Do we have to swim in a lot of meets to go fast? Of people that compete, it seems like there is a wide variance among forum members on meet attendance. Some go to many meets and some go to only a few a year. It seems like some people only attend the big meets or nationals. It obviously helps to get experience at meets, but how many do you need to compete in ideally to (1) swim fast and improve, and/or (2) do well at major competitions such as zones or nationals?
Parents
Former Member
Do we have to swim in a lot of meets to go fast?... but how many do you need to compete in ideally to (1) swim fast and improve, and/or (2) do well at major competitions such as zones or nationals?
Every couple of weeks should have a specific day with a time trial if possible. It's a great way to get the feel for swimming "at speed". It's also a good guage of your performance level.
Ande does a swim for time very often towards the meet season. This is really helpful for one to get a feel of the race...and to know where the wheels might start to fall off the bus. Better knowledge and understanding of the race course can help one mentally train for the specific event during workouts.
If you know the third turn on a 100 yard sprint is brutal...then train for that. Likewise if the 200 poses a challenge by either not going out fast enough...or going out too fast...you can learn how to pace.
So my answer is ...it's not the amount of meets...but simply having a familiarity with race pace. The importance of an all out swim now and again shouldn't be overlooked. It's an opportunity to learn...and get a very tough workout in. Ask someone to time you.
Do we have to swim in a lot of meets to go fast?... but how many do you need to compete in ideally to (1) swim fast and improve, and/or (2) do well at major competitions such as zones or nationals?
Every couple of weeks should have a specific day with a time trial if possible. It's a great way to get the feel for swimming "at speed". It's also a good guage of your performance level.
Ande does a swim for time very often towards the meet season. This is really helpful for one to get a feel of the race...and to know where the wheels might start to fall off the bus. Better knowledge and understanding of the race course can help one mentally train for the specific event during workouts.
If you know the third turn on a 100 yard sprint is brutal...then train for that. Likewise if the 200 poses a challenge by either not going out fast enough...or going out too fast...you can learn how to pace.
So my answer is ...it's not the amount of meets...but simply having a familiarity with race pace. The importance of an all out swim now and again shouldn't be overlooked. It's an opportunity to learn...and get a very tough workout in. Ask someone to time you.
