In another thread, the Fortress mentioned that her former coach thought that 25,000 yards or meters was a so-called "tipping point" for real aerobic conditioning/fitness in swimming. What does everyone think? It seems like a lot of yardage that is probably not necessarily for a pure sprinter. But what if you're a distance or OW geek or swimming the 400 IM or 200 fly? Is 25,000 the magic number? It seems like many forumites must be hitting that number because I have read about quite a few 5,000+ workouts. So, what is the "tipping point?"
We have a relatively new, small masters team. We work out three days a week for an hour. My coach (has trained olympic swimmers) says that for masters swimmers, three days a week is sufficient for practice to allow for recovery time. He works the dickens out of us on the days we swim. One or two 500's, sometimes an 800, but loads and loads and loads of 25, 50, 75 and 100 sprints. Very little rest :shakeshead: . Currently, I am the fastest swimmer on the team :rofl: (I said it was a small new team:agree: ). There are practices, where I am close to blowing chow and/or have thought about just getting out and giving up (lack of air to the brain:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: ). I never have gotten out (quitting is not something I ever do with anything I do), I tell myself that it will soon be over and I'll be high on endorphines when it is over :drink: . We were going to get times this week to see how far we have come since our first meet in November (after we had been practicing for only 6 weeks). However, due to road conditions, that will be done at a later time. I am really hoping we swim on Friday :dunno:
I guess my point is, that depending on how often a swimmer gets pool time, and what kind of a swimmer you are (I'm a sprinter), it may not all be about yardage. I can tell that my intervals are faster and even though we are sprinting through the workouts, I can handle more and more yardage before I want to get out - but the coach is always pushing us to that point, so it keeps increasing. For me anyway, I will have to wait until my next meet to see what this style of workout is doing for me.
We have a relatively new, small masters team. We work out three days a week for an hour. My coach (has trained olympic swimmers) says that for masters swimmers, three days a week is sufficient for practice to allow for recovery time. He works the dickens out of us on the days we swim. One or two 500's, sometimes an 800, but loads and loads and loads of 25, 50, 75 and 100 sprints. Very little rest :shakeshead: . Currently, I am the fastest swimmer on the team :rofl: (I said it was a small new team:agree: ). There are practices, where I am close to blowing chow and/or have thought about just getting out and giving up (lack of air to the brain:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: ). I never have gotten out (quitting is not something I ever do with anything I do), I tell myself that it will soon be over and I'll be high on endorphines when it is over :drink: . We were going to get times this week to see how far we have come since our first meet in November (after we had been practicing for only 6 weeks). However, due to road conditions, that will be done at a later time. I am really hoping we swim on Friday :dunno:
I guess my point is, that depending on how often a swimmer gets pool time, and what kind of a swimmer you are (I'm a sprinter), it may not all be about yardage. I can tell that my intervals are faster and even though we are sprinting through the workouts, I can handle more and more yardage before I want to get out - but the coach is always pushing us to that point, so it keeps increasing. For me anyway, I will have to wait until my next meet to see what this style of workout is doing for me.
