should i do doubles

Just felt I had to ask the question. My coach as of now does not allow me to do doubles as he thinks I'll get too worn down. Who wants to argue with that!? Even when I was training for the 25K OW I did not do doubles. Nor did I do any weights or dryland or other activity during the last LCM season. HOWEVER, that being said, when I did do doubles for a short time last SCY season, I later on during that season did drop significant time across the board in all distances and events. It was for a "short time" b/c frankly it just got ugly. I don't recommend them for most if any masters, but in moderation and on occasion, they can be good for a jump start. Everything seems pretty easy when you cut them out! lol. Well, I don't have the focus and dedication to hone in on a couple of events. And I refuse to lift heavy, so I'm afraid that 50 time will never reach low 23. But thanks! :) We should probably ask Dara that question. There's a reason she swam only once a day in training for 2000 and 2008 Olympics. Particularly in athletes over 30, recovery becomes an issue. If you are asking me, it has been a disaster for me to do double swim workouts since I was 16. Broke me down to a point that I was beyond the help of a taper. I'd get sick, injured, etc. and be out for a week, so a taper would become meaningless. Of course, I believe each person is different and on the masters level, folks should do what they want. I do think, however, masters swimmers that want to do well in JUST the 50s and 100s should be mindful of the lesson we have learned from Torres - less is more. I will add that I have found swimming twice a day to be more taxing than doing a run workout and a swim workout in one day. Why this is, I don't know. Again, I go back to Dara - there must be a reason her coach had her doing just one swim workout and one dryland workout a day versus two swim workouts a day. Some folks aren't as talented as the (S)he-man. I do think though that if you just wanted to focus on the 50 free, and decided to go the low yardage route, you'd swim a low 23. On the other hand, with a multi-talented athlete like yourself, focusing on just a few short events could be boring.

Just felt I had to ask the question. My coach as of now does not allow me to do doubles as he thinks I'll get too worn down. Who wants to argue with that!? Even when I was training for the 25K OW I did not do doubles. Nor did I do any weights or dryland or other activity during the last LCM season. HOWEVER, that being said, when I did do doubles for a short time last SCY season, I later on during that season did drop significant time across the board in all distances and events. It was for a "short time" b/c frankly it just got ugly. I don't recommend them for most if any masters, but in moderation and on occasion, they can be good for a jump start. Everything seems pretty easy when you cut them out! lol. Well, I don't have the focus and dedication to hone in on a couple of events. And I refuse to lift heavy, so I'm afraid that 50 time will never reach low 23. But thanks! :) We should probably ask Dara that question. There's a reason she swam only once a day in training for 2000 and 2008 Olympics. Particularly in athletes over 30, recovery becomes an issue. If you are asking me, it has been a disaster for me to do double swim workouts since I was 16. Broke me down to a point that I was beyond the help of a taper. I'd get sick, injured, etc. and be out for a week, so a taper would become meaningless. Of course, I believe each person is different and on the masters level, folks should do what they want. I do think, however, masters swimmers that want to do well in JUST the 50s and 100s should be mindful of the lesson we have learned from Torres - less is more. I will add that I have found swimming twice a day to be more taxing than doing a run workout and a swim workout in one day. Why this is, I don't know. Again, I go back to Dara - there must be a reason her coach had her doing just one swim workout and one dryland workout a day versus two swim workouts a day. Some folks aren't as talented as the (S)he-man. I do think though that if you just wanted to focus on the 50 free, and decided to go the low yardage route, you'd swim a low 23. On the other hand, with a multi-talented athlete like yourself, focusing on just a few short events could be boring.