As I crawled back into the pool today fat and out of shape, I wondered: Don't sprinters need some minimal aerobic work? I see that Ande is doing none whatsoever and Paul advises not "fighting fat" in the pool. I do a lot of race pace training and cross training. But still, is just a little aerobic work called for? I can tell I don't need any for 50s, but my 100s could use a little something. I don't think I have the substantial swimming aerobic base that people like Ande have because I was out of the pool for so many years .. So I'm either taking my 100s out too slow for fear of dying or actually dying. Does aerobic work help counter this? Or do I need more lactate work such as doing 100s with huge amounts of rest?
Long story short, it comes down to your goal weight and how well your weight is stabilized.
If you are a big guy with a big appetite, like Paul (and me), the amount of aerobic work is proportional to the excess calories that don't get burned by the short-fast stuff.
For those not calorie challenged, the amount of aerobic work needed is whatever is required to flush out the muscles for the next round of short-fast stuff.... which is different for everyone and based upon an individual's general conditioning and level of effort.
Long story short, it comes down to your goal weight and how well your weight is stabilized.
If you are a big guy with a big appetite, like Paul (and me), the amount of aerobic work is proportional to the excess calories that don't get burned by the short-fast stuff.
For those not calorie challenged, the amount of aerobic work needed is whatever is required to flush out the muscles for the next round of short-fast stuff.... which is different for everyone and based upon an individual's general conditioning and level of effort.
