I'm an au-pair in Germany, and the daily afternoon cake-and-coffee is starting to hit... I love swimming, and did a few seasons during high school. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue at my university (Div-III), when I start college next semester.
What I need, however, is to first get back into swimming shape. There's a lovely little 8-lane, 25-m pool about 5 minutes away. Facilities are not a problem. The other swimmers are :rolleyes:
The vast majority of the swimmers there are nice little German grannies, who believe that the afternoon coffee talks should be continued in the pool....the hair never gets wet, and I've seen one or two with their glasses still on. The idea of lanes and circular swimming has not yet hit.
It's frankly impossible to swim as a normal speed without zig-zagging all over, or causing some major accidents. So, ending this book, does anyone know of anything that I can do fairly slowly that won't ruin any technique I might still have? It would be nice to still be able to swim fast and decent in those rare times when the pool is empty. I've been doing a lot of pulls and kick sets, and catch-ups...but they're getting pretty old. Other drills? Or something else? Anything with times would be excellent, as I do best when I have either another person or a clock to work against. There's a Deutschland Masters Swimmer I see once or twice a week at the pool, but he's going to internationals...a bit out of my leauge.
Parents
Former Member
Jaclyn,
From the sound of what you describe, working on the conditioning side of your swimming seems impossible. So, work on something else.
Flexibility: I like yoga for this, but go for any stretching program (preferably with a group of people, so you won't be bored) that is available. Intensity is not important; on the contrary, a gentler program will provide most of the benefit without the risk of injury.
Stroke technique: since your opportunity to swim seems to dictate lower speeds, take this chance to tear your stroke technique apart, and rebuild it with fundamental skills. I really like Total Immersion, and you could do worse than spend the $20 for "Swimming Made Easy" which has excellent drills for all 4 strokes. However, any set of drills that build from basic skills would work. If you have a friend with a video camera, you might ask them to record you swimming, and look for things you'd like to adjust. A live coach would be even better, if one is available. You also might want to break down your turns and work on those.
Cross training: if you really must work on aerobic conditioning, or just do something to keep the calories from killing you, go ahead and do some running or biking--anything cardio that will not bore you. Does your heart really know the difference between heart beats while you are running vs. swimming?
Will you be ready to rip off a personal record the week you get back to school? Clearly not. However, you are young. Your conditioning will come back pretty quickly, AND if you can make fundamental improvements to your stroke technique (say reduce your average strokes per length by one or two), those improvements will stay with you and add to any conditioning base you establish over the coming season. This can be an opportunity to get out of your aerobic rut, and look at your swimming as a whole.
BTW, which Div III school? I swam at Lake Forest College myself (more years ago than I'd care to admit). Good luck.
Matt
Jaclyn,
From the sound of what you describe, working on the conditioning side of your swimming seems impossible. So, work on something else.
Flexibility: I like yoga for this, but go for any stretching program (preferably with a group of people, so you won't be bored) that is available. Intensity is not important; on the contrary, a gentler program will provide most of the benefit without the risk of injury.
Stroke technique: since your opportunity to swim seems to dictate lower speeds, take this chance to tear your stroke technique apart, and rebuild it with fundamental skills. I really like Total Immersion, and you could do worse than spend the $20 for "Swimming Made Easy" which has excellent drills for all 4 strokes. However, any set of drills that build from basic skills would work. If you have a friend with a video camera, you might ask them to record you swimming, and look for things you'd like to adjust. A live coach would be even better, if one is available. You also might want to break down your turns and work on those.
Cross training: if you really must work on aerobic conditioning, or just do something to keep the calories from killing you, go ahead and do some running or biking--anything cardio that will not bore you. Does your heart really know the difference between heart beats while you are running vs. swimming?
Will you be ready to rip off a personal record the week you get back to school? Clearly not. However, you are young. Your conditioning will come back pretty quickly, AND if you can make fundamental improvements to your stroke technique (say reduce your average strokes per length by one or two), those improvements will stay with you and add to any conditioning base you establish over the coming season. This can be an opportunity to get out of your aerobic rut, and look at your swimming as a whole.
BTW, which Div III school? I swam at Lake Forest College myself (more years ago than I'd care to admit). Good luck.
Matt
