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.
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Former Member
The reason i subscribed to this thread several years ago was to find out what people did in their workouts, to get ideas for my own. Doing just what my coach tells me is fine but i like to hear from others. The recent addition of the discussion from a medical pov is interesting, though.
It's quite interesting that lately people are taking the question "do you swim non stop or do intervals and drills" to mean "which is better." As tecumseh pointed out, there are benefits from both. What i was trying to say earlier and was interpreted as angry (and i guess i was annoyed) was that it seems beside the point since we all have different bodies and different inclinations. There are people who live long healthy lives who do not feel particularly like exercising and look at those who enjoy it as crazy. The fact that someone enjoys LSD swims doesn't mean everyone will. And, enjoyment of life is a huge factor in health, well-being, and longevity.
Knowing something about people from Okinawa, I think there is more to the story than what they do physically. There is also an indoctrination of a religious philosophy into young children that has a dramatic effect on their approach to reality, affecting their enjoyment of life and ability to deal with stress. No one knows whether, if they were to have to shift to another culture at some point in their lives, health problems would result.
The reason i subscribed to this thread several years ago was to find out what people did in their workouts, to get ideas for my own. Doing just what my coach tells me is fine but i like to hear from others. The recent addition of the discussion from a medical pov is interesting, though.
It's quite interesting that lately people are taking the question "do you swim non stop or do intervals and drills" to mean "which is better." As tecumseh pointed out, there are benefits from both. What i was trying to say earlier and was interpreted as angry (and i guess i was annoyed) was that it seems beside the point since we all have different bodies and different inclinations. There are people who live long healthy lives who do not feel particularly like exercising and look at those who enjoy it as crazy. The fact that someone enjoys LSD swims doesn't mean everyone will. And, enjoyment of life is a huge factor in health, well-being, and longevity.
Knowing something about people from Okinawa, I think there is more to the story than what they do physically. There is also an indoctrination of a religious philosophy into young children that has a dramatic effect on their approach to reality, affecting their enjoyment of life and ability to deal with stress. No one knows whether, if they were to have to shift to another culture at some point in their lives, health problems would result.
