NY Times Sunday article on Susan Von der Lippe

Well, I'm going to have to disagree with some of you about how only exercising 3x a week is not very respectful. Last year when I stopped swimming in the spring - I started a running program and it was only 3x a week (35-40 min each workout), I watched what I ate - and lost 25 lbs (pregnancy weight that was being stubborn about going away). I thought that was a pretty darn great accomplishment. :banana:

I think this goes a lot to what Paul Smith said on another thread somewhere.. as we get older our body needs more recovery time.....maybe she found the best routine for her to use and still be able to compete at the highest level. For those doubters out there......have you ever tried training and only swimming 3 days a week? Doing strength and conditioning stuff the other days? I say unless you have tried it how do you know that it's "somewhat unhealthy" or "neither sufficient or impressive"? Just my :2cents: of course. I have found personally that only swimming 3 days a week and doing physical therapy exercises a couple of days "seems" to be working pretty good for my arm problems. So I am contemplating using this formula for a while instead of pounding out the yards like I was trying to do last year.......

Right - like I said, three days a week is better than zero days a week. Personally, I'd go crazy if I only worked out for 1.5 hours or so a week. You are getting to a base level of fitness with that time, nothing more. But you also said, "what's the point?" Anyways, yes - I did get to a base level of fitness - no olympic trial cut here. ;)

According to the article she doesn't just swim three days a week either... Von der Lippe circuit-trains in a weight room and swims three mornings a week, for 90 minutes at a time. Elite swimmers generally have 5 to 12 workouts in the water a week. “Three times a week is pretty good for a mom to go out and exercise,” von der Lippe said. Sounds like she is doing more than just swimming to me.....

3 days a week may not be impressive, but she's in the Olympic Trials and I'm not. So, I'm not going to gain-say her. -LBJ

As is the case with many elite masters...like Josh Davis for example...they're still riding on the wave of base training and technique from their younger days. "She resumed swimming in her mid-30s, working out three times a week with a masters team. ...She credits her fast times to the mileage base she built in her younger days, muscle memory, the full-body suits that were introduced in 2000 and a more relaxed attitude. Von der Lippe circuit-trains in a weight room and swims three mornings a week, for 90 minutes at a time. Elite swimmers generally have 5 to 12 workouts in the water a week." Not everyone is going to excel with such a modest training schedule.

As is the case with many elite masters...like Josh Davis for example...they're still riding on the wave of base training and technique from their younger days. I'm nowhere near an elite masters (just a plain masters) and I noticed something similar in my training with the kids. First, I found that as a masters, I really did not train fly sets (I would do a few 25s and 50s here and there and leave it at that). And when I did swim fly sets in practice with the kids or with masters, I was really SLOW. So, I'm doing some fly sets with the kids and I'm going last in my lane and just making the intervals. However, when it was time to race 100 and 200s fly for time, I ended up outswimming those same kids comfortably. Now I wasn't loafing the sets by any means (was trying my best). I just attribute my ability to go fast when it counted (get into that next gear) due to my 20+ years of swimming experience, past training, and muscle memory. :2cents: Anyway, I'm thrilled for SVDL. She is my hero. I, however, could never train three days a week and get OT cuts. I found that when I swam 3x/ week in the past, I could NOT do anything over a 100.

It makes no sense for anyone here to question what SVDL does for training. She is faster than 95% (maybe more?) of the women in Masters regardless of age. She is faster than a huge percentage of the men - regardless of age. Her 200 IM time was faster than all but 35 men's times at Nationals. She was the fastest woman at Nats. Josh Davis is obviously relying on tremendous talent and training from his NCAA days - but he says on Floswimming that he trains just 3000-4000 yds. per week. Much of it is resistance (pulley) based. His 1:36.54 200 free is pretty incredible at 35 years old. I think SVDL's training in MOST IMPRESSIVE.

It makes no sense for anyone here to question what SVDL does for training. She is faster than 95% (maybe more?) of the women in Masters regardless of age. She is faster than a huge percentage of the men - regardless of age. Her 200 IM time was faster than all but 35 men's times at Nationals. She was the fastest woman at Nats. Josh Davis is obviously relying on tremendous talent and training from his NCAA days - but he says on Floswimming that he trains just 3000-4000 yds. per week. Much of it is resistance (pulley) based. His 1:36.54 200 free is pretty incredible at 35 years old. I think SVDL's training in MOST IMPRESSIVE. Amen. :applaud:

Susan's accomplishments are so impressive. She is the "real" thing. Her final quote in the article says it all. She swims on a budget with family concerns coming first. Whether or not she is doing it for a free deck pass or to race again, I hope she gets the proper coverage being the oldest female at the Trials. It's good to see "real" people excel. John Smith