What's more important: striving for maximal health/fitness and a long life or setting WRs or national records or team records in swimming?
I think the latter is overrated. I'm all for improving one's stroke and striving for PBs. Who isn't? PBs produce euphoria and pride and keep you on the path to improvement. But I wonder if restorative, technique based workouts that might help you improve in swimming and/or achieve world or local fame really help make one extremely fit or improve one's health? I think someone referred to Gary Hall as doing "sprinter" type high intensity training and doing his aerobic/strength training outside the pool, which seems perfectly sound. He's getting it all in. I think you need to get it all in and work hard. You gotta break a sweat. A lot. Frequently.
So will TI-ing your life away and looking pretty make you as fit as you can be? Isn't there something to be said for hard training? Not necessarily because it will improve your 50 free (everyone seems to agree it won't), but just to improve health, mental outlook, physical well being and keep the bod hot and the spouse interested? Plus, if you're a distance swimmer you gotta have some endurance. Talent and technique only get you so far, at least IMHO.
I just thought we were supposed to exercise more, and more intensely for optimal health.
Parents
Former Member
When I was 15, records were more important. When I was 20, swimming in the Olympics was more important. When I was 30, fitness became more important. I'll be 59 in a couple of weeks, and now what's most important is staying alive, and swimming for fitness and health may give me a couple of extra years. Thank goodness I have great swim technique, but now it is becoming differently hard to swim long distances. And I am the fool who is going to try the 18 mile Roatan to Utila swim. So, as you can see, a part of me still is very competitive but only with myself. However, training for a swim of this great distance over the next year and a half, I know will improve my physical fitness in the process. How could it not?
Bottom line: cardiovascular fitness.
Donna
When I was 15, records were more important. When I was 20, swimming in the Olympics was more important. When I was 30, fitness became more important. I'll be 59 in a couple of weeks, and now what's most important is staying alive, and swimming for fitness and health may give me a couple of extra years. Thank goodness I have great swim technique, but now it is becoming differently hard to swim long distances. And I am the fool who is going to try the 18 mile Roatan to Utila swim. So, as you can see, a part of me still is very competitive but only with myself. However, training for a swim of this great distance over the next year and a half, I know will improve my physical fitness in the process. How could it not?
Bottom line: cardiovascular fitness.
Donna
