Do you ever have crap workouts?

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Patrick W. Brundage — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 08:20:07 GMT

But even a crap workout is better than not getting in the pool.Yup. I'm now "locked down" and locked out of pools until the end of January (at least). I've decided that now's the time to finally make a concerted effort at that thing swimmers call "dryland" workouts. I did 10 pushups yesterday (and, yes, am sore today!):afraid:

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 17:02:01 GMT

My 10-mile benchmark swim last Wednesday was a complete crap. Probably due to a combination of undertraining, injury half a month before, nutrition problem and/or pacing mistake.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

mjtyson — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 04:58:32 GMT

Yes. But even a crap workout is better than not getting in the pool.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 12:14:46 GMT

My team coach has suggested I get the repair surgery and get started on the recovery phase since there are no meets in the foreseeable future. I hate to think of no swimming for months to see if it heals by itself only to find out I NEED AT THIS POINT TO NOW NEED SURGERY!! I also do not look forward to surgery at any time as something to walk into needlessly. I'm going thru something similar--I need a total knee replacement. It looks like the gyms may be closed soon and it would be a good time to get this done, but it's a surgery I am very squeamish about, especially the weeks after. Everyone says PT is rough.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

orca1946 — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 11:57:55 GMT

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 16:11:16 GMT

I have plenty of crap workouts. When I hit the water I never know what it will be - good one or not so good? I can't trace the good vs. bad workouts to anything, sleep, sickness, whatever, it feels very random. I have swam on zero sleep and swam really well so I've learned not to write off a workout just because of poor sleep. I've also learned not to write off a workout based on how I initially feel. Sometimes I will thaw out during the first few sets and end up swimming really well, and sometimes it just never happens. Either way, I get in some decent yardage, and get my chlorine soak in, so it's a win even if I have to will myself through every length. One reliable marker for me - every now and then I know in my first hundred that I feel great, and I will have one of my most fun, fast workouts. I wish I could bottle that and have that every day. Great post. Love that last sentence! Couldn't have said it better.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

67King — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 06:13:33 GMT

Okay, so a night of insomnia followed by an early morning fly workout is the very definition of "cral workout," and I could NOT slog through this one.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 13:40:54 GMT

When I used to run, some days were awesome, some were tough. Sometimes when I swim 4 days straight, I get better. Today I felt sloppy, no rhythm on freestyle, hips were tired. Ugghh. Does anyone else experience that? Do you plug on through or cut it short? I'm betting most get through the workout. I have plenty of crap workouts. When I hit the water I never know what it will be - good one or not so good? I can't trace the good vs. bad workouts to anything, sleep, sickness, whatever, it feels very random. I have swam on zero sleep and swam really well so I've learned not to write off a workout just because of poor sleep. I've also learned not to write off a workout based on how I initially feel. Sometimes I will thaw out during the first few sets and end up swimming really well, and sometimes it just never happens. Either way, I get in some decent yardage, and get my chlorine soak in, so it's a win even if I have to will myself through every length. One reliable marker for me - every now and then I know in my first hundred that I feel great, and I will have one of my most fun, fast workouts. I wish I could bottle that and have that every day.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 16:04:58 GMT

That's living dangerously! When are you getting the rotator cuff surgery, orca?

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

orca1946 — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 03:19:45 GMT

YEAH today! I need rotator cuff surgery and have been swimming this last month. Today I yelled under water when it hurt so much when I took a full stroke of fly!

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Celestial — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 07:26:26 GMT

I am fortunate to be allowed to swim 3-4 x week, one hour at a time. Three out of four workouts are crap. But a crappy workout in the pool beats a great day doing almost anything else, in my book! The older I get, the faster I used to be, and no one likes that!

