Speed and endurance-question about practice pattens
Former Member
I have a question about practicing for speed and endurance. Consider two practice patterns:
a. You focus on improving speed in 25m swims; i.e. you don't swim consecutive laps, but pause for seconds/minutes after each length. After some months you will have increased your speed for very short distance (25m), but you don't know your speed for longer distance.
b. You focus on endurance by swimming non-stop for as long as you can, without regard to speed. So after some months, you will be able to swim some 1000s, in moderate or low speed.
What I am interested to know is, which practice pattern will likely help achieve the other practice goal more? In other words, will (a) help improve endurance more, or will (b) help improve speed more?
Parents
Former Member
Thanks for the comments. There is no doubt that for speed, you should train for speed, and for endurance, you should train for endurance. Please read my question carefully :).
Another way to ask my question is: if you can only do ONE of (a) and (b), which one would you choose, for as much improvment as you can get?
Alternatively, which practice pattern (if you can only stick to one) will give you more in making progress in swimming?
My own answer: I personally tend to choose (a), because I think in the process of improving speed you will have increased endurance, too, even though your new endurance capacity has not been tested by actual long distance swimming (suppose some day you suddenly need to swim long distance, you may be surprised to find that you can swim much longer than months ago). On the other hand, simply swimming long distance is not going to improve your speed much.
(I know my question sounds a little odd, so please bear with me :))
Thanks for the comments. There is no doubt that for speed, you should train for speed, and for endurance, you should train for endurance. Please read my question carefully :).
Another way to ask my question is: if you can only do ONE of (a) and (b), which one would you choose, for as much improvment as you can get?
Alternatively, which practice pattern (if you can only stick to one) will give you more in making progress in swimming?
My own answer: I personally tend to choose (a), because I think in the process of improving speed you will have increased endurance, too, even though your new endurance capacity has not been tested by actual long distance swimming (suppose some day you suddenly need to swim long distance, you may be surprised to find that you can swim much longer than months ago). On the other hand, simply swimming long distance is not going to improve your speed much.
(I know my question sounds a little odd, so please bear with me :))
