What do YOU need to do to have a major swimming breakthrough?"
I started this thread over in the work outs section which I think doesn't get as much traffic as the general discussion board
so here's the link
forums.usms.org/showthread.php
but my point is,
No matter what, the time between right now and your focus meet is going to pass, and the things you do to prepare for your meet is of the UTMOST importance.
the choices you make
the chances you take
swim hard in practice
rehearse racing
I want to read your story about your breakthrough.
Decide it starts today
that this season will be your best season EVER
What do you need to do to make this true?
Ande
I don't think it's the water, I think it's the fact that 16-20 beats per second (i.e., 96-120) is probably too low for you. I think as long as you're under 25 you are probably staying in the aerobic zone where you want to be for your endurance and recovery swims. I know your max heart rate is supposed to decrease with age, but if you're like me you're not seeing this decrease. I can still get mine up to 200 easily.
Maybe a better measure of whether you are swimming aerobically is whether you can maintain this pace indefinitely. Try doing a long swim of a set time, like a T20 (a 20 minute swim for distance). Let's say you swim 1500 yards in 20 minutes. That gives you a pace of 1:20 per 100 yards and you can use this as your fastest pace for aerobic swims.
I don't have my "Mastering Swimming" book with me to refer to (I'm at work... :blush:), but the authors explained that the maximum heart rate used for swimming is less than dryland. I forgot the percentage, but when I calculated it, the beats per 10 seconds worked out to staying in the 16-20 range for their recommended recovery sets. So, assuming the authors of that book are correct, my max is supposed to be at 27 for my age and I should keep it between 16-20 for endurance/recovery days.
I don't think it's the water, I think it's the fact that 16-20 beats per second (i.e., 96-120) is probably too low for you. I think as long as you're under 25 you are probably staying in the aerobic zone where you want to be for your endurance and recovery swims. I know your max heart rate is supposed to decrease with age, but if you're like me you're not seeing this decrease. I can still get mine up to 200 easily.
Maybe a better measure of whether you are swimming aerobically is whether you can maintain this pace indefinitely. Try doing a long swim of a set time, like a T20 (a 20 minute swim for distance). Let's say you swim 1500 yards in 20 minutes. That gives you a pace of 1:20 per 100 yards and you can use this as your fastest pace for aerobic swims.
I don't have my "Mastering Swimming" book with me to refer to (I'm at work... :blush:), but the authors explained that the maximum heart rate used for swimming is less than dryland. I forgot the percentage, but when I calculated it, the beats per 10 seconds worked out to staying in the 16-20 range for their recommended recovery sets. So, assuming the authors of that book are correct, my max is supposed to be at 27 for my age and I should keep it between 16-20 for endurance/recovery days.