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 10:56:21 GMT

My sense is this: If you are under 40, "overtraining" is kind of a joke. If you are over 60, overtraining will end your athletic career. From 40 to 60, it's a toss up.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

orca1946 — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 12:41:56 GMT

When I'm doing a team & coach workout I seem to do better at a good swim as opposed to me going to swim alone. When alone, I seem to take a lot more time between sets and work a lot less hard!

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 15:23:43 GMT

miklcct, when I resumed swimming after 4 months out of the pool, my best workouts were the first couple of weeks. I've been cramming 10 to 12 miles per week in the pool and my body is rebelling. :afraid:

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 14:53:11 GMT

I'm having crap workouts after resuming training last month. I jumped into the pool, warmed up, practised good technique, tried to keep it but I couldn't. After about 700 - 800 m of intervals I could no longer get my perfect form. I then climbed out.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 11:24:56 GMT

Those words....cramming.....rebelling...... Are you overtraining? Sure feels like it. I am making up for lost time, and stock piling my mileage in case our Gov. shuts everything down again.:bitching:

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 07:03:44 GMT

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 15:09:30 GMT

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Patrick W. Brundage — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 11:25:06 GMT

I sometimes wonder if my issues are mental in part. On days that I feel crappy (tired, not in the mood to treck to the cold pool on a cold day) I end up having awesome swims. Other times, when I feel excited to swim, I'm hugely disappointed in the workout. Not always, but often.I do understand this. In workouts, I tend to worry less about how I feel, but, when it comes to competition, I often have to remind myself that how I feel won't necessarily translate into how I perform.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

srcoyote — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 01:26:27 GMT

Yesterday, I had a bad workout. I could tell because I was needing an extra stroke per length, my arms felt like lead, and my per 100 pace was a full 5 seconds slower than it has been all week. Don't know why, but it was. Today's workout was much better.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 15:12:43 GMT

Hard to explain. Every body and every workout is different. But certainly feeling slow/lethargic in the water is an indicator. Feeling like I am swimming through soup. Sore shoulders is another indicator, but only if it is causing issues with my form. Often times my shoulders are "sore," but it doesn't actually mean much! I don't usually feel "sore" but rather "weak" or "lazy". Swimming through soup is a perfect description! I feel more like I'm swimming thru sand on my worst days. :D

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 15:11:15 GMT

pwb, for me, breaststroke is my best stroke and the one I've worked on the least. Go figure. It comes naturally for me. But, your description of a feeling of "dead weights" is right on for me. No traction is another great description.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Patrick W. Brundage — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 08:54:24 GMT

I am really feeling encouraged by these responses. Could I take this one step further and ask for an explanation of "not feeling it." For me, maybe it's heavy legs, sloppy or lazy rotation, etc. Do most of you elite swimmers just feel tired, or are there specific parts of the body or form that are not cooperating?Not feeling it usually means one of two extremes. The first would be feeling very weak, my arms like toothpicks where I feel like I get no traction in the water. I notice my stroke count being higher, times being slower and just this feeling like I can't find any energy. For me, this is almost always an indication that I haven't been sleeping enough, or I'm too stressed from 'mind woes' unrelated to swimming. The opposite end is when my arms feel like dead weights, my shoulders are sore and creaky and I just cannot generate any semblance of a fast stroke rate. In this scenario, my stroke count might be the same as on a better day, but because my stroke rate is lethargic, I am swimming slower. Usually, this doesn't bum me out as much because it's almost always an indication of training fatigue and a sign that I need to take a day off or take an easy day. As for my legs, I don't really kick except in breaststroke and breaststroke pretty much always feels like a s***show no matter how good I feel otherwise :afraid:... so I almost never notice my legs.

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Kurt Dickson — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 11:15:39 GMT

I kind of thought crap workouts (and subsequent crap meets) were the defining essence of masters swimming...every year slower until you pass away:)....but as Hot Rod once said, â€œLife is pain - we've got to scrape the joy from it every chance we get.â€

RE: Do you ever have crap workouts?

Former Member — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 10:50:53 GMT