I'm relatively new to swimming and I'm facing a dilema: as bike racing season begins I need to cut back on my swimming, but I don't want to lose all progress I've made over the winter.
I'm not worried about losing fitness so much as technique. For that matter, I don't want to tire myself enough to hinder other training. So what would be my best bet for just three hours a week or so of swimming? Slow short sets and drills?
Any ideas would be a help. Thanks.
Parents
Former Member
Good question. You'll get plenty of cardiovascular work on the bike. You'll want to maintain your swim muscle endurance, technique and speed; but not trash yourself for your bike workouts.
I'd include some easy kicking to recover tired legs; and some drills that will work on your abs/back (eg: dolphin kicks on back w/ fins). I also recommend some butterfly to keep your upperbody strength. Make sure you stretch after you get warmed up even if it means less time for swimming.
My HS coach said to maintain off-season basic fitness a solid 1000yd swim done 3 times a week will suffice. But that assumed that we weren't doing anything else for exercise.
Another thought is that if you have some major stroke flaws, this is the time to address them. Like learning how to breathe on both sides, increasing distance per stroke, working on streamlines coming off the pool walls.
Good question. You'll get plenty of cardiovascular work on the bike. You'll want to maintain your swim muscle endurance, technique and speed; but not trash yourself for your bike workouts.
I'd include some easy kicking to recover tired legs; and some drills that will work on your abs/back (eg: dolphin kicks on back w/ fins). I also recommend some butterfly to keep your upperbody strength. Make sure you stretch after you get warmed up even if it means less time for swimming.
My HS coach said to maintain off-season basic fitness a solid 1000yd swim done 3 times a week will suffice. But that assumed that we weren't doing anything else for exercise.
Another thought is that if you have some major stroke flaws, this is the time to address them. Like learning how to breathe on both sides, increasing distance per stroke, working on streamlines coming off the pool walls.
