Hi, I just joined USMS last month. I swim for fitness, and I have been doing this for a long time. I am working on lowering my time in the 500 free because I would like to swim in meets someday. I train on my own almost exclusively, except for an occasional workout with a masters team. I have 2-3 hours a week to practice except during the summer months when I have a lot more time to train due to having summers off from my job as a teacher. My current time in the 500 free is 8:40. My goals are to bring this time down to under 8 minutes by the end of the year and to under 7 minutes by the end of next year. I am 6'1" and weigh 193 lbs. Any suggestions that will help me reach my goals are appreciated!
Lately I've been swimming long distances, hiit sets, and speed sets. My last set was 5200 LCM meters, all freestyle, in 2 hrs without stopping. The hiit sets are 2 min all out, 1 min easy, repeat 8 times. My last speed set was 10x50 SCY on 51.5. On the speed sets I use a Finis Tempo Trainer Pro timer, and I've been trying to gradually lower my 500 free time by decreasing the time for each length by a quarter of a second, or 5 seconds per 500 yards.
Lately I've been swimming long distances, hiit sets, and speed sets. My last set was 5200 LCM meters, all freestyle, in 2 hrs without stopping. The hiit sets are 2 min all out, 1 min easy, repeat 8 times. My last speed set was 10x50 SCY on 51.5. On the speed sets I use a Finis Tempo Trainer Pro timer, and I've been trying to gradually lower my 500 free time by decreasing the time for each length by a quarter of a second, or 5 seconds per 500 yards.
