Hi all,
I'm the Slow Swimmer in Residence at my swim practices, and this often means that I'm maybe halfway done with a set when people are moving on to the next one. Usually, I have the slow lane to myself, which widens my options somewhat (if I don't, I do whatever the others are doing, even if it means moving on to the next set before I'm done with the previous one).
Since I almost NEVER finish my sets the same time as the others (unless I get to the practice earlier... that allows me to come out even with the others at least on the first set), would I benefit more from (a), (b) or (c)?:
(a) jump to the sets that others are doing even if not finished with all the repeats (ex.: 10x100; others have moved on to 250s. I have done 5-6 100s... following this option, I'd stop doing the 100s and move ahead to the 250s).
(b) finish the set I'm doing, then start on whatever set others are doing, even if they're, let's say, two or more sets ahead of me.
(c) finish the set I'm doing, then move on to the next one in the order the coach listed, only skipping ahead if the time allotted for the workout is drawing to a close and I need the warmdown.
Underlying all this, I guess what I am asking is whether it's better to do fewer repetitions but more of the sets that everyone's doing or all the repetitions but finish fewer sets.
Some might say I should retire to the open lap swim, but I'm not ready to do that. ;)
Thanks for your help!
Dorothy....good point. I'd say there are only 2-3 teams I've swam with over the years where this is done. ASU/Sun Devil Masters probably is the best.....every practice has a minimum of 2 workouts....usually 3 and almost always has two coaches on deck...which is necessary with 30-50 swimmer and 3 differant workouts :
- Distance
- Middle Distance/Stroke
- Sprint
I recognize that not all teams can be run like this....but they can certainly mix it up a lot more.
I swim with Sun Devil Masters, and have swam with other groups, and it is certainly the best team for me or I wouldn't be swimming with them for 8+ years.
Anyway, even within each major group (distance, mid, sprint), there could be 3-4 lanes of different speeds. The coach will tailor the workouts appropriately. I'm usually in the distance area, 3rd lane, when lane 1 does 40x100, I'll usually be somewhere around 32 to 36x100. If lane 1 is doing 10 @ 1:25, then take away 5 sec every 10, we'll do the same type of thing, but maybe 9 @ 1:35 to start. I have no complaints with less yardage, and we can usually stay late if we really wanted to do the yardage.
Dorothy....good point. I'd say there are only 2-3 teams I've swam with over the years where this is done. ASU/Sun Devil Masters probably is the best.....every practice has a minimum of 2 workouts....usually 3 and almost always has two coaches on deck...which is necessary with 30-50 swimmer and 3 differant workouts :
- Distance
- Middle Distance/Stroke
- Sprint
I recognize that not all teams can be run like this....but they can certainly mix it up a lot more.
I swim with Sun Devil Masters, and have swam with other groups, and it is certainly the best team for me or I wouldn't be swimming with them for 8+ years.
Anyway, even within each major group (distance, mid, sprint), there could be 3-4 lanes of different speeds. The coach will tailor the workouts appropriately. I'm usually in the distance area, 3rd lane, when lane 1 does 40x100, I'll usually be somewhere around 32 to 36x100. If lane 1 is doing 10 @ 1:25, then take away 5 sec every 10, we'll do the same type of thing, but maybe 9 @ 1:35 to start. I have no complaints with less yardage, and we can usually stay late if we really wanted to do the yardage.
