Do you rest for meets?

Hi Chris, Very true what you said. I was very vague (and sloppy) in my message. "Resting" can be taken in so many ways. What on earth does that mean? So for example, in swimming with the kids, I experienced very difficult weeks followed by easier weeks (that is technically rest.) Also, on a weekly basis, Fridays are often "rest" days. Although to an average masters swimmer, none of this would make sense as that masters swimmer may jump in with the kids on a Friday and think that was a very challenging practice. It's all relative. When I speak w/ my masters friends, many (not all) of them feel that "rest" is either not swimming at all or jumping in for a few ez laps. "Rest" the way in which we are defining it is absolutely critical for a successful training cycle. I could not do 6x/ week 8500 meter distance free sets @ high quality day after day and week after week. That would be completely insane. Contrary to popular belief, I don't do that! :laugh2: Too much rest is detrimental to training. I think we agree on that. So, for example, I swam 4 meets, 1 10K OW, and 1 25K OW in about 2.5 months. Had I taken a week of rest before each event, I would not have gotten in much training. By the time the 25K came around, I'd have not been able to swim it, much less negative split it. I too log my distance and sets primarily for GTD. I remember being surprised at the fact that I swam about 4000 to 4500 yds/ meters or so on meet days (recovery, warm up, the races, etc.) Kudos to you and Ande for doing finals! Had I done SR State I would have scratched - once is enough for me AND I don't want to take some young swimmer's spot who may have been dreaming for a certain cut. I wasn't sure if Kirk meant taper when he said "rest" as so many people that I run into use one term and mean the other. I should have known that Kirk knew the difference and meant what he said. Sorry Kirk! So to clarify, I taper one meet a season. Resting is thrown in there by my coach and I do rest at times throughout a season. But, resting is relative to each person, their level, their goals, etc. I agree with Chris in that resting is absolutely necessary otherwise you'll pay for it later! BTW, I really liked this question of yours: How often do we really give absolutely 100% in swims in practice, in the same way as in meets? I NEVER did this @ practices until recently. For whatever reason, this group of kids that I swim with really turn it on at the end of each practice (like the last 30 minutes or so as determined by the coach) - they are a talented bunch. It KILLED me when I started doing it. I must go fast to just save face. I think it will pay off in the end. The 14 year old flyer I train with just did a 1:03 and 2:20 in the 100 and 200 LCM fly at AG State. She races when it's time to do so in practice! BRAVO! (S)he, I have no problem with your philosophy but I have to disagree with what may be the sentiments behind this particular statement. Resting is a critical component of any training cycle (stress-recover-adapt). Maybe I am misreading your message. I would agree with the sentiment that too much rest is not efficient training. Neither is not enough rest. One can view meets as a form of training, maybe even one of the most important forms. How often do we really give absolutely 100% in swims in practice, in the same way as in meets? I started keeping a training log this year (first time ever). I just went to a meet in a trials-finals format and was surprised that, when I added up the yardage, the daily distance at the meet surpassed my usual daily workout distance. Granted, much of the distance was race prep or recovery, but it was still surprising to me.

Hi Chris, Very true what you said. I was very vague (and sloppy) in my message. "Resting" can be taken in so many ways. What on earth does that mean? So for example, in swimming with the kids, I experienced very difficult weeks followed by easier weeks (that is technically rest.) Also, on a weekly basis, Fridays are often "rest" days. Although to an average masters swimmer, none of this would make sense as that masters swimmer may jump in with the kids on a Friday and think that was a very challenging practice. It's all relative. When I speak w/ my masters friends, many (not all) of them feel that "rest" is either not swimming at all or jumping in for a few ez laps. "Rest" the way in which we are defining it is absolutely critical for a successful training cycle. I could not do 6x/ week 8500 meter distance free sets @ high quality day after day and week after week. That would be completely insane. Contrary to popular belief, I don't do that! :laugh2: Too much rest is detrimental to training. I think we agree on that. So, for example, I swam 4 meets, 1 10K OW, and 1 25K OW in about 2.5 months. Had I taken a week of rest before each event, I would not have gotten in much training. By the time the 25K came around, I'd have not been able to swim it, much less negative split it. I too log my distance and sets primarily for GTD. I remember being surprised at the fact that I swam about 4000 to 4500 yds/ meters or so on meet days (recovery, warm up, the races, etc.) Kudos to you and Ande for doing finals! Had I done SR State I would have scratched - once is enough for me AND I don't want to take some young swimmer's spot who may have been dreaming for a certain cut. I wasn't sure if Kirk meant taper when he said "rest" as so many people that I run into use one term and mean the other. I should have known that Kirk knew the difference and meant what he said. Sorry Kirk! So to clarify, I taper one meet a season. Resting is thrown in there by my coach and I do rest at times throughout a season. But, resting is relative to each person, their level, their goals, etc. I agree with Chris in that resting is absolutely necessary otherwise you'll pay for it later! BTW, I really liked this question of yours: How often do we really give absolutely 100% in swims in practice, in the same way as in meets? I NEVER did this @ practices until recently. For whatever reason, this group of kids that I swim with really turn it on at the end of each practice (like the last 30 minutes or so as determined by the coach) - they are a talented bunch. It KILLED me when I started doing it. I must go fast to just save face. I think it will pay off in the end. The 14 year old flyer I train with just did a 1:03 and 2:20 in the 100 and 200 LCM fly at AG State. She races when it's time to do so in practice! BRAVO! (S)he, I have no problem with your philosophy but I have to disagree with what may be the sentiments behind this particular statement. Resting is a critical component of any training cycle (stress-recover-adapt). Maybe I am misreading your message. I would agree with the sentiment that too much rest is not efficient training. Neither is not enough rest. One can view meets as a form of training, maybe even one of the most important forms. How often do we really give absolutely 100% in swims in practice, in the same way as in meets? I started keeping a training log this year (first time ever). I just went to a meet in a trials-finals format and was surprised that, when I added up the yardage, the daily distance at the meet surpassed my usual daily workout distance. Granted, much of the distance was race prep or recovery, but it was still surprising to me.