At what volume levels do you see improvement?

Thank you qbrain!! You always have the answers I need. I work out alone, and am a dedicated clock watcher, so I have both options available to me. During January/Feb I was doing the second one, and things were going very well, but lately I just can't hold anything faster, can't GET there at 1:14. So I guess I need to try option #1. Hey Suzy, Alternating between the two methods is a good strategy for breaking through plateaus.

Since you are a triathlete, volume actually does matter to you. My 50 free has been steadily improving since I started swimming again. I think I am technically a better swimmer than I was 2 years ago. On the other hand, I would say my 200 free was probably better a year ago than it is now. A year ago, I trained 5 days a week, 4-5k yards a day, mixed stroke in about 75 minutes. My conditioning was much better than it is now. For the last year I have been training 3x/week at 3k mostly free, 1x/week at 2k sprint free and 1x/week 4-5k aerobic free. My recommendation to you is to try to increase your time in the water to between 60 and 75 minutes 3x a week. Even though you are a triathlete first, I think you should train mixed stroke and kick without fins on the shorter kick sets. Do IM sets but substitute one armed drill for the fly. Breaststroke and backstroke are both valuable tools during an open water swim and a strong 200 yard kick will get you up and out of the water with your legs pumped full of blood ready for your transition. In addition, training mixed stroke will make it easier to keep your heart rate up the entire practice, since you are mainly concerned with the aerobic side of swimming, while providing you with variety and a break from the shoulder stress that can come from all free. On the freestyle sets, really work to keep your rest short and keep dropping the interval you train on. Track your performance on your free sets and try to improve week over week. I think over time this will allow you to add yardage and get to 4k/75 minute workouts, which should give you a good base for your swim leg, and then you can start discuss more specific strategies to get faster. That seems like sound advice - I've been doing just that = 4 - 4.5k per workout. And trying to squeeze in a 4th shorter swim for frequency.

Well, that depends..... - - - - - 12-15k done in 3-4 workouts is a decent volume for a triathlete. Unless you have solid reasons, it may become counter productive to try to go over it. But how old are you? And what are your goals? How are you performing on bike/run? can you really afford volumes in excess of 60 miles per week? As a comparison, for a triathlete that is holding 4:30/kilo as an easy mileage pace and 20min per kilo in the pool, 60 miles equals roughly little over 20k per week in the pool. That is little less than 7hr engaged per week per sport. That is excluding the bike. That said, 20min per kilo is little slow. A triathlete that can afford to run 60miles per week will hopefully swim faster than 3kph. Assuming a velocity of 4kph in average, you're up to around 27k per week of swimming. You don't need to visit this sort of mileage unless you want to race as an elite. If it's the case then you may need to even go over this in order to exit with the front pack to be able to stay with these guys on the bike. I have a client in this situation. He'll be busting 30k per week this year, in order to get closer to 19min flat over 1500, which is what it takes to compete with the front pack. Currently - I'm IM training. Although I am only doing one this year. Other races will be mostly OLY and a few Sprints. My current goal volume = 15k pool, 170 Bike, 45 - 50 run. When my tri season is over I'll switch to run and increase my run volume. So, I'm not doing 60 now but will do well over 60 miles a week (running) come late in the years. (I'm 37)

Currently - I'm IM training. Although I am only doing one this year. Other races will be mostly OLY and a few Sprints. My current goal volume = 15k pool, 170 Bike, 45 - 50 run. When my tri season is over I'll switch to run and increase my run volume. So, I'm not doing 60 now but will do well over 60 miles a week (running) come late in the years. (I'm 37) It's a great schedule. I'm not sure if your 170 / 45-50 are in miles or kilo. I'll assume it's all kilos. If your run mileage is done in only 3 workouts, try to gradually build your longish run up to at least 40% of your overall mileage. Could be more. Don't go under this running volume, unless you're a very competent marathon runner. Bike is little low but probably enough. Given that you commit to a long ride of about 80-90k, that leaves you with only 60-70 more k spread across what.... 2 rides? In the pool, 15k per week is a nice peak. You certainly don't need to go over this if you train smartly. If you train in the pool like you'd train whilst running, even 50k per week won't change anything. By working with a highly competent swim coach, you could progress a lot with only 10-12k per week, leaving you with spare time to boost your bike volume up to 200k. Enjoy!

