I heard some where way back that if you are doing a exercise like swimming for the aerobic benifit. If you stop for more then 15 seconds ..say to talk to someone..you lose the benifit from the aerobic part of workout.. Any one heard about this?
Former Member
I kind of seriously doubt a blanket statement like that. I mean....sure maybe if you stop every 25 or 50 for on aerobic level intensity for 15 seconds.......
But come on.
When I was (mostly) healthy and swimming the full varsity workouts we'd have you know sets of like 6 x 400 (or more) with rest at the end of the set that was easily a few minutes. And you add on the time spent hearing the next set.....I really doubt that a 15 second break would mean the end of our aerobic benefit.
I don't know if this answers your question, but one way to design sets is to look at the work:rest ratio. A ratio of anywhere from 3:1 to 5:1 would be an aerobic type set--for example, a set of 400s on 6:00 finishing each repeat in 5:00 (5 minutes of work, 1 minute of rest). Your heart rate should be 30-50 bpm below your predicted max for age (220-age).
We are talking aerobic benifit here, not the other training zones.
It usually takes far more than 15 seconds to get your heart rate as low as the lower threshold of aerobic training.
Most masters swimmers over the age of 40 would benefit by going to a longer rest interval, from 10-15 seconds instead of 5-10 seconds.
Bottom line, if you are swimming 3,000 to 5000 yards in an hours workout, you do not have to worry about loosing aerobic benefits.:D
Michael, the rule goes like this:
Zero seconds for fish dishes and quiche
15 seconds for steak and peanut butter sandwiches
60 seconds for pizza
14400 for any hard candies
Sweetenham (Championship Swim Training) and Maglischo (Swimming Fastest) both say that 15-20 sec rest is typical for aerobic sets, as long as the repeat distance and set length are sufficiently long. Longer rest intervals allow you to swim faster, outside of the aerobic zone.
Originally posted by Peter Cruise
The fifteen second rule? Easy- that is the amount of time most men consider necessary to devote to foreplay.
Dang, when did it increase?
Lap swimmers are the worst. Most don't swim far enough or smart enough to get any benefit.
The key to swimming is stopping. Yes, stopping.
Many lap swimmers go the same speed for an hour, never get faster or better. Don't loose weight.
By stopping and starting again, masters are doing interval swimming. And interval swimming releases natural HGH, Human Growth Hormone. Thats what makes us better, and lets us look younger.:D
