Quest for the 200 fly

At the age of 54 I decided to start swimming again in January after a 35-year absence.  Even though I was in reasonably good shape my first workouts were about 500 SCY tops and my first few attempts at butterfly were hopeless.  Fast forward to now and I'm doing 2600 yards in about an hour 4 times a week and finish the workouts with 200 IMs before the cooldown.  I do some stroke work, mainly in the form of a set of 4x100 IMS and 16x25's at pace (4fly at 20 secs rest, 4 back, breast, and free at 10 secs rest). 

I feel strongest at the end of the workouts, which is a good thing I think, and plan to increase the total distance to 3100 SCY.  I eventually want to compete though at this point I'm not really interested in my times; those will take care of themselves if I train with proper effort and technique.  I'm excited about starting this all again and joining USMS too.  The feeling after a good, vigorous workout is amazing and in case anyone is wondering, given my age, I did consult with my doctor before starting all of this

I have an intermediate (long term perhaps?) goal of being able to complete a 200 fly without having a piano falling on my back! (I love that phrase that I learned while trolling thru this site the last few hours!)  When I first started several months ago, I didn't think this would be a possibility, ever, but I know better now and want to know if anyone has any training advice, suggestions or resources that they think might help?  

Parents
  • Welcome to the USMS Community, David!  When I returned to swimming in 2010, it was after a 31 year absence, so I can relate!  My previous swimming experience had only been on the high school swim team.

    Although fly is my slowest stroke, I love it-- especially the 200 or longer.  Here is my advice:

    1.  Check out YouTube for physical therapy exercises for the shoulder, and do them religiously.  I use a Theraband and do a combination of those exercises, other shoulder exercises, push-ups, and/or other body weight exercises six days per week.  It is very important to have not only strong shoulders, but also a strong upper back.

    2.  A good video:  Total Immersion's Better Fly For Every Body.

    I have a bunch more, but I have to head out the door.  Stay tuned...

Reply
  • Welcome to the USMS Community, David!  When I returned to swimming in 2010, it was after a 31 year absence, so I can relate!  My previous swimming experience had only been on the high school swim team.

    Although fly is my slowest stroke, I love it-- especially the 200 or longer.  Here is my advice:

    1.  Check out YouTube for physical therapy exercises for the shoulder, and do them religiously.  I use a Theraband and do a combination of those exercises, other shoulder exercises, push-ups, and/or other body weight exercises six days per week.  It is very important to have not only strong shoulders, but also a strong upper back.

    2.  A good video:  Total Immersion's Better Fly For Every Body.

    I have a bunch more, but I have to head out the door.  Stay tuned...

Children
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