"What do YOU need to do to have a major swimming breakthrough?"

Having started swimming just before I turned 50, I am relatively new to swimming and had no prior swimming background. I'm still learning things at 55 that most age group swimmers learned before they were 12 years old. You guys are my coaches. Again thanks! I'll tell you what, for someone who started swimming so recently you have an incredible stroke! I wouldn't have ever thought you started swimming so late in life. I think if you work on the things Ande and I both mentioned you could easily knock a second off your 50 times. Good luck!

I agree good luck keep us posted ande I'll tell you what, for someone who started swimming so recently you have an incredible stroke! I wouldn't have ever thought you started swimming so late in life. I think if you work on the things Ande and I both mentioned you could easily knock a second off your 50 times. Good luck!

I'm here to celebrate a breakthrough and ask a question. For the first time in about 10 years, my freestyle times have dropped significantly in the last 6 months. I have been swimming this whole time. The only changes are that I have been doing more feel-for-the-water types of drills and a bit more yardage and definitely more freestyle yardage (the past few years I have focused a lot on my 200 *** and 400 IM). Anyway, I actually dropped 30 seconds in my 800 this month compared to last year. Anyway, while I'm swimming faster, I have gained about 5 pounds. I don't know if I am just eating too much or if I could have somehow gained muscle, but I haven't been lifting with any regularity (bad I know). Has this happened to anyone else? Should I try to drop the weight? I was and still am in the normal range for my height. I just feel confused to be heavier and somehow faster and in better freestyle shape at the same time!

I'm here to celebrate a breakthrough and ask a question. For the first time in about 10 years, my freestyle times have dropped significantly in the last 6 months. I have been swimming this whole time. The only changes are that I have been doing more feel-for-the-water types of drills and a bit more yardage and definitely more freestyle yardage (the past few years I have focused a lot on my 200 *** and 400 IM). Anyway, I actually dropped 30 seconds in my 800 this month compared to last year. Anyway, while I'm swimming faster, I have gained about 5 pounds. I don't know if I am just eating too much or if I could have somehow gained muscle, but I haven't been lifting with any regularity (bad I know). Has this happened to anyone else? Should I try to drop the weight? I was and still am in the normal range for my height. I just feel confused to be heavier and somehow faster and in better freestyle shape at the same time! Chlorini: Congrats on the big time drops!!! :applaud: As to your question, I've also gained 5 pounds in the past 2 years since starting masters swimming, kind of gradually. I have been lifting more, I think, but swimming just seems to make my shoulders grow and become very muscular. (I've been getting a bit faster too.) I think, based on what you've said your height and weight were before, that you shouldn't worry too much. (Although lifting might actually help you lose weight by raising your metabolism -- as well as protecting your shoulders.) It all depends on how you feel and look. Use the mirror test, not the scales test. But if you're training that much and going that fast, sounds like you don't have to worry and it's just more muscle. Maybe it's a "girl" thing. I would rather be my previously leaner "runner" weight, but I think those 5 pounds, at least for me, are just the price of swimming. (Also, there are many factors that go into the weight thing. Could be age, could be overeating, etc. Swimmers do seem to eat a lot compared to other athletes when they're training. Hard to pin down the cause exactly.)

Hi Ande, thanks for your advice. I got both your replies. I decided to reply here as you indicated this was the thread you checked most often. You are quite right: I need to do some weight training. I do no dryland exercises at all. In fact I don't even warm up. The most I will do is lazily flick my arm so that my bicep makes a slapping sound against my chest, touch my toes and dive into the pool. I do always do a 500m warm up and I have never had any problems with pulled muscles or the like. I shall search this forum for some dryland exercises to do. I shall invest in a fastskin suit when I find a meet to compete in. Finding the meet in Taiwan is probably going to be the more challenging of the two tasks. My main problem area is my kick. So poor is my kick that it takes me 60 seconds to kick 50m in a 25m pool (and that is with the advantage of the turn). In fact I am not even sure whether I should be kicking from the hip or from the knee. My legs just seem to go up and down and I hardly move forward. Kicking with a board raises my head and chest, makes my waist drop and causes more resistance. I should have mentioned that I swim 15 - 19 strokes per length in a 25m pool. 15 if I am really concentrating and manage 4 SDK's off the wall and 19 if everything is going to pieces. I probably average out somewhere at about 17. I have no idea what my stroke count is when I am sprinting because I am too busy thinking about other things to count my stroke. The other area I need to improve on is my turns. However, I have already found some good advice on this forum about turns and I now stroke through the turn instead of just gliding in with both arms at my side. I also now turn completely before twisting onto my stomach. This has helped in more ways than one. Not only are my turns faster but this method has the added advantage of helping me launch off the wall at a lower depth and thus allowing me to do more SDK's than I could previously. (Previously I would tend to pop up too quickly and, at best, I could manage two SDK's). Thanks for your advice and encouragement Ande. Sincerely Syd

