What do YOU need to do to have a major swimming breakthrough?"

congratulations you were 22 point what? you went 21 point what? How old are you? did you do any warm up or warm down? You don't have to do much yardage to swim a fast 50 Stronger muscles and great body shape lead to faster swimming though there comes a point of diminishing returns in the swimming speed vs strength vs muscle mass formula otherwise taken to the extreme, body builders would be the fastest swimmers and they are not that type of training defies conventional thinking. did you do any other events? Sort of. Getting to 22 seconds took years of high yardage training. And I think that my weight workouts were just as important as what I did in the pool, although those were also very low volume. It's astounding by the standards of traditional swimming training, but I was thinking logically and using my knowledge about physiology, psychology, and adaptation. I know that muscles are what moves us through the water, so bigger muscles should mean faster swimming. I also know that to improve at a skill, you only have to practice that specific skill. I wanted to improve my 50 free, so I practiced swimming the 50 free. P.S. Are you from Husky Masters? I'm from WWU, and I swam with a couple Huskies on relays this weekend.

congratulations you were 22 point what? you went 21 point what? How old are you? did you do any warm up or warm down? You don't have to do much yardage to swim a fast 50 Stronger muscles and great body shape lead to faster swimming though there comes a point of diminishing returns in the swimming speed vs strength vs muscle mass formula otherwise taken to the extreme, body builders would be the fastest swimmers and they are not that type of training defies conventional thinking. did you do any other events? So many questions! I only did relays last year, and I think my best split was 22.1. This year I went 20.94 on a relay and 21.59 in the individual. I'm 21 years old. I swam the medley relay on Saturday afternoon, and the 50 free Sunday morning. I warmed up a little bit on Saturday morning, mostly practicing starts because my pool doesn't have any starting blocks. After that I just did my races without warming up. I only did the 50 free because it's the one event I really love to do. You may be right about diminishing returns. I plan to keep lifting and hopefully gaining muscle until it no longer helps me. I also want to find a way to practice my starts more, because they were definitely the worst part of my races.

What I think most people forget about is recup time. We all push ourselves the the limits and maybe you started out a few days a week at first. Now though as you are stronger and a more consistent swimmer the days end up being anywhere from 6-7 days a week. It is very important for any athlete to have down time though. It is similar to running. Most runners know that at some point you just stop improving. Your body adjusts, but doesn' have time to build itself back up. That is why many good runners will have slow and easy work outs or even no workout days mixed in to the hard core days. What I am thinking is that maybe you need to pull pack a little in your training in order for your body to recover from all the break down. Try it. It couldn't hurt. Try for a balance between easy and hard workouts and maybe 2 days of cross-training mixed in. Also, rest atleast one day. After you do this for atleast 4 weeks tell me if you see any difference in your performance.

Why is it bad to run for sprint swims? I am 18 years old and swim with my college. Last season, I only dropped a tenth of a second in my 50 free - from 25.6 to 25.5 when I was hoping to break 25. I thought running would help. My coach also has me swimming the 100 free and I may swim either the 200 free or the 100 fly as my third event. Is running that bad? Can I run and do jumping exercises? I was hoping the run would give me overall strength so that I can last through our three day prelims and finals meet. Thanks!

Why is it bad to run for sprint swims?Ashley, Running is not bad for sprint swimmers. However, the type of running you do is what determines how much benefit translates to your swimming. For example running stadium stairs and repeat sprints (40’s, 100’s and 200’s) can be beneficial. Running 10K’s, not so much. Also running will not give you overall strength. Swimming sprints demands more core body and upper body muscle groups. Running does nothing for these.

You don't need to run to improve your swimming: You need to 1) lift weights and get stronger, 2) sprint and get faster, 3) improve your streamlined dolphin kick (SDK), and 4) improve your sprinting technique Why is it bad to run for sprint swims? I am 18 years old and swim with my college. Last season, I only dropped a tenth of a second in my 50 free - from 25.6 to 25.5 when I was hoping to break 25. I thought running would help. My coach also has me swimming the 100 free and I may swim either the 200 free or the 100 fly as my third event. Is running that bad? Can I run and do jumping exercises? I was hoping the run would give me overall strength so that I can last through our three day prelims and finals meet. Thanks!

