I am 22 years old and I am an ex-USS age group swimmer. I quit swimming my freshman year in high school, now that I am starting my 5th year of college, and have certianly gained more than my freshman 15, I am starting to miss swimming. I go to Texas Tech and we do not have a swim team, nor do we have a masters swim team. I looked over some of the workouts that are posted...yeah, they look pretty imposible for me in my out of shape condition. I was wondering if anyone knew of a good way to get back into the swing of things. Any suggestions would be great! Thanx!
JennM:D
Former Member
I'm not sure what kind of endurance you may have, so I'll just assume start at ground zero. The first thing you want to do is build back your breath control. Try the following, and include a warm-up prior to and warm-down after this:
21 x 25s freestyle, breathing pattern of 3, 5, 7 rest 10-15 seconds in between (breathe every 3 strokes for the first 25, every 5 strokes for the next 25, every 7 strokes for the third 25 and repeat for a total of 21 x 25s)
5 x 100s freestyle rest 15-20 seconds in between (try to pace these)
3 x 200s Kick w/board You can do these with fins too! Rest only as long as it takes your heart rate to drop about 20 beats per minute (take your pulse rate by watching the pace clock for 6 seconds and count how many heart beats in that time, multiply by 10 and that's it).
12 x 25s of any stroke This is just to build back the ability to do the other strokes, so take it as fast or slow as you like. Rest about 15 seconds in between, but pay attention to your technique.
If this seems like too much, alter it however you like, but what you want to do is reach your target heart rate by the second set of whatever you choose to do, and then keep it at or just under that for the remainder of the workout (I forget the formula for your target heart rate, but you can look it up online by doing a general search for "Target Heart Rate").
Even just having a good time in the water is enough to start you on your way to getting back in shape.
Former Member
Thanx so much for helping me, can't wait to get in the water and try these sets!!! Off the subject... i think it would be cool if i could compete....is there anyway to be on a masters team if i am not living in a city with a team???
Former Member
Jenn,
Please see my post to the thread "Getting back into it."
I would like to emphasize looking a little harder for a USMS team in your area. Yes, you can register "Unattached" with USMS and swim in USMS meets, but you really want to be on a team for the group support.
Matt
Former Member
You don't necessarily have to live in the same city, or even the same state, as the team you register with. There's always registering as Unattached, but if you want to be part of a relay at meets a good way to do it is to choose a team you are either familiar with or one close to your area.
I bring up this idea only because I know of a few PNA swimmers (my local team) who actually live in Hawaii and New York.
