I am working on a masters swimming story for Men's Health, and my editor wants a basic introductory workout that guys who basically know how to swim but aren't swimmers to give the sport a try on their own.
Since there is such a huge variance in skill levels, etc., I didn't want to give times for sets, etc. but maybe come up with some basic rest intervals.
Anyhow, I am desperate for ideas here. If you have coached neophyte masters, or have been a neophyte master yourself and can recall an early practice that inspired you, please let me know as soon as possible what this is.
I was thinking of the following basic approach:
warm up
possible drill set
main set (probably 50s with 10-15 seconds rest)
kick set
cool down
The whole thing designed to last maybe a half hour or so. The idea is to let these guys try it on their own, in a way that they might actually like, then urge them to look into finding a team.
Thanks for your help!
I see more folks with heart rate monitors which they apply around chest immediately after climbing out. I think that's a safe gadget to mention.
"Men's Health or not": Well, it IS Men's Health, the mag is paying for a certain kind of article, and entire point of Men's Health, as far as I can see, is to score (possibly only in the imagination). This is not a textbook of swimming but a consumer article.
I have large faith that the author of the article will be able to mention toys, caution mildly against inappropriate use, and gently guide the reader into a nice, healthy, not too taxing lap swim, after which swimmer will be greeted by Geochuck's Yingfa models while looking rugged in his heart rate monitor.
:)
Hopefully, it won't be too be-sexed up! I am actually hoping it might even inspire some sedentary guys to give swimming a try. When it comes out, I will let all my forumite friends know.
As someone who came back to the pool having not swam in 15 or so years (and spending way too many years on the couch and in school), another important thing to point out is that some folks might not even be able to do a 50 free. A reminder that doing the distance (be it 12.5 free/37.5 ***) is what's important might be a good idea. (spoken as the guy who did 50s and spent 3 minutes between them gasping for air my first few times back in the pool:cane:).
Men's Health readers will definitely be into gadgets. So I'd definitely throw in the paddles. Might be a good time to talk about proper stretching to avoid shoulder injuries.
And with all the toys, comes the obligatory mesh toy bag.
Of course, I'll stick to my goggles and briefs (never jammers).
Best of luck, though. I'm always happy to see my pools full of new people interested in the sport even if they have too many toys and don't swim so well to start.
Before I swam with a masters team, I tended to do ladder sets quite a bit (all different combinations), and just some very very long swims...sometimes just 2000+ yards straight. It was quite a chore sometimes to just get out and swim, by myself, when it is cold and dark outside.
I'd like to see a push towards finding a team or someone to workout with somewhere. For some reason, just the words, "Masters swimming," conveys some sort of eliteness that simply doesn't exist. Even now when I tell people, they say something like, "You must be really fast," when I'm certainly not. When I finally did go to a masters workout, I was surprised how inclusive it was, and that I wasn't the slowest person there.
I agree. I will point out that lots of pools have kickboards and pull buoys you can use for free, and usually a pace clock, too. But if not, the Timex Ironman is a great idea.
Mens Health or not some gadgets are not suitable for neophytes. I think paddles is a bad idea. A new swimmer might like the power they feel and overuse them, leading to an injury. No snorkels either. Too finicky for many and a bit geeky.
I'd suggest a Timex Ironman watch for use in pools without a pace clock.
I think a main set that includes interval swimming is important. 50s are good, or even 25s. I'd suggest 10 secs rest for 25s, and 15-20 secs for 50s - but guide them to the effort they should use. I would say they should aim for a level of effort where the last few 50s take some real effort. Maybe comparable to the effort required to cycle up a hill or run a fast mile. 10 x 50s @ 1:30 will take 15 minutes to swim.
Mixed swimming and kicking is OK but I would not do something like 75 swim and 25 kick because they need kickboards at each end of the pool.
You know this is one of the things I think USMS does not do well. If you can't do a 3,000 yd/m workout, there really isn't anything for you.
I also vote against hand paddles and pull bouys. The hand paddles have the potential to mess up a newbie's shoulders because their technique will probably not be the best and the pull bouys will probably just throw off the newbie's balance because they may not have a good sense of it. I started with blue zoomers and love them.
What really helped my swimming was pull (without a bouy), kick (without a board... zoomers allowed on some sets, not on others), swim sets... but you can't really do thoses unless you have someone knowledgeable in technique watching you and telling you how to correct what you are doing wrong... so find someone willing to give YOU at least 30 minutes every week. (I paid 30/hr for one to one coaching once a week.)
Newbies also need to know how to read the pace clock.
Once a week he/she should do a swim for a time, and should be encouraged to keep a journal, or some other record of his/her times. Should also keep record of how many laps he/she can swim without stopping. As I saw my times drop and my distance increase it was very encouraging.
Lainey
We get to swim 400s one length at a time. We must crawl before we can stand up and walk. I swim 5 x 25 withh 30 second rest then a 2 min rest. Then repeat, first day back maybe once but as swimming days go by up 7 times in a work out. Many days pass before I get up to 5 minute steady swims.
If you want to talk equipment, novice readers might be intrigued that you can wear many heart rate monitors in the pool. The Polar model I had with a chest strap worked fine for me (YMMV, guys sometimes have trouble with these slipping); the wristwatch-only other brand style was pretty worthless. They are waterproof but not designed to take heartrate readings in the pool. And that stuff about not getting your heartrate "high enough" when swimming - that was never my experience. When they decide swimming's not their bag, they can still use the monitor for other sports.
A wristwatch is an excellent suggestion.