Hi Syd, You're welcome the stronger you get the faster you'll go Fastskins make quite a difference 1:00 for a 50 kick is very slow You MUST improve your kick then learn how to use it when you're sprinting I wrote about how to improve kicking in Swim Faster Faster and this thread forums.usms.org/showthread.php I recommend you follow the KICK IMPROVEMENT TRAINING SETS I described and you'll see remarkable improvements. Good luck, Ande Hi Ande, thanks for your advice. I got both your replies. I decided to reply here as you indicated this was the thread you checked most often. You are quite right: I need to do some weight training. I do no dryland exercises at all. In fact I don't even warm up. The most I will do is lazily flick my arm so that my bicep makes a slapping sound against my chest, touch my toes and dive into the pool. I do always do a 500m warm up and I have never had any problems with pulled muscles or the like. I shall search this forum for some dryland exercises to do. I shall invest in a fastskin suit when I find a meet to compete in. Finding the meet in Taiwan is probably going to be the more challenging of the two tasks. My main problem area is my kick. So poor is my kick that it takes me 60 seconds to kick 50m in a 25m pool (and that is with the advantage of the turn). In fact I am not even sure whether I should be kicking from the hip or from the knee. My legs just seem to go up and down and I hardly move forward. Kicking with a board raises my head and chest, makes my waist drop and causes more resistance. I should have mentioned that I swim 15 - 19 strokes per length in a 25m pool. 15 if I am really concentrating and manage 4 SDK's off the wall and 19 if everything is going to pieces. I probably average out somewhere at about 17. I have no idea what my stroke count is when I am sprinting because I am too busy thinking about other things to count my stroke. The other area I need to improve on is my turns. However, I have already found some good advice on this forum about turns and I now stroke through the turn instead of just gliding in with both arms at my side. I also now turn completely before twisting onto my stomach. This has helped in more ways than one. Not only are my turns faster but this method has the added advantage of helping me launch off the wall at a lower depth and thus allowing me to do more SDK's than I could previously. (Previously I would tend to pop up too quickly and, at best, I could manage two SDK's). Thanks for your advice and encouragement Ande. Sincerely Syd

You could be re-distributing your weight. How is your waist? I would doubt seriously you've put the 5 lbs there, which is where it is the least healthy.

Maybe it's a "girl" thing. I would rather be my previously leaner "runner" weight, but I think those 5 pounds, at least for me, are just the price of swimming. Leslie you have a geat body--5lbs or not. You're shoulders are not "The Thing" style...pleez...only Breaststrokers have bulging shoulders... :groovy: I dare say Chlorini is in damn fine shape too.

Thanks, Fortress. That's helpful to know. Maybe I have gained a bit of muscle. My clothes don't feel any tighter, which is why I was surprised when I stepped on the scale, so I'm hopeful. Overall, I'm just sort of confused by my whole freestyle improvement to be honest since I wasn't out of training before. I've been doing Masters continuously for at least 7 years. I kind of just thought I was in permanent maintenance mode to be honest. I guess maybe a bit of extra yardage and more distance-oriented workouts could be making me stronger and that's why I'm faster ... Anyway, I think I will just pay attention to what I'm eating and try measuring my waist and monitoring that to make sure. If it's just five pounds, I'm not that worried. I just don't know where it came from so I don't want to keep adding on! SwimStud, thanks for the vote of confidence. I hope I'm in good shape, but we girls are often such harsh judges of ourselves that I alternately think I look thin and fat on various days, even though my real body hasn't changed. And I don't want to ask my husband because I don't want to be that stereotypical wife who traps her hubby with "Do I look fat?" questions. ;)

OK guys we need to keep this thread focused on swimming break throughs looks like we we're having a little kumbaya moment where some might be focused on the wrong kind of breakthroughs even though we all know that: the ladies here are hot 5 pounds or not we like what they got their class can't be bought each is highly sought their looks hit the spot we love 'em a lot but most tied the knot if we couldn't get caught we might take a shot though that very thought leaves us overwrought and often distraught so If one asks "Do I look fat in these jeans" I won't be cruel I won't be mean I know for a fact I have no doubt you don't look fat in or out