I'm new and have been catching up on reading. I don't have a lot of swimming experience and am swimming masters and not in college. But there are a couple things I just don't get.
1. Many posters seem very concerned about technique, but are still really focused on what is referred to as "engine buiding" and on power lifting and things that might not help their swimming as much. What is the lure of engine building exactly besides the endorphins? I guess you need it for certain events? I'm not saying this very well, but it seems like some people are working out harder than they should be? Why?
2. I read one of Ande's latest tips about sprinters on masters teams that ususlly focus on mid to long distance. Does this mean that sprinters should work out alone? I haven't really decided what I am yet, but my team does seem to focus more on distance stuff and long hard sets. Do any masters teams have sprint lanes or just lanes with different intervals?
Thanks. :)
Former Member
200's of any stroke are tough but my two cents on Holy Grail type of events, 200FLY. I aspire to be able to do that event again. Right now I am only good to 50 yards of fly. I look at it as being 1/4th the ws there. If you can do the 200 fly you can do any event.
Got Boost
I am actually going to agree with THE Fortress here. I believe that the 400IM is the holy grail of swimming. It is not for the weak. It is not my favorite event as I prefer breaststroke and the 200 IM but I enjoy swimming the 400IM from time to time as well. I find it is a good test of my endurance and fitness level.
Swimming the 200 (any stroke) takes a bit of bravery....especially if it's started off with a strong pace.
Anyone can charge hard on a 50...but swimming four of them fast takes guts. Those 7th & 8th laps are a test of the engine for sure. :)
It seems that people often look at engine building and technique as an either/or situation......as I've said here often it doesn't matter what your specialty is you need to have a base and should pay attention to technique 100% of the time.....
Fort....the 200 free is the "Holy Grail" of swimming....speed, power, endurance and tons of lactic all rolled into one!
I'll tell you the wrong way to swim the 200 BR. 2 years ago in a meet in CA I was in lane 3 with a 2:32 seed and there was a guy in my age group with a 2:33 seed in lane 6.I was hoping for a 2:30 going out in 1:13 back in 1:17,but I didn't want to let the guy in lane 6 get too far ahead.On the dive my goggles filled with water(first time in years).None the less I was determined to keep up with the guy in lane 6. At the 100 I was feeling amazingly tired but I was still with the guy. At the 125 I was dead but somehow managed to finish. I found the guy in lane 6 in the warmup pool(when I managed to crawl to it.)He said "man I'm out of shape,I swam a 2:40. I thought,if he swam a 2:40 what did I swim. It turns out with my goggles full of water I was racing the guy in lane 5 who did a 2:22 and was 20 years younger than I. I amazingly did my 2:32 splitting 1:09-1:23,not the way to swim it!!!
First, I must say if I could swim a 200 *** in 2:40 I'd be beside myself ... and to think that is out of shape for some ... :dedhorse:
Anyway, I must also add the hyperventilating before a 100 fly is NOT recomended, it leads to pain and discomfort within the first 25 yards and makes for a miserable race ... (which included a VERY illegal flutter kick for about 6 kicks which said person was not dq'd for by some miracle of GOD) ... this, uh ... didn't happen to me, but uh ... some other girl ... yeah .. :shakeshead: What and idiot!
Fort....the 200 free is the "Holy Grail" of swimming....speed, power, endurance and tons of lactic all rolled into one!
No it's not!!! Blech. I think the 400 IM is the "Holy Grail" of swimming. I don't have the endurance or engine at the moment for either your Holy Grail or mine, so I'm sticking with the sprints. You and FlyQueen can have that 200 free all to yourselves. I hate that event. :thhbbb: :thhbbb: :thhbbb: If you gotta do a 200, it might as well be IM or fly. Freestyle is such a dull stroke.
Woo hoo! That looks like a fun quality workout! I may have to do that this week! :groovy:
Originally Posted by The Fortress forums.usms.org/.../viewpost.gif
"Believe it or not, you can train to race 50s by doing sprints of half that distance in practice. Apart from warm-up and warm-down, this need be your only set. It is staggeringly simple: 8 x 25 kick, a full recovery, and then 16 x 25 swim. The key is to use long rest intervals, with a work-to-rest ratio of at least 1:4. Otherwise, lactate build-up will hamper your explosiveness."
If 1:4 is good, then 1:40 (work-to-rest) should be ten times as good.
I think I'll give that a try. (I might spend 3 hours doing 10 x 25's (No, I didn't do the math) or one hour doing a couple of 25's, but if that's what it takes, I'll make the sacrifice).:dunno:
