Hi everyone,
I'm looking for ideas for near/medium/long term goals to set for myself.
I'm 28 and got back into swimming about 5 months ago. Previously I swam for a club team when I was 12. I swim by myself and get in to the pool 4x a week and run 2-3x a week (on off days). A typical workout for me is 3x500 freestyle and then a couple hundred in kicking.
I would like to get a lot faster and swim a lot farther. Swimming as fast as I can, I manage a 34 second 50. I swim a 500 in ~11 min. I can breathe bilaterally and do flip turns in my freestyle sets (it took me a few months to get those into my workouts because I didn't have the cardiovascular system to handle both for a long time).
What are some milestones that you've set for yourself? What skills/times should a beginner be able to accomplish? How about an intermediate swimmer?
Thanks,
Nick
Hi everyone ... I'm looking for ideas for near/medium/long term goals to set for myself ... I swim a 500 in ~11 min ... What are some milestones that you've set for yourself? What skills/times should a beginner be able to accomplish? How about an intermediate swimmer?
Near. When I first started swimming again, after 33 years out of the pool, one of my first goals was to swim a 1650 without stopping. Why? ... just because. It took a couple of months to get there, but I did. For you a 1650 would take a little over 30 minutes. If you can swim 30 minutes without stopping, you are in pretty good shape!
Another goal might be stroke efficiency, or its close surrogate, stroke count. How many strokes do you take per length? Count the number of times your right hand enters the water and multiply by 2. If it's more than about 18 (some might say fewer, some might say more), then work on improving your body position and lengthening your stroke. With better efficiency, you can swim farther, easier, and faster.
Medium. For me, the idea of entering a meet was a big motivator. Consider joining USMS, and finding a meet, maybe six months out. Maybe you want to show off your excellent endurance by swimming a 500 free. Or maybe you just want to get your feet wet and swim a 50. I like meets. They are loads of fun and keep me out of trouble!
Don't worry about times. No matter what your times are, the goals are to get fitter and healthier and more skillful. Staying in the water will do that. Getting discouraged over clock times & quitting won't. Don't worry too much about faster -- faster will take care of itself!
Long. Stay fit & healthy! Keep it fun! There are lots of skills to develop and mountains to climb. Maybe you'd like to swim ALL freestyle distances in competition at least once. Maybe you'd like to learn backstroke too! Last year I set a goal to swim a 400 IM in competition and it's turned into one of my better events. This year I resolved to swim a 200 fly, which I did, finishing legally and with my dignity largely intact. Mission accomplished! I did not worry about the time.
It is fun to go to the same meet one year and then again the next year, and either try to go faster, or swim more difficult events. Sooner or later USMS nationals will come to your area and you'll get to see & meet some really great swimmers.
Hope that helps!
Hi everyone ... I'm looking for ideas for near/medium/long term goals to set for myself ... I swim a 500 in ~11 min ... What are some milestones that you've set for yourself? What skills/times should a beginner be able to accomplish? How about an intermediate swimmer?
Near. When I first started swimming again, after 33 years out of the pool, one of my first goals was to swim a 1650 without stopping. Why? ... just because. It took a couple of months to get there, but I did. For you a 1650 would take a little over 30 minutes. If you can swim 30 minutes without stopping, you are in pretty good shape!
Another goal might be stroke efficiency, or its close surrogate, stroke count. How many strokes do you take per length? Count the number of times your right hand enters the water and multiply by 2. If it's more than about 18 (some might say fewer, some might say more), then work on improving your body position and lengthening your stroke. With better efficiency, you can swim farther, easier, and faster.
Medium. For me, the idea of entering a meet was a big motivator. Consider joining USMS, and finding a meet, maybe six months out. Maybe you want to show off your excellent endurance by swimming a 500 free. Or maybe you just want to get your feet wet and swim a 50. I like meets. They are loads of fun and keep me out of trouble!
Don't worry about times. No matter what your times are, the goals are to get fitter and healthier and more skillful. Staying in the water will do that. Getting discouraged over clock times & quitting won't. Don't worry too much about faster -- faster will take care of itself!
Long. Stay fit & healthy! Keep it fun! There are lots of skills to develop and mountains to climb. Maybe you'd like to swim ALL freestyle distances in competition at least once. Maybe you'd like to learn backstroke too! Last year I set a goal to swim a 400 IM in competition and it's turned into one of my better events. This year I resolved to swim a 200 fly, which I did, finishing legally and with my dignity largely intact. Mission accomplished! I did not worry about the time.
It is fun to go to the same meet one year and then again the next year, and either try to go faster, or swim more difficult events. Sooner or later USMS nationals will come to your area and you'll get to see & meet some really great swimmers.
Hope that helps!
