I saw this in a post: I will swim 200 laps in a 25 meter pool. All free style. Non stop. This is done in 3 phases , !st 64 laps is moderate speed 2nd 64 laps is distance the balance is for endurance.
My first reaction was WHY ? If you swim like this you will never know how good a swimmer you could be !
Reasons why.
1.- Your range of motion becomes less as your muscles fatigue and tighten up. This leads to the long, smooth stroke that your first few lengths have, deteriorating into a short, choppy survival stroke.
2.- You can only train one energy system, Aerobic, the anaerobic & lactic systems are untouched.
3.- You cannot improve your technique unless you use drills in a progressive manner.
4.- Why not put in some drills to check your technique. For example 10 strokes of head-up free every few lengths to check you hand entry ?
5.- By only doing Freestyle you are setting yourself up for injured shoulders, with all kinds of impingement problems.
6.-Where are the Kick sets and fly kick sets to improve core body strength and awareness ?
7.-What about the joys' of fly, back and
*** ?
I put together this poll to see how people out there are training.
Parents
Former Member
It is very interesting read all these replys. Here and there we can all pick up some new ideas and tips of how to improve our swimming - wonderful.
One thing that really help me with my swimming was when I in my mind started to questioning my coach. That forced me to understand what I was doing and why. As a sprint swimmer do I really need this and that? Why doesn't he or she do this or that?
After some time I was able to myself realize that things I did not like sometimes and unfortunately were important to me, and.. some things I just stopped doing. In the 70's and 80's there used to be some focus on getting tired, not always getting better.
Another thing to remember is that there is a lot you can do to change a serie. When you for example swim 10x100 on 1:30 it can be so very different. It will be what you do with it. Just cruising ten 100's or .. drills, exellent time for turning practice, time to focus on breathing or stroke etc etc.
And regarding this thread - of course we need variation in our workouts. Even the most notorious long distance swimmer will need do different things than just non stop 4 mile swims.
Take care..
Jan
It is very interesting read all these replys. Here and there we can all pick up some new ideas and tips of how to improve our swimming - wonderful.
One thing that really help me with my swimming was when I in my mind started to questioning my coach. That forced me to understand what I was doing and why. As a sprint swimmer do I really need this and that? Why doesn't he or she do this or that?
After some time I was able to myself realize that things I did not like sometimes and unfortunately were important to me, and.. some things I just stopped doing. In the 70's and 80's there used to be some focus on getting tired, not always getting better.
Another thing to remember is that there is a lot you can do to change a serie. When you for example swim 10x100 on 1:30 it can be so very different. It will be what you do with it. Just cruising ten 100's or .. drills, exellent time for turning practice, time to focus on breathing or stroke etc etc.
And regarding this thread - of course we need variation in our workouts. Even the most notorious long distance swimmer will need do different things than just non stop 4 mile swims.
Take care..
Jan