This is my first post. I have been lurking for about a month trying to absorb the wealth of information on this site but the sheer volume of it all is quite overwhelming and the search function does not always yield the results I want it to, so forgive me if I repeat some questions others have already asked. I last competed when I was 16 years old. I turned 40 two weeks ago. Don't be alarmed, I have exercised in the interim. I ran half marathons in my early 20's, played waterpolo in my late 20's, have swum laps intermittently and have regularly used the Royal Canadian Airforce 5BX plan. (Anyone else on this site used that fitness routine?) Unfortunately, as my father once scandalously said, and I scandalously repeat, I don't know whether I learned to talk first or smoke first and my bouts of exercise have been punctuated by a pack a day. I kicked it finally over three years ago. About a year ago I started swimming regularly: 3 - 4 times a week and covering a distance of only 1000m each session. Typically I would do a 500m warm up followed by 10 x 50m at the fastest pace I could manage, allowing myself enough rest between each 50 to maintain a really fast sprint. That meant taking anything from 2- 4 mins rest between each 50m. This worked pretty well and my time for 50m got faster until it levelled out at about 27 secs. This was roughly what I used to do when I was 16. To be honest it was such a long time ago I can't remember but I don't think I ever went 26. My fastest time back then (Summer of '83) for the 100m was 57. I never trained particularly hard and my coaches weren't particularly good either. I remember my one coach used to bark "1000m crawl. Take your marks, (and then he would utter this strange guttural sound, emulating a starting gun) HUT!" and off he would go into his office to read the newspaper. My other coach, although a much more likeable fellow never really gave me any advice on my stroke and how it could be improved. In his defence, though, I never showed enough interest that would motivate him to spend time and effort on me! About 7 months ago I upped my distance to 2000m a workout, adding a set of 10 x 100m at 2 min intervals. I would start the first one off at a slow 1:20 and descend the set until I was doing the final one at about 1:05. That exhausted me when I first started doing it. It paid off. 3 months ago I got a friend to time me off the blocks in 50LCM pool and I went 26:52. It didn't feel smooth though. I was fighting the water. About that time I found this site and realised the need to increase my distance considerably. I now swim 6 times a week, doing 4000m four times a week and 2500m twice a week. A 4000m session might typically include: 500m warm up, 5 x 200m @ 3:15, 10 x 100 @ 1:45 or 1:30, 500m kick (alternating 50 free, 50 fly, 50 ***), 40 x 25m @ 30secs (alternating free and fly). Sometimes I will do 20 X 100 instead of the 200's but otherwise that is pretty much it. Not much variation. On the shorter days I will focus more on sprinting. Now I haven't got anyone to time me again so I don't know if my 50 time has improved or not ( I suspect it might have marginally but probably not that much) however my stamina certainly has. To give you an example I can now do those 10 X 100m's @ 1:45 mainting 1:08 for all of them and then with and extra 2 mins rest after the 9th one, do the final one in 59. I should mention at this point I am quite addicted to my swimming workouts. I have to force myself to take one day off a week and I hate doing it. I am having so much fun swimming. It was never this much fun when I was a kid. My question: how can I make a significant improvement on my times? My problem areas: My Kick - practically non-existent, my legs cross over the whole time and I have no idea if I have a six beat or two beat kick. It most certainly can't be a 6 beats per stroke but it could quite conceivably be 6 per 25m. Quite frankly I don't know how I would go about calculating it. I am so busy trying to breathe smoothly and pull efficiently that I couldn't possibly, at the same time, divert my attention to count my kick as well. Everything would go to pieces. For the most part it feels as if my legs drag lazily behind me. SDK - I had no idea what that was until I joined this site - honest. Mine is terribly weak as I discovered. Starts - have only done one of those in the last 24 years! Other strokes. I swim a pretty competent Fly. Breastroke is ok but then whose isn't? Backstroke is my worst. I feel like there is water going up my nose and I am about to drown. I swim in fear of breaking my hand against the wall and can't wait to turn over onto my stomach again. What else is relevant? Ok, perhaps my goals. I would like to do 56 for the 100m, 25 for the 50m and go under 2:10 for the 200m free. I would also like to add a 50 fly and maybe a 100 fly as 4th and 5th events. Oh, I didn't mention that I train on my own. Swimming is not a big sport in Taiwan and I have yet to find someone to train with. I am constantly racing the clock. Also I imagine I have this 'other swimmer' in the lane next to me who is always a shoulder length ahead and this helps a lot. Finally, I am really impressed with the solid advice on this site and have been motivated in no small way by the encouragements. I think of Ande in particular. Syd

