Non-competive swim times, and some other questions

RE: Non-competive swim times, and some other questions

Former Member — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 10:41:57 GMT

rtodd, Every time I swim 200 it seems to take a little over four minutes. By the way, thanks for all the replys everyone. One other thing I noticed...The other day I was at the pool, the first 200 I swam was pretty exhausting, and then I did some other 100, 150, and 50 yard sets in my workout. Now, I had warmed up before this workout pretty good, so I was warmed up when I started...but anyways back to the point, at one point in my workout I decided to tread water in the deep end for about 15 minutes, then I went right into swimming 225 yards..It was much easier after the 15 minutes of treading!

RE: Non-competive swim times, and some other questions

Former Member — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:40:59 GMT

you might want to check out some of Dr. Kenneth Cooper's work on cardiac fitness. He has table after table of exercises (swimming is one of them) by gender by age and times to shoot for, to become fit... the emphasis is not on competitive times but on what you need to be able to do to be considered fit. Lainey

RE: Non-competive swim times, and some other questions

rtodd — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 08:17:46 GMT

Right now I find I am doing 200 yards in a little over four minutes, and it still feels like a pretty good workout when I finish that last lap, it is by no means "a breeze" but I am too the point where I am swimming 200 yards 3 to 5 times in a workout. Are you doing a little of four minutes on a repeat or a single 200 for time? Doing a 200 for time should not feel good. You should feel rushed to get out of the pool before you blow chow. It is a controlled sprint. Swim one this way and you will surprise yourself, after you regain conciousness.

RE: Non-competive swim times, and some other questions

Former Member — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:29:07 GMT

I started swimming as an adult and have been swimming with a Masters team for the past 20 years. I'm typically one of the slowest swimmers at our workouts. I swim a 200 in about 4 minutes during our workouts. My fastest-ever 200, off the starting blocks, was 3:08. So I think you're OK, speed-wise. If you're interested in overall aerobic fitness, it sounds like you need to work on your endurance. (While I'm not very fast, I've got the endurance to swim a long time. I can keep that same pace for a 3,000-yard swim.) You might try to build up to some longer swims - for example, instead of stopping at 200 yards, try to swim 400 yards without stopping. Anna Lea

RE: Non-competive swim times, and some other questions

Former Member — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 13:23:34 GMT

Here's a site that builds you up to a mile (well, 1650 yards) over six weeks. ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html A lot of people on this site have used it and recommended it. I'm on week four right now; the schedule seems daunting, but it's actually pretty reasonable. As far as how fast you are going and how much faster you want to be, that's up to you. You're like me - slower than most of the people who post but faster than most people whom you'll find in the pool. If you are happy with that, terrific. Remember, most people can't swim 200 to begin with.

RE: Non-competive swim times, and some other questions

Former Member — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 05:55:29 GMT

Right now I find I am doing 200 yards in a little over four minutes, .... maybe you could suggest a good workout for becoming very good at swimming 200 yards at a time? that is not a bad time. relative to USMS top-10 times i'm really quite slow in my age bracket. i don't swim to compete, i compete because i'm swimming anyway, and i like to compete. the times below are from when i was in my early 40's (for comparison... the times in are the '06 USMS top-10 times for men ages 40-45): 200 Free scy (25yds): 2:55 ... lcm (50m): 3:30 ... scm (25m): 3:13 ... compare my lcm & scm and it reinforces the old adage that "the fastest you will ever go is diving in and pushing off the wall". work on those turns, and starts! as for workouts... pick a time (say 45min.) and do as much as you can in that time. mix it up. do 100's one day, then 50's, then 200's. try also 300's or 400's, throw in a 500 every so often, or swim straight through. rest as often as you need to. better to always practice good technique than to dog it out with bad technique. swim a few hard sets free, then cool down a bit with a different stroke (*** or back) at less intensity, before doing another "free" set. if you track your distance, you will find that you get more done in that (45min) time as your endurance builds. have fun!