Dara Torres-Amazing

Thanks for the clarification, I thought people were talking about how she gained the muscle. Well she was lean before, and losing 10 pounds just makes her more chiseled.

I stand corrected about how much of the Master's community approaches their training. It seems as though the ideas of high intensity training and core work are well represented on the forums. Paul, you obviously see and know about a large cross-section of Master's habits. It seems there is a lot for us to learn. If not just from Dara, but from many of the prominent posters who advocate for high-intensity work. Which of course, begs the question again: what's the edge? Lots of stretching/massage? Focus and preparation? Or doing everything right, with an obsessive style? Forget masters. Obviously, we can't compete on that level at all. I personally don't care if ever see my college times or not. I tend to focus in my spare time on how I can train and compete as a purely non-professional master with time constraints. But don't other world class USA swimmers spend 4+ hours a day training? Don't other USA athletes know about the benefits of high intensity work and stretching/massage?! I'd be interested to compare the details of other sprinters' training regiments with Torres'. It seems Nystrand only trains 3K a day and must do non-pool training too. (Yes, obviously, he's vastly younger.)

In 2000 under Quick she put on 20lbs of muscle in 6 months... Could you explain how gaining 20 pounds seven years ago would make her a faster swimer today? I don't mean to sounds snarky. It sounds like there's no connection, but I know little about steroids and their effects, so for all I know there is one. I'd like to know what it is.

Sounds like DT is applying a lot of functional fitness training with weights in her routines. This is the latest buzz, and there is a lot of balance work, a lot of using weights to do moves that you use everyday, in her case the swimming, in my case, picking up groceries, reaching for the top shelf, stuff like that, not falling down the stairs near as much:cane: With lots of brains behind her training from all areas as team DT has, I can believe she can add 10 pounds of muscle without enhancement. As a woman in my 40's, without the aid of a team behind me, I have been able to add significant muscle in the last 10 years, so I just think most women don't tap what they have, which is what is making what DT is doing a bit unusual. For the question of stroke work. I notice the age groupers(and this includes the National team), begin their season with a lot more stroke work in that first 6 week period, but the work continues, always incorporating drill work and such. I know I always try to be mindful of my stroke, always trying to improve it, because I believe that is where I will get the greatest time improvements at this point.

Could you explain how gaining 20 pounds seven years ago would make her a faster swimer today? I don't mean to sounds snarky. It sounds like there's no connection, but I know little about steroids and their effects, so for all I know there is one. I'd like to know what it is. Absolutely nothing. If you go back through the entire thread and/or read other discussions about this one of the things mentioned is the extended layoffs Dara has taken and the impressive (to say the least) transformation of her body each time. Some would argue that in 2000 her association with Quick, his association with Balco and the designer drugs of choice in that era (the cream and the clear) had a profound impact on quick muscle gain and body transformation (look at Barry Bonds)....I challenge anyone on this forum to try and put on that much lean muscle mass in that short of time while maintaining a very high profound of aerobic training (in other words not talking about weight lifters) Todays designer drugs being EPO and HGH you tend to see much leaner athletes than the old school drugs....think Lance Armstrong. Again...no drug tests have been failed by DT and she certainly is pushing the envelope with creative training regimes (Marion Jones never failed one either and also was using very innovative training)...its just hard to fathom seeing an athletic performance that may be the greatest ever seen (a 41 year old 18 months post childbirth swimming her lifetime bests and setting the American record in the process)... This is not some masters swimmer swimming fast...as the newspaper article points out this would be like Clemmons throwing the fastest pitch ever thrown in baseball at 41, or Jordan holding the NBA scoring title, etc. etc. It's never been done before...

Thanks for the clarification, I thought people were talking about how she gained the muscle. Well she was lean before, and losing 10 pounds just makes her more chiseled. In 2000 under Quick she put on 20lbs of muscle in 6 months...

Regarding why a masters swimmer would ever cheat...ego aside...follow the money. There is money to be made in this sport via clinics, private coaching, etc. Not a lot...but more than people would realize. I disagree. I think it's all about ego. It's human nature, like it or not. Look at the money spent on Botox, cosmetic surgery, trophy wives. Aging is frustrating and unfair. The temptation to cheat the process is hard to resist. If our rule book contains a section on proper entry during warmup and a prohibition on the use of tobacco products on deck, why not a statement prohibiting the use of performance enhancing drugs? Offenders would face a two year suspension and forfeiture of records and national championships.

Hi Paul, Thanks very much for the detailed reply. I train on my own with another swimmer who can't make the early morning team workouts. And although this might seem like a disadvantage, it does give us the flexibility and opportunity to set up more of a performance based schedule as you described. In fact, our workouts are much more challenging. When I did swim with the group, the workouts became predictable, with no real emphasis on period~ization. It was just month after month of the same routine. Maybe most masters group are set up to cater to the group as a whole. Not everyone in our masters group competes, and the workouts seem as if they're geared towards the fitness swimmer rather than the competitor. I guess it really all depends on which club you belong to. Since the season is relatively young, I'm going to take your words of wisdom along with my three months of base training and try something new! Thank you again for taking time to share your thoughts.

This may be old news to many of you. Here's an link to an interview that Dara did in 2000 after the Sidney Olympics on the Charlie Rose show. Very ironic that Marion Jones is also interviewed on this show: www.youtube.com/watch She's obviously a driven, talented person, but she makes one comment that is either naive or telling, that is, that she put on 20 pounds of muscle by following a high-protein diet. I'm sorry to be contradictory, but this makes no sense whatsoever. There was something else going on that added that muscle. Charlie Rose, the interviewer, totally soft-balled this issue. Over what period of time did she add this muscle? A few months? A year?

This may be old news to many of you. Here's an link to an interview that Dara did in 2000 after the Sidney Olympics on the Charlie Rose show. Very ironic that Marion Jones is also interviewed on this show: www.youtube.com/watch She's obviously a driven, talented person, but she makes one comment that is either naive or telling, that is, that she put on 20 pounds of muscle by following a high-protein diet. I'm sorry to be contradictory, but this makes no sense whatsoever. There was something else going on that added that muscle. Charlie Rose, the interviewer, totally soft-balled this issue.