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.
Yes, far more often than I'd like due to my schedule. I slog through it. Lately, all of mine have been complete crap, though, as I'm trying to get back into "pool" shape from having been doing so much open water over teh Summer. I will say that if I feel my stroke going to crap, I'll drop it and go to easy free to finish teh lap. Then adjust rest intervals or whatever as necessary. But I don't really cut a workout short.
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.
All of us do. I think the best thing to do is to do something you don't usually do. Sometimes we live and die in tenths when we swim the same thing over and over. If its just a bad day sometimes you should just take a hot shower and come back the next day refreshed.
I cannot count how man times I have jumped into the pool, swam a 400m warmup, then climbed out.
A big key is ability to adapt your workout to how you feel. I usually come in to a practice knowing what I want to focus on that day (endurance/aerobic capacity, I.M., VO2 max, lactate production, etc.) and then have a few "main sets" to choose from: my "goal" set (the one I most want to do), a scaled back set if I am not feeling it or if some outside force like time or weather interfere, and a "today is not my day" set. The last is usually some drilling/smooth kicking/turn work. When I swim the first 400 and I am like, "wow I feel like dogsh*t today," I tell myself there is always something I can work on to get better in the pool. Sometimes that "something" is just 20x50 "Progressive Freestyle" (see blog if you want to know), or 8-12x125 kicking with fins with underwater work mixed in.
However, if I plan a dive set for a particular day and I get in and feel crappy, I push through that for the mental strengthening. I don't ever deviate from a pure lactate set :)
I cannot count how man times I have jumped into the pool, swam a 400m warmup, then climbed out.
Wow, this is very enlightening. Maybe I should emulate that practice! :bed:
I would say that I feel crappy on the vast majority of my workouts. But, that's fine because it's part of the process. On the flip side, I feel great at the vast majority of my competitions.
When I was younger and particularly in university, I was a great workout swimmer ... but struggled to translate that same greatness when it came to competition.
Now, as a Masters swimmer, I'd say I'm an OK workout swimmer, but a GREAT competition swimmer. I like it better this way.
But, renie, back to your exchange with Calvin, I do a blend on the same and different. I almost always do pretty much the same warmup:
1 x 400: IM kick drill
4 x 100: free descend
4 x 100: IM kick descend
6 x 50: #1 and #6 easy, #2 to #5 IM order fast
By doing this same warmup every day, I get some early indicators as to how I feel, where my body is and what my body needs. Like Calvin, I come into the pool each day with a main set or two, but, if my warmup "feel" or performance indicates I should be doing something else, I'll switch it up.
Also, I really like to idea of doing 1-2 test sets each week, as this is another way to judge my progress in training, but also helps me to calibrate my training plan.
Yeah pwb, I can't do the same warm-up every day, but whatever I do it always starts with 400-500 swim every 4th 25 head-up scull (or head down if I decide to use a snorkel). Then I mix in a bunch of stuff, I have probably 8-10 different small sub sets I can mix and match after the 400, sometimes doing the whole cycle twice. I definitely like dynamic warm-ups with a mix of kicking/drilling/toys/build or elevated HR stuff to get the blood flowing. However I do try to do almost the exact same warm-up any time I am doing a quality set (so my "Lactic Hold," "VO2 Max," or "Lactate Production/Off the Blocks"). And during taper, like when I really get into taper, then I do the same warm-up every day, and it is a carbon copy of my meet warm-up.
Yeah pwb, I can't do the same warm-up every day...Well, to be fair, I do have a 1K version of this, a 1250 version and a 1750 version.
Now, when I am swimming with a team, whether my own Masters team or when visiting, I do whatever the coach says ... but I actually quite like the consistency of my 'standard warmup.' It allows me to just get in the water and get going.
Wow, this is very enlightening. Maybe I should emulate that practice! :bed:
Maybe that was sarcasm, and maybe I deserve it.
To be clear, this happens perhaps 6x per year. I read Calvin's response, and I thank him for it. But I do believe that there are times when we schedule sessions that are best left abandoned. At least the 400m warmup is a warmup for the next session.
Yeah pwb, I can't do the same warm-up every day, but whatever I do it always starts with 400-500 swim..............
If I'm solo swimming, probably 80-90% of them are 400 swim, 200 kick, 400 pull. Shrug
