Are days off sufficient recovery when swimming 3days/week?
Former Member
The club I swim with and help coach only swims three days a week. As I read the literature on daily and season planning the need for rest between high intensity workouts mostly deals with two workouts a day swimmers. If you have a day off between any two workouts does that give you enough recovery time such that you can you put in high intensity sets every workout?
Likewise in season planning you often see a few weeks of hard training and then a week of recovery training. Do three day a week swimmers actually need a recovery week or do they not get sufficiently broken down to need one?
On a slightly different topic, do people find it is more difficult to carry technique progress forward when only swimming every other day? Because I have a long drive to the pool I've been swimming longer workouts every other day and I'm getting rather frustrated with my lack of progress with butterfly. I improve through the course of a workout but then when I come back two days later I seem to be back at square one.
Parents
Former Member
If you have a day off between any two workouts does that give you enough recovery time such that you can you put in high intensity sets every workout?
Yes, just swimming, I feel like I can fully recover between practices practicing every other day.
Do three day a week swimmers actually need a recovery week or do they not get sufficiently broken down to need one?
I don't think Masters swimmers ever need a planned recovery week. Unless your team is very dedicated and all focused on the same target meets, it doesn't really make sense. People will need different amounts of recovery at different points in the season and that is easily dealt with by them adjusting their own efforts or moving down a lane or two.
On a slightly different topic, do people find it is more difficult to carry technique progress forward when only swimming every other day?
Technique changes are difficult, and I think your approach is a hard way to make them. Less time more frequently would be my preference. The less time is to prevent overtiring that leads to incorrect practice.
If you have a day off between any two workouts does that give you enough recovery time such that you can you put in high intensity sets every workout?
Yes, just swimming, I feel like I can fully recover between practices practicing every other day.
Do three day a week swimmers actually need a recovery week or do they not get sufficiently broken down to need one?
I don't think Masters swimmers ever need a planned recovery week. Unless your team is very dedicated and all focused on the same target meets, it doesn't really make sense. People will need different amounts of recovery at different points in the season and that is easily dealt with by them adjusting their own efforts or moving down a lane or two.
On a slightly different topic, do people find it is more difficult to carry technique progress forward when only swimming every other day?
Technique changes are difficult, and I think your approach is a hard way to make them. Less time more frequently would be my preference. The less time is to prevent overtiring that leads to incorrect practice.