I think it is not how much you are doing, but what you are doing. Even with the amount of yardage you are doing now, you could see improvement if you are doing the right things. I've seen folks who do triathlons make big improvements on 3x a week at 3,000 yards per workout. With the running and biking that you are doing, I'm guessing that you have somewhat limited time on how much you can get in the water. It is helpful to locate a coach that can eyeball your stroke and write up some workouts for you. Your workouts should contain drills and interval work. IMHO, I don't think you need to do more than 12,000 yards a week if you are doing intense training outside of the pool. I will say, however, that added volume in the pool does seem to enable one to recover faster from the swim on the tri and thus, allows one to have a good bike split. Still, I think increasing from 8,000 to 12,000 and doing the right things in your swim workouts should be enough to enable you to see the improvements you are looking for.

It's a great schedule. I'm not sure if your 170 / 45-50 are in miles or kilo. I'll assume it's all kilos. If your run mileage is done in only 3 workouts, try to gradually build your longish run up to at least 40% of your overall mileage. Could be more. Don't go under this running volume, unless you're a very competent marathon runner. Bike is little low but probably enough. Given that you commit to a long ride of about 80-90k, that leaves you with only 60-70 more k spread across what.... 2 rides? In the pool, 15k per week is a nice peak. You certainly don't need to go over this if you train smartly. If you train in the pool like you'd train whilst running, even 50k per week won't change anything. By working with a highly competent swim coach, you could progress a lot with only 10-12k per week, leaving you with spare time to boost your bike volume up to 200k. Enjoy! Hehe - everything in miles. I am swimming 4x, run 5x, bike 4x. I'm busy! I have yet to take my first lesson with the new coach although I'm excited to do so.

Be overprepared, not underprepared. Can't this type of thinking also lead to overtraining so that you never get there or never come close to achieving your goal? My observations have come from having watched two IM triathletes with no prior competive swimming background. One did 10,000 to 12,000 yards in 3 workouts a week. He is doing a 10 hour, 40 minute IM which is not bad for a 49 year old. The other was a Kona qualifyer who did quite well on 3 workouts of 3500 yards each. Seems like the best thing to do in your situation is to get with an IM coach who can evaluate your skills, and then taking into account your life situation, make suggestions to you on how much training you should be doing in each area. I know of such a coach who has had tremendous succes in training IM triathletes. If you would like his contact info, feel free to PM me. He has a competitive swimming background.

I think it is not how much you are doing, but what you are doing. Even with the amount of yardage you are doing now, you could see improvement if you are doing the right things. I've seen folks who do triathlons make big improvements on 3x a week at 3,000 yards per workout. Agreed. But with one BIG exception - depends on what your goals are. I could go into an ironman swim without swimming at all. I could go into an ironman without training at all. But would you reach your goals? Be overprepared, not underprepared.

Another thing to consider, in addition to total volume, is the length of the main sets you are doing. I think you will see marked improvement in aerobic distances if you do lots of long sets (maybe 30-45 minutes) that emphasis swimming at a strong aerobic pace with not much rest between repeats. Just doing sets like 10x100 isn't going to do this for you, but a 3,000 yard set will.

From personal experience, for open water I like having a strong breaststroke. It can be handy if you start cramping or going numb. It is also useful for sighting. And I also find a strong *** kick handy when someone gets too close (those persistant folks who follow me and swim at/poke at me). Learn to sight using free. People who sight using *** will get clobbered, in addition to bringing your swimming speed to a dead stop.