts given on the work-out site. So for your 550 work, maybe look over the sets listed there, pick an idea(pare it down for your ability, distance and time wise), and go from there. For example, today's mainset for me is 14 * 100 with varying speeds(i.e. 25 build/75easy, 50 build/75 easy and so forth) with rest interval of :40. You might change it to 5 * 50 free on 1:00, and do 25 build/25 easy, 25 fast/25 easy, all easy, 25 easy/25 fast, 25 east/25 build. Then maybe an all out sprint to see where your time is for your last 50. This type of work-out can use any stroke. Explanation on terminology is at the top of the work-outs.

RE: Increasing workouts

Former Member — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 08:05:34 GMT

How many yards do you suggest doing then, 1000? 750 twice a day is 1500. Are you saying it's better to do 1000 once a day than two 750's? Best, Chris

RE: Increasing workouts

dorothyrde — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 06:29:22 GMT

If you can do 1250 and fit it in an hour and not get two worn out, then aim for 1000-1250 a day. As you get into better shape, you should be able to add more yardage without adding time. It takes time, 5 years ago, it took me 30 minutes to swim 1000 yards, now I can do it in 15 minutes or so, so you will improve, just be persistant.

RE: Increasing workouts

knelson — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 04:07:48 GMT

Originally posted by Bohemian How many yards do you suggest doing then, 1000? 750 twice a day is 1500. Are you saying it's better to do 1000 once a day than two 750's? Best, Chris I realized I misread your post the first time. I edited my previous post.

RE: Increasing workouts

knelson — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 04:03:45 GMT

Originally posted by Bohemian When I go back, I was thinking about doing two 750 yard swims 6 days a week. How does this sound for fat burning and toning? To be perfectly honest, 750 yards isn't nearly enough. Your swimming workouts need to be a minimum of 30 minutes, and probably ideally one hour, to get much benefit in terms of fat burning. Not to say 750 yards isn't a step in the right direction. If that's all you can do right now, that's fine. Just try to keep building it up. Obviously if you're swimming for an hour you can't swim the entire thing all-out. The majority of your workout should be at aerobic pace (try to maintain a heartrate around 150 bpm). You can add some faster swimming for the rest of the workout to evelate your heartrate up to 180 or so. EDIT: oops, I see you want to step up to TWO 750 yard swims per workout. How long will that take for you? I'm guessing it might be close to 30 minutes which I think is getting into the lower limit of where you need to be to start getting some real benefit. Keep it up! You don't need to step it up all at once. Just take it slow and keep adding a little at a time.

RE: Increasing workouts

Former Member — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 13:53:52 GMT

What should I do for the warm up? What stroke? And, do I just do it very slowly? Best, Chris

RE: Increasing workouts

Former Member — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 13:49:08 GMT

If your pool has a pace clock...and most of them do...Try using it for a variety of intervals when you do a *set*... with a number of laps. The clock is helpful in understanding when to go, and as you improve...the rest period between laps can reduce. Example...4 x 50 yards breastroke on ___seconds. Then 4 x 50 freestyle on ___seconds. 2 (50's) 1 lap fly/ 1 lap free on _____seconds. That's 500 yards right there. Before going into the harder part of your swim, always do a warm-up to loosen up muscles, get the blood flowing, and gain a sense of feel for the water. 200 yards is probably good for where you are right now. A cool down after your brief workout will easily put your total beyond 750 yds. Have a look at the workouts section on the site for some better ideas...along with a sample of what you might be doing in several months from now. Not every masters swimmer is a hard core competitor. If anything , a majority of them are indeed fitness swimmers. Good luck on your new beginnings.

RE: Increasing workouts

Former Member — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 11:17:09 GMT

Right now I'm doing about 350 breastroke, 50 butterfly, 100 freestyle. What do you recommend trying for my new workout? Remember, I am still a big fella - 290. Best, Chris

RE: Increasing workouts

Former Member — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 11:12:31 GMT

Originally posted by Bohemian I am not winded or out of breath at the end of the workout. Stepping up the distance and the pace will take care of this problem. ...and it will burn calories too. Be sure to find a variety in the workouts if going on your own. Familiarity leads to boredom which can ruin any best intentioned routine.

RE: Increasing workouts

dorothyrde — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 09:43:27 GMT

I try to focus on something different each day and cycle through that. One day may be IM work, the next day distance free, the next sprint stroke work, maybe the next day recovery free. Think about it like that and see what you can come up with. This means the distances vary because a distance free day can cover more yardage than a sprint stroke day. Also spend some time with stroke drills in warm-up and cool down to work on your strokes. And my pool closes next week to:( , but I will be doing dry land work to make up for it.