First a little bit about myself, I was a swimmer since I was 4 and started competitively when I turned 10, attended Junior Olympics (placed 4th 3 consecutive years in a row in Mid-Atlnatic) and Eastern Zones up until I reached high school at which point I swam competitively for my high school which was in the highest division in PA, did districts and eventually states in my sophomore year, practiced as you would expect of any top level swimming program, year round, 6 days a week, over 5 thousand yards a practice (don't remember exact numbers).
My dilemma now is that I have been out of the pool for about 3 years when I went off to university and did all the unhealthy things that a college student does. I am trying to get a beach lifeguarding job this summer and the tryouts are on June 11th (a week from today). I went to the pool today and could hardly get through a hundred at warm up pace without my arms just dogging out on me. My old coach whom I still keep in touch with told me that it was just because I have been out of the water for so long my muscles aren't used to that type of strenuous activity and that I should just keep swimming for the week to get back into it and I should be fine. The thing that was worrying me for the tryouts is that I have to do a 400 meter ocean swim in less then 10 minutes.
Any competitive swimmer will tell you that that is a joke, but as per today at the pool, I was struggling to average 45 seconds a fifty at warm up pace. Is it simply, as my coach said, that I've been out of the pool too long, or is it that I am genuinely THAT out of shape that this beach lifeguarding will be a long shot.
Thanks for your input.
I wouldn't worry about it, as long as you put in the time to get back in shape. If you've only been out 3 yrs and I'm guessing you're in your early 20s, you should be able to get in shape enough to pull it off in a couple of weeks, especially given your competitive background. I took 21yrs off after graduating high school, and was able to work up to 2000yds per session after about 6-8 workouts. This was from a starting point of 200yds of very winded freestyle, so I can relate. You'll find it'll come back pretty quickly. Good luck.
:banana:
If a 400M ocean swim under 10 min is needed, and you can maintain 45 sec 50s, then it should be a piece of cake.
Thanks for the quick reply! The problem is I'm not completely confident I can maintain a 45 second fifty for 400 meters in the ocean, I know how sad this sounds especially to me when a couple years ago I was doing 25 second fifties consistently. I guess I just want to get more confident and was wondering whether if I keep up in the pool I should be okay given my history with competitive swimming.
you CAN do it just swim easy each day
when you're doing the test
swim smooth relaxed and easy, use a 2 beat kick, breathe every 2
find someone who's gonna make it to draft off of if that's a possibility
wear a new racing suit, don't swim in board shorts
if you have long hair wear a cap
if you're really worried, clip or shave your arms legs chest and belly
here's some workouts to consider
11 Sat Test
warm up a little like 2 or 300 easy
then swim 400 in 10:00
10 Fri
1200 done
16 x 25 rest 15 sec on each wall
8 x 50 rest 30 sec
400 smooth and easy, pick up the pace in your last 100
go to bed early, don't party
09 Thu
1000 done
12 x 25 rest 5 sec after each one
6 x 50 rest 10 sec after each one
rest 3 to 5 min before doing
400 smooth relaxed & pretty
get a good nights sleep, don't party
08 Wed do 2 easy swimming work outs
900 done
12 x 25 rest 10 sec after each one
6 x 50 rest 20 sec after each one
rest 2 to 4 min before starting
300 smooth and relaxed
07 Tue do 2 easy swimming work outs
800 done
12 x 25 rest 10 sec after each one
6 x 50 rest 20 sec after each one
rest 2 to 4 min before
200 smooth and relaxed
06 Mon do 2 easy swimming work outs
12 x 25 rest 15 sec after each one
6 x 50 rest 30 sec after each one
100 smooth and relaxed
05 Sun do 2 easy swimming work outs
12 x 25 rest 20 sec after each one
6 x 50 rest 40 sec after each one
04 Sat do 2 easy swimming work outs
12 x 25 rest 30 sec after each one
6 x 50 rest 1:00 after each one
let us know how it went
ande
Thanks so much for this! I'm actually headed to the pool now. I will keep this thread updated.
Back in the 60's in SoCal the minimum requirement was 1000 meters in 20 minutes. New guys had to do it significantly faster to get the job. And we had to do it a couple times a month.
But that wasn't the biggest challenge. Staying awake was.
Back in the 60's in SoCal the minimum requirement was 1000 meters in 20 minutes. New guys had to do it significantly faster to get the job. And we had to do it a couple times a month.
But that wasn't the biggest challenge. Staying awake was.
That sounds hard! I still imagine though if I tried it while I was still in high school I would have passed easily. My 1650 in high school was about 17 minutes.
That sounds hard! I still imagine though if I tried it while I was still in high school I would have passed easily. My 1650 in high school was about 17 minutes.
That time, back when I first started lifeguarding, would have made you one of the world's best!
Good luck and I'm confident you'll do real well.
