I paddle outrigger canoes competitively and want to swim as an aide to increase my canoe speed. The problem i have is when I swim too hard, and make my canoe practices, I get overtrained. Ideally, I would like to swim for 45-60 mins at a time, but not so hard I am overtrained. Can someone give me some ideas on what I can do to not be overtrained? I paddle on Tues-Thurs-Sat. Thanks
I guess it depends on how you define overtraining – Are you getting your blood tested and finding higher than normal cortisol or AST levels? Or is it a matter of fatigue or other indications?
Depending on your age and physiological factors, you should be able to swim every day of the week, along with your canoeing, without overtraining. I would suggest you talk with your coach to determine what works best for you.
How many hours a week do you want to dedicate to training of any kind? If you're not "in shape" as a swimmer, then those first few workouts are probably going to hurt, and leave you depleted going into your canoe workouts. But, if you can build up a swimming base, you'll adapt, and be able to swim for longer durations without detracting from your canoeing.
What is the canoeing season like? I might suggest that you start swimming IMMEDIATELY after your last canoing event of the season. Then, you'll have a full season to incorporate swimming in time for next year's big events.
Ryan@ICoachSwimming.com
www.ICoachSwimming.com
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