Just a thought/request:
At some point in the future, it would be nice to have workouts posted by someone who specializes in LONG distance coaching with an eye on open water distances (1 mile "death sprints" to ??? miles). The workouts provided are generally excellent, but since open water distances basically start where pool distances leave off, it would be great to have something a bit more specific. This is especially true since there is a relatively small body of printed work on longer distance/open water training and coaches for LONG distances seem few and far between.
Would anyone else be interested and would this be possible?
-LBJ
Former Member
When this thread reactivated I told myself I would just shut up, but...
I think you miss the point Nopinpool. Newbies need advice on how to modify from a coach, not just, "you've got three choices, modify to your heart is content."
I stand behind Michael Collins coming closer to helping newbies than anyone else. The other coaches who post here should take a lesson from him.
nopinpool:
As I said, three options for intervals are great. I think coaches who offer that are promoting great workouts for all swimmers. As I said, I don't need to modify a workout set for the highest level. I'm not going to trouble myself to do that. I don't need to see those workouts every week. I think it is discouraging. I prefer to see a workout I can do, so that's what I go for. I am not hurting for options. That said, I did like Michael Collins's workouts, and I think they helped my conditioning. They were well-designed, with well thought-out intervals for all levels of swimmers.
I think Elaine really had a point. Workouts and posters who talk about sets could be more inclusive and it would have a positive effect. Why not strive for that?
Ideally the intervals and sets should be based on the results of a T-1000, 2000 or 3000 swim, which we can do on our own or with a coach on deck. There's no reason why the workouts can't be written with this in mind and thus be applicable to everyone. The T-1000 (or 2000 or 3000) gives you your anaerobic threshold which can then be used to construct the sets. Mo uses cruise intervals which basically accomplish the same thing. I'm not a coach but I read a lot.
The book "Swim Fastest" has some good ideas you could use. The point about Zatopek is interesting as he certainly did more than intervals (running through snow fields for miles at a time) and he won an Olympic marathon.
The ideal about fatigue will make you lose form in long swims I frankly don't buy as an argument against long swimming. If you swim with a pace clock and make sure your pace and stroke count are constant it is unlikely your form is going to pot. Secondly how many of us train with a coach closely watching. Thirdly these are long aerobic swims when it is easy to keep your form these should not be hard swims. When you do threshold or lactic acid build up sets this is when it is hard to keep your form.
Maglischo makes the point in Swimming Fastest that you need to train at different speeds in order to develop the different types of muscle fibers. Long slow swimming is nothing more than basic endurance (or recovery swimming, depending on the speed) and will only train the slow twitch fibers (and will not develop other parameters like buffering capacity, lactic acid removal, etc.). None of this is relevant if you're not planning to compete.
Originally posted by gull80
...None of this is relevant if you're not planning to compete.
I don't compete and I love all of this stuff. If I get in and do 2000 yards continuous, all at the same speed, I get boooooored. And I won't keep it up. I do some longer swims (not open water long, but pool long - say 750-1000 yards) once or twice each week and I also to a couple of workouts that have me gasping at the end of a 100 or 200 with enough rest to get my breath back and do it again. Add in different strokes and the variety keeps me interested.
I guess I do compete with myself though. I keep trying to improve my own times!:)
Even if you do not plan to compete I think you can make an argument for some interval training. It will help build muscle, it may lead to more growth hormone release etc.
Back to the original question. As I have posted before I think swimmers and swim coaches are interval obsessed. The top distance runners do a fair amount of interval training and speed work but they also do much of their mileage in long slow aerobic runs. I am not aware of any physiologic reason why this should not apply to swimming.
Swimming like most sports is bound in tradition. American swimming has tended to ignore the mile and concentrate on the 50 to 400/500 distances especially the sprints. Also it is difficult to coach long swims in a pool but is easy to coach a cross country team on long runs.
As one of the other posters indicated there are some nice benefits of LSD...long slow distance, it is relaxing and efficient. The problem is for many swimmers this is ALL they do I am not advocating that but two or three of your workouts a week can certainly be a straight aerobic swim. This is what the Kenyans and Ethiopians do and they are miles ahead of the competition.
