Looking at one-hour results, and just finishing New England Masters SCY Championships at Harvard, how is it that older swimmers are getting faster and faster, and pretty much everyone is getting faster and faster compared to a few years ago when there seemed to be more mortal swimmers?
What are older (45+ women; at this point 65+ men) swimmers doing that keeps them at such elite levels? Weights? Extensive training? How much of both? How do they have jobs and families and train? The field of fast swimmers is getting deeper and deeper. Anyone have idea as to why?
I want to know the secrets. Are the people who race now self-selecting more and more as elite swimmers? Has everyone swum all their lives? I know to swim hard you have to train hard, but I am baffled by sudden increase in amazing fast times and so many records getting broken.
Former Member
Oops, I think I wandered into the wrong forum--I thought this was the Masters website. Sorry.
This is the Masters website, but you are in the chow blowing workout section.
Main set was:
1x1500 neg split
2x750 neg split
3x500 neg split
Descend by rounds.
Interval was 1:09 per 100 pace - so not a scary interval by any means.
Aren't you a sprinter? It's four weeks from nationals and you're training for the Tour de France.
Having competed against She-Man, let me attest to her training methods as being sound.
Even though she doesn't adhere to your regimen of fried pork rinds and Cheetos?
Wow, you're really a fan of those things. Other than the risk of inflicting a serious injury on yourself or a lanemate, what is it that they provide that fins don't?
What Paul said is right. Plus, it improves leg strength, is good for the glutes and increases ankle flexibility. The blade is super powerful, almost a combo weight and swimming workout. If you're serious about underwater work on backstroke or swimming fly (my fav 2 strokes), monofins are fabulous.
I never use them when I swim with my team, which is only 1x or less a week. I use them swimming solo in a lane by myself. As long as you don't drop the blade on your foot or toe, I don't see the injury risk. I guess if you have a bad back maybe?
So, no beer relays at nationals this year?
At my first masters meet maybe 20 years ago there was a beer relay. I thought I had died and gone to heaven: THIS is what I had been waiting for all my life!
I should sue for false advertising: there hasn't been one at a meet I've attended since then!
People swimming fast times are very focused on their training and train a lot. As to how they fit all this training in with the rest of their lives, I am still a little baffled. I am guessing most train before their day begins and they pack in family time between 6 and 9 pm and on the weekends.
I'm not sure what you want to hear, but the answer to your question just isn't that simple ("neglect family and train a lot"). The following factors ALL are important in determining performance:
-- the amount of training
-- the quality of training and coaching
-- swimming background
-- genetics
-- a good team environment
I know one elite swimmer -- many WRs, etc -- who had a child and also moved away from an area with regularly coached workouts. His training suffered as expected; I doubt he trains any more than you do. He no longer sets FINA/USMS records but because of his talent level and swimming savvy he still regularly places in the top 3 in his age group and contends for first place finishes at nationals. There are others who train like crazy and struggle to make the Top 10.
