Mike's SwimBlog

hey alpha welcome to the swim blogo sphere edit that long string of dates and numbers it comes out as one long line maybe separate them by hitting ENTER pultting one date and distance on each line

Interesting... Thanks for the feedback. I've been doing variations of this weight workout for many years. The current high rep version is intended to incorporate an aerobic element into the weight workout. It also takes a good amount of mental toughness and endurance to get through these sets. Couldn't you apply the same concept to a swimming workout (i.e., one 500 swim to exhaustion accomplishes the same thing as 5X100s)? I've had shoulder problems in the past, but isolated it to upright rows. Once I stopped doing them, it healed. I find that I'm OK as long as I'm not lifting directly above my head. All my overhead stuff is done in front of my face. Mike

I noticed that after I sent it. I tried to cut and paste from an excel spreadsheet. I've tried attaching it instead.

I was just the American College of Sports Medicine conference in Indianapolis, and a researcher on weight training made a couple interesting points: no evidence that multiple sets accomplish much more than a single set to exhaustion little evidence that the number of reps makes much difference either, again, provided you go to exhaustion--i.e., three lifts of very high weights vs. 20 lifts of moderate weight accomplish more or less the same thing a survey of weight trainers showed the vast majority do ridiculous amounts of ab exercises, again, with no evidence this does much good. one set is enough. finally, and this was not from the conference but rather from my masters coach, swimming tends to train the same muscles that get tapped by overhead weight training exercises. She says the risk of injury from military presses, and in fact anything where the weight is lifted above the head, is just not worth it and strongly recommends swimmers who want longevity in the pool avoid these lifts. if you want to improve your swimming, i say do 2-3 strength training sessions a week maximum (once you get your strength back, the ACSM guy said that once a week is enough for maintenance), and spend more time in the pool. Just my two cents worth in inflation-adjusted currency

September 4, 2008 Slept in today after staying up late to watch the convention over a glass (or two) of wine. Needed the break anyway. Since I didn't start blogging when I started swimming, I've summarized my workouts below. Until now, I've focused on plenty of drills and a real emphasis on technique. I have trained alone for the most part. I'm still looking for a place to swim that has a deck coach that can critique my technique and instruct me on the finer points of all the changes that have occured in the last 18 years. Anyway, here it is since I started on July 24th: See attachment In addition to this, I lift 3 times per week. My wieght workout consists of at least two exercises for each muscle group, including legs. I can blast through 3 sets of 20 with little or no rest between sets in just over an hour. This has been a great injury prevention regimen for me. The exercises I do are: Chest: Cable flys Flat bench Incline bench Back: Upright cable rows Lat pulldowns Shoulders: Upright Military press Incline military press shoulder flys Legs: Press Extensions Curls Adductor Abductor Biceps: Narrow barbell curls Wide dumbell curls Triceps Dips Extensions Overhead extension (not sure what this is called) Finally, I have a killer ab routine that I need to do more often. I probably do this 3 times per week (should be 5) 100 feet flat on floor 100 crunches legs raised 100 crunches legs extended and flat 200 crossover (100 each side) 200 legs to the side " 200 laying on side " 100 lifts

a survey of weight trainers showed the vast majority do ridiculous amounts of ab exercises, again, with no evidence this does much good. Jim, "good" in what sense? Brute strength?

Woke up to a wet high 40s morning Here in Colorado. Since the indoor pool is closed for renovation, I lifted wieghts and stretched. I'll swim this evening at the EPIC center instead.

Had some bad luck the last couple of days...seems I lost momentum as soon as I decided to blog. EPIC center was closed last night too, so I had to wait until this morning to swim: 400 Free 200 Kick 400 Pull 200 Free Drill 3 X (4 X 25) Free 1-3 Worked on SDK and break out 0:30 Sec rest 4 Timed from push (:12.0, :11.5, :11.5) 200 Back Drill 3 X (4 X 25) Back 1-3 Worked on SDK/long strokes 4 Timed from push (15.0, 15.0, 15.3) 200 *** Drill 3 X (4 X 25) *** 1-3 Flutter kick/scull 4 Timed from push (16.0, 15.8, 15.4) 200 Fly Drill 3 X (4 X 25) Fly 1-3 SDK 4 Timed from push (13.2, 12.8, 12.8) 200 warm down Total 3200 yards Lifted: Chest/Back/Shoulders 3 X 10 Notes: Can't seem to get turnover going on breaststroke Fly feels really good This was my first time since I started back that I sprinted all out. I felt very tired afterwards and have a little bit of stiffness in my right elbow, especially during free sprints.

forums.usms.org/showpost.php You might want to do some fast 50s and experiment with what kind of splitting will work for you.

Splitting? In a 50? /Tom Hanks There's no splitting in 50s /Tom Hanks A 50 is a pure all up sprint. Unlike 100s, where you want to hold something back, there is no real gain to be had by holding back on a 50 as most folks will not gain back on the 2nd 25 what they lost by holding back on the first 25.