I'm new to US Masters Swimming and am a fitness swimmer trying to get faster and build endurance. Anyone who's ever swam (swum?) in a meet should stop reading right now. Because my fastest 50 is about 53 seconds and it takes me about an hour to swim an 1,800. I'm 53 years old, working hard on technique (I have a friend who's a swim coach, and am using Emmett Hine's book "Fitness Swimming", plus a training snorkel at times. I can't wear fins because my feet cramp.). I do some 50s on 1:15 with the pace clock almost every time I swim now and seem to be a little faster. Learning a lot and it feels great. Will begin strength-training this week, too.
So, do you have any advice for a fitness swimmer--what helps with speed?
thanks!!!
Sari
Parents
Former Member
Hi NotSoFast,
This is great advice for swimmers like me (and you) who weren't on the high school swim team but love the water now. I have been doing sprints almost every time I swim, am finding that my feet cramp up...maybe once a week IS a better plan. Am starting to get the feel for keeping a "tight line" in the water...maybe I'm doing too much at once, I'm also trying to rotate side to side (a la Emmett Hines' advice), kick from the hips, breathe right, and reform my stroke. luckily I enjoy working on technique or this would make me insane. my feet seem to be getting tangled up, though, as I rotate my hips. And my left leg doesn't seem to actually have much of a kick.
I DO have some time with a swim coach, my pool tried to start a master's program but its only me, so we work together once or twice a week. I'm also finding I need more recovery time out of the pool than I did when I was swimming laps in my 20s, which is very frustrating but that's life. So its great to connect with others who are in a similar place. Inspiring that you're down to a 1:20 100--blast down the pool!!!
Hi NotSoFast,
This is great advice for swimmers like me (and you) who weren't on the high school swim team but love the water now. I have been doing sprints almost every time I swim, am finding that my feet cramp up...maybe once a week IS a better plan. Am starting to get the feel for keeping a "tight line" in the water...maybe I'm doing too much at once, I'm also trying to rotate side to side (a la Emmett Hines' advice), kick from the hips, breathe right, and reform my stroke. luckily I enjoy working on technique or this would make me insane. my feet seem to be getting tangled up, though, as I rotate my hips. And my left leg doesn't seem to actually have much of a kick.
I DO have some time with a swim coach, my pool tried to start a master's program but its only me, so we work together once or twice a week. I'm also finding I need more recovery time out of the pool than I did when I was swimming laps in my 20s, which is very frustrating but that's life. So its great to connect with others who are in a similar place. Inspiring that you're down to a 1:20 100--blast down the pool!!!
