Fat Burning Workout?

Jenn -- I don't know whether it's critical to buy a watch or any fancy equipment. Really, it seems to me that you just want to get "better". There are so many directions that "better" can come from -- not only speed per lap, but how many laps you can do before you have to stop to rest, how long you need to rest between sets/reps, how long you can keep your workout going, etc. You have until April. no need to panic or rush. If the pool you use has a pace clock, that should be all the electronics you need. Swim 50 yards. (Or even 25 if that's where you're at now.) See how long it takes you to do it at a comfortable pace. Try it again. Was it slower? Rest a little longer in between. See how long you need to rest between swims to keep the same pace from repetition to repetition. See if you can sustain that for 5 or 10 repetitions. Maybe it takes you a week just to figure this much out. You have until April, so that's OK. If you were doing 50 yards in the above exercise, see if you can do that same pace for 75 or 100 yards. Maybe it takes you another week to make that happen. Not bad! When you get that down, then extend it to 150 yards. And so on. And as you are progressing through the weeks, see if you can cut one second off the pace per 50 yards. And/or see if you can cut 5 seconds off your rest interval. And/or see if you can increase the number of repetitions by one or two. No huge chunks. Just a series of baby steps. Over time, enough baby steps translate into a giant step. You don't recognize it until one day in February when you look back and see what you used to be doing in November. And then one day in April you look back and see what you ised to be doing in February. A log book helps you see this. Swim-a-thon -- what is the goal of that event? To see how many laps/yards/miles you can do in a certain time? Or to see how long it takes you to cover a certain distance? (These are different goals, and you can tailor your training depending on what the goal of the swim-a-thon is.) My advice is not to over-think this. Just find out where you are at today, put a stake in the ground, and slowly grow from there.

Jenn -- I don't know whether it's critical to buy a watch or any fancy equipment. Really, it seems to me that you just want to get "better". There are so many directions that "better" can come from -- not only speed per lap, but how many laps you can do before you have to stop to rest, how long you need to rest between sets/reps, how long you can keep your workout going, etc. You have until April. no need to panic or rush. If the pool you use has a pace clock, that should be all the electronics you need. Swim 50 yards. (Or even 25 if that's where you're at now.) See how long it takes you to do it at a comfortable pace. Try it again. Was it slower? Rest a little longer in between. See how long you need to rest between swims to keep the same pace from repetition to repetition. See if you can sustain that for 5 or 10 repetitions. Maybe it takes you a week just to figure this much out. You have until April, so that's OK. If you were doing 50 yards in the above exercise, see if you can do that same pace for 75 or 100 yards. Maybe it takes you another week to make that happen. Not bad! When you get that down, then extend it to 150 yards. And so on. And as you are progressing through the weeks, see if you can cut one second off the pace per 50 yards. And/or see if you can cut 5 seconds off your rest interval. And/or see if you can increase the number of repetitions by one or two. No huge chunks. Just a series of baby steps. Over time, enough baby steps translate into a giant step. You don't recognize it until one day in February when you look back and see what you used to be doing in November. And then one day in April you look back and see what you ised to be doing in February. A log book helps you see this. Swim-a-thon -- what is the goal of that event? To see how many laps/yards/miles you can do in a certain time? Or to see how long it takes you to cover a certain distance? (These are different goals, and you can tailor your training depending on what the goal of the swim-a-thon is.) My advice is not to over-think this. Just find out where you are at today, put a stake in the ground, and slowly grow from there.