Off day workouts

Aww, c'mon, you mean I need to think about it? Good questions. Initial goal was to lose the beer gut and some weight. That happened pretty quickly. Now I think I might want to race, although it's been 27 years since I did. First available race is November, SCM. I'd probably do *** and free events. Unless conditioning improves a whole bunch between now and registration, I'll probably go 200's or under. I haven't swum either stroke for time yet, but from what I can tell from swimming with the group those are my most competitive strokes. I listed as goals for my masters coach to learn fly well enough to swim a 100, and to be able to complete comfortably a 200 IM, and ultimately a 400 IM. But aside from my issues with fly, my backstroke is weak enough to make my IM non-competitive. I did do an open water fun swim this summer of around a mile, but because it was a fun swim the organizers didn't time anything and I didn't think to wear a watch. I think it went OK, but I'm not sure I'll do open water next season. For now, it's pools anyway, this being Oregon. I hate weights and running (plodding, in my case), and my mountain bike is broken. But I usually like to do a little riding before ski season, and I probably should try and get over my aversion to the weight room.

It really depends, in my humble opinion, on your goals and what you find works for you and your body. Are you training for pool events? Specific strokes/distances? Open water swimming? General fitness? Weight loss? If you're training for races, when? SCM? or SCY/LC? Bottom line, do what works for your body and goals. This time of year, I like to swim 3-4 days a week, and lift weights twice a week, with some swimming thrown in after the weight circuits (so 5-6 days of workout each week . . . in theory at least). Throw in some cycling or running to keep it interesting and to keep your body from getting into a rut. But again, the most important thing is to figure out what it is you want to accomplish. "If you don't know where you're going, any path will take you there."

I don't think that 3 days a weel at 3000 yds is enough to improve. many experts say that to be in good health you only need 20 minutes of exercise for three times a week. That's not enough for me. I usually swim 4200 to 5000 five tiem a week. A big work out on Saturdays ans rest on Sunday.

If you're just back in the water after a 27 year layoff, you want to be sure to not injure yourself by doing too much, too fast. Two and a half years ago, I returned after a 30 year absence. Three days a week was good for the first few months, with maybe really light workouts on the "off days." After about 3 months, the intensity and frequency increased as my shoulders seemed better able to take the more demanding schedule. Now the mind, that's a different subject. At any rate, if you're going to do pool races, you probably want to GRADUALLY get to a 4-5 day a week program, with the "off days" being just as hard as the regular coached workouts. And for open water, you want to get in some distance stuff, so for the short term, focus on the race distances and techniques, establishing your base fitness and working speed as directed by your coach. After pool season, focus on distance workouts for open water events. But, really, the best person to talk to is your coach. I'd bet that s/he will be willing to give you advice and direction for off day training.

Since getting a program put together for me by Barb Harris last year, I have been doing periodic LT (lactose threshold/tolerance) sets: 1/2 hour of 100's, with an interval that gives you 10-15 second rest, do as many 100's as you can in the 1/2 hour. I know these have made a huge difference in my overall fitness, however, it HURTS! You will have to work up to it then find a send off you can tolerate and go from there. Now I do a set of 100 free, a set of 100 IM (did that today) and a set of 200 free every month. I can really see my progress in that I have been able to bring down the send off times (a hidden bummer factor, the faster you can swim, the more 100's you will have to do!) and its great for building coping skills for the painful middle parts of races.

I'm not a huge fan of off days. My normal week is probably someone elses' idea of hell week. But just in terms of the swimming, I try to get in 4 or 5 days per week, with an average of 4000 per workout. And my sets are normally long/easy or long fartlek sets. My favorite is 4x500 with 11 minute between (and alternating easy and hard laps).