What are your swim workout basics?

I've never made a study of this but most workouts I've ever followed do exactly the opposite. I like doing drills early-ish in the workout to iron out any kinks in the stroke then spend the rest of the workout focusing on the points the drill emphasized. BUT I don't normally work drills like crazy so muscle fatigue isn't really an issue. I'm interested to hear what the forum has to say on this

I do drills mostly in warm up to help with feel for the water.One thing I do that is different from most coached workouts is that if I am going to do a sprint set I do it as my first set(after a really good warm up.)I want to be at my most fresh mentally and physically to work on sprints.I have never understood why most Masters coaches do sprints last(if at all.)That seems more likely to train you to swim sloppy.

Sharps - Especially since you are just returning... at a minimum, 40% kick sets.

I think it depends on the drill. Some drills can be very tiresome. For example, breaststroke pull with flutter kick. I use this drill in main sets sometimes because it is so hard. If it is an easier drill I usually save it till the near end of practice and then swim perfect form for a cool down.

Sharps - Especially since you are just returning... at a minimum, 40% kick sets. Thanks for the tip. I've heard some college coaches say at least 25%. I'm working my way up. Currently limited by my "cramp threshold". :) But it's much better than it was when I started out, although adding butterfly to my workout has lowered it a bit again.

One thing I do that is different from most coached workouts is that if I am going to do a sprint set I do it as my first set (after a really good warm up). I want to be at my most fresh mentally and physically to work on sprints. I have never understood why most Masters coaches do sprints last (if at all). That seems more likely to train you to swim sloppy. That would be my instinct, as well. Will be interesting to hear others' opinions. At the moment I'm not doing sprint sets, but will add them in the fall, perhaps earlier.

I train/coach myself. Generally my workouts go something like this: 1. Warmup- which usually includes swim, kick, pull, and drills 2. Build set- get the juices flowing 3. Main Set then could be any of the following: -Moderate to easy pull set -Breath control set -Short sprint set (like 25's or 50's) -Warmdown (usually always a 200) I really don't do alot of drills. I usually use them more for "active rest" or just to add some yardage. I probably need to concentrate more on it, but I prefer to use my time on conditioning.

My workouts are patterned a lot like Lump's: warmup, build up set, main set, then could be drills/kick/pull/breath control, then warm down. I always do the same basic warm up. That helps me gauge straight off how I am feeling. Also, it is so familiar that it is a confidence-booster. Even if I get in the water feeling blah, by the time I finish my warmup I always feel ready for the rest of the workout--because it's a habit. Sometimes I add a couple extra hundreds to the warmup if I'm feeling rusty. Although I do a little kicking at warmup, I save all major kicking for the latter part of the workout. I didn't used to, and DANG I always had cramping then. Cramping issue is MUCH better now that I kick near the end.

1. warm up: I do the same warm-up every single time: 2 lengths super easy free style with open turns, 1 length back, 3 lengths free with flip turns increasing to cruise speed by the last length. 2. Kick set about 300 yards on the 2 out of 3 days my knee feels up to it. This is something I am trying to overcome fround zero just a few months ago. If I was going to do drills I would do them here because I wouldn't want to be fatigued. It seems you might even find something to emphasize for the main set? But I don't do drills because I don't know how to do them. 3. Main set: usually about 1500 yards, some kind of endurance set like 100s that incorporates some descending. 4. Some short sprints if I am not too burned out. Might do a 50 fly if nothing else. 5. cool down 100 yards ...Don't follow this kind of routine because I don't know what I am doing. But I thought I would post it anyway to show where I am at in case anyone cares to comment. A question that has been nagging me is: what kind of sets do you do before a sprint set? I am trying to incorporate more sprinting, maybe 1 out of 4 times doing a set like 10 x 50 or 5 x 100 all out. But I'm too tired to do it if I do a full endurance set first. Should I swim a set of like 4x200s at moderate effort first? I always feel like it is a waste of time swimming at low efforts or trying to build any endurance with such minimal yardage. I'm fascinated by the anatomy of the workouts. I swim 3 times a week and want to make the most of them. I feel on one hand like I am not in near the shape on want to be in, so I'm not even sure that decreasing rest intervals and pileing up the yardage isn't the way to go. Yet I've decreased my 100 interval from 2:15 to 1:45 in about a year but still stuck swimming them in about 1:30, while my 100 time has improved only 5 seconds to 1:03. I agree with the prior post about sprinting one day/week max and additionally I don't start sprints until 15 weeks before my taper meet.You want your muscles and tendons to be acclimated to the stress first.If you are going to do a sprint workout do it for the main set when you are fresh.This is my favorite sprint set-15X100 on the 2:30 ,sprint the first 25(get your time) then swim the next 75 for recovery.Have your goal time for the 25 in mind and if you aren't making it,give yourself more recovery time.During the 75s think about your stroke and how to make the next 25 faster.I am doing mostly BR sprints and free recovery and each 25 I'll try to focus on one thing-head position,keeping my elbows in front of my shoulders,etc.

1. warm up: I do the same warm-up every single time: 2 lengths super easy free style with open turns, 1 length back, 3 lengths free with flip turns increasing to cruise speed by the last length. 2. Kick set about 300 yards on the 2 out of 3 days my knee feels up to it. This is something I am trying to overcome fround zero just a few months ago. If I was going to do drills I would do them here because I wouldn't want to be fatigued. It seems you might even find something to emphasize for the main set? But I don't do drills because I don't know how to do them. 3. Main set: usually about 1500 yards, some kind of endurance set like 100s that incorporates some descending. 4. Some short sprints if I am not too burned out. Might do a 50 fly if nothing else. 5. cool down 100 yards ...Don't follow this kind of routine because I don't know what I am doing. But I thought I would post it anyway to show where I am at in case anyone cares to comment. A question that has been nagging me is: what kind of sets do you do before a sprint set? I am trying to incorporate more sprinting, maybe 1 out of 4 times doing a set like 10 x 50 or 5 x 100 all out. But I'm too tired to do it if I do a full endurance set first. Should I swim a set of like 4x200s at moderate effort first? I always feel like it is a waste of time swimming at low efforts or trying to build any endurance with such minimal yardage. I'm fascinated by the anatomy of the workouts. I swim 3 times a week and want to make the most of them. I feel on one hand like I am not in near the shape on want to be in, so I'm not even sure that decreasing rest intervals and pileing up the yardage isn't the way to go. Yet I've decreased my 100 interval from 2:15 to 1:45 in about a year but still stuck swimming them in about 1:30, while my 100 time has improved only 5 seconds to 1:03.