I ask this because I did a 500 and then 5x50s warm up for a meet this past weekend. When I swam the 500, I was cruising but was literally dead after about 6 laps. I go much faster in practice sets when we do distance and it was frustrating to say the least.
I recall that I did a 1,500 warmup in my youth and had a good meet. I also know that in workout I am usually at my strongest after we do about 1,500-2,000.
So, I am tired of being a workout warrior. Does 1,500 of warm up sound crazy?
Thanks,
Rob
Reading Dave Salo's new book on swimming conditioning, he recommends doing the same warmup (or near to it) every day in both workouts and meets. He's got a recommended warmup, but it looks a little excessive for us Masters' swimmers.
I still do different warmup sets in workouts, but here's what I've been doing recently in meets and it seems to work for me regardless of what distance I swim (though, it should be noted, I tend to prefer mid-distance events and am almost always doing a mixture of stroke events, IMs and free):
200 free really easy & loose
400 IM kick / drill by 25s
8 x 50: 2 each stroke on roughly 0:45 to 1:00 (depending upon how crowded the pool is) going odds easy and evens fast
4 x 100: free descend on 1:30
starting fairly moderate and trying to get to the pace time on the last one for whatever freestyle event I'm swimming over 200
if I'm not doing a longer distance free event, I aim for my target 500 pace
2 - 4 25s from the blocks: working start and break out to about 15 yards for whatever strokes I'm swimming from a start
50 to 100 easy
TOTAL: 1500 to 1600
I also realized this past fall that, while I like cooling down after a race, I generally feel best when I dive in the water "dry" for a race. Rather than getting back in the warmup pool before a race, I do some dynamic stretching on deck a few heats before my race; this seems to re-warm my muscles up enough.
Reading Dave Salo's new book on swimming conditioning, he recommends doing the same warmup (or near to it) every day in both workouts and meets. He's got a recommended warmup, but it looks a little excessive for us Masters' swimmers.
I still do different warmup sets in workouts, but here's what I've been doing recently in meets and it seems to work for me regardless of what distance I swim (though, it should be noted, I tend to prefer mid-distance events and am almost always doing a mixture of stroke events, IMs and free):
200 free really easy & loose
400 IM kick / drill by 25s
8 x 50: 2 each stroke on roughly 0:45 to 1:00 (depending upon how crowded the pool is) going odds easy and evens fast
4 x 100: free descend on 1:30
starting fairly moderate and trying to get to the pace time on the last one for whatever freestyle event I'm swimming over 200
if I'm not doing a longer distance free event, I aim for my target 500 pace
2 - 4 25s from the blocks: working start and break out to about 15 yards for whatever strokes I'm swimming from a start
50 to 100 easy
TOTAL: 1500 to 1600
I also realized this past fall that, while I like cooling down after a race, I generally feel best when I dive in the water "dry" for a race. Rather than getting back in the warmup pool before a race, I do some dynamic stretching on deck a few heats before my race; this seems to re-warm my muscles up enough.