hi Syd, great to hear from you sorry it took so long to respond I started this same thread in general so I'd be more likely to see it forums.usms.org/showthread.php you wrote: my goals are: 56 100m fr, 25 50m fr and 2:09.9 200m free You asked: How can I make a significant improvement on my times? First specify the tenths and hundredths of your goals which goal is most important to you? Train for that one Train to sprint 1) do fast 15's, 25's, 50's and 100's with plenty of rest get timed 2) get a hi-neck fast skin suit 3) lift weights and get strong 4) keep training consistently 5) Read Swim Faster Faster and apply the sprint tips forums.usms.org/showthread.php you're off to a strong start good luck ande ps I answered more of your questions in this thread forums.usms.org/showpost.php This is my first post. I have been lurking for about a month trying to absorb the wealth of information on this site but the sheer volume of it all is quite overwhelming and the search function does not always yield the results I want it to, so forgive me if I repeat some questions others have already asked. I last competed when I was 16 years old. I turned 40 two weeks ago. Don't be alarmed, I have exercised in the interim. I ran half marathons in my early 20's, played waterpolo in my late 20's, have swum laps intermittently and have regularly used the Royal Canadian Airforce 5BX plan. (Anyone else on this site used that fitness routine?) Unfortunately, as my father once scandalously said, and I scandalously repeat, I don't know whether I learned to talk first or smoke first and my bouts of exercise have been punctuated by a pack a day. I kicked it finally over three years ago. About a year ago I started swimming regularly: 3 - 4 times a week and covering a distance of only 1000m each session. Typically I would do a 500m warm up followed by 10 x 50m at the fastest pace I could manage, allowing myself enough rest between each 50 to maintain a really fast sprint. That meant taking anything from 2- 4 mins rest between each 50m. This worked pretty well and my time for 50m got faster until it levelled out at about 27 secs. This was roughly what I used to do when I was 16. To be honest it was such a long time ago I can't remember but I don't think I ever went 26. My fastest time back then (Summer of '83) for the 100m was 57. I never trained particularly hard and my coaches weren't particularly good either. I remember my one coach used to bark "1000m crawl. Take your marks, (and then he would utter this strange guttural sound, emulating a starting gun) HUT!" and off he would go into his office to read the newspaper. My other coach, although a much more likeable fellow never really gave me any advice on my stroke and how it could be improved. In his defence, though, I never showed enough interest that would motivate him to spend time and effort on me! About 7 months ago I upped my distance to 2000m a workout, adding a set of 10 x 100m at 2 min intervals. I would start the first one off at a slow 1:20 and descend the set until I was doing the final one at about 1:05. That exhausted me when I first started doing it. It paid off. 3 months ago I got a friend to time me off the blocks in 50LCM pool and I went 26:52. It didn't feel smooth though. I was fighting the water. About that time I found this site and realised the need to increase my distance considerably. I now swim 6 times a week, doing 4000m four times a week and 2500m twice a week. A 4000m session might typically include: 500m warm up, 5 x 200m @ 3:15, 10 x 100 @ 1:45 or 1:30, 500m kick (alternating 50 free, 50 fly, 50 ***), 40 x 25m @ 30secs (alternating free and fly). Sometimes I will do 20 X 100 instead of the 200's but otherwise that is pretty much it. Not much variation. On the shorter days I will focus more on sprinting. Now I haven't got anyone to time me again so I don't know if my 50 time has improved or not ( I suspect it might have marginally but probably not that much) however my stamina certainly has. To give you an example I can now do those 10 X 100m's @ 1:45 mainting 1:08 for all of them and then with and extra 2 mins rest after the 9th one, do the final one in 59. I should mention at this point I am quite addicted to my swimming workouts. I have to force myself to take one day off a week and I hate doing it. I am having so much fun swimming. It was never this much fun when I was a kid. My question: how can I make a significant improvement on my times? My problem areas: My Kick - practically non-existent, my legs cross over the whole time and I have no idea if I have a six beat or two beat kick. It most certainly can't be a 6 beats per stroke but it could quite conceivably be 6 per 25m. Quite frankly I don't know how I would go about calculating it. I am so busy trying to breathe smoothly and pull efficiently that I couldn't possibly, at the same time, divert my attention to count my kick as well. Everything would go to pieces. For the most part it feels as if my legs drag lazily behind me. SDK - I had no idea what that was until I joined this site - honest. Mine is terribly weak as I discovered. Starts - have only done one of those in the last 24 years! Other strokes. I swim a pretty competent Fly. Breastroke is ok but then whose isn't? Backstroke is my worst. I feel like there is water going up my nose and I am about to drown. I swim in fear of breaking my hand against the wall and can't wait to turn over onto my stomach again. What else is relevant? Ok, perhaps my goals. I would like to do 56 for the 100m, 25 for the 50m and go under 2:10 for the 200m free. I would also like to add a 50 fly and maybe a 100 fly as 4th and 5th events. Oh, I didn't mention that I train on my own. Swimming is not a big sport in Taiwan and I have yet to find someone to train with. I am constantly racing the clock. Also I imagine I have this 'other swimmer' in the lane next to me who is always a shoulder length ahead and this helps a lot. Finally, I am really impressed with the solid advice on this site and have been motivated in no small way by the encouragements. I think of Ande in particular. Syd

doesn't any one else want to break on through to the other side?

One of the keys to a break through season is THE REASONS you want to breakthrough. I had a break through season in the summer of 1984. that summer I went from 21.0 to 20.5 in the 50 y Free 46.4 to 44.7 in the 100 y Free and 50.6 to 49.1 in the 100 y Fly. One of the reasons I broke through is I HAD TO. In the spring Eddie Reese told me if I didn't make National cuts. He wouldn't let me back on the team in the fall. I quit swimming in April, 1984 for a whole month. In early May I felt like I had more to prove, I didn't want to quit so I started training to make Nationals and earn a spot on the team for the Fall of 1984. If you really want to break through Set a goal, and Find the reasons why you must, Then remind yourself of those reasons just before you train and while you train. Create a new self image of who you hope to be and what you hope to do. Then every moment in practice, act as if you already are what you most want to be. But don't just think it and don't just say it PROVE IT BY THE WAY YOU TRAIN ACTING AS IF IS POWERFUL STUFF. This alone will help you perform at a higher level and will help you handle training fatigue. I hope you breakthrough, Ande Thanks Ande! Im going to follow your adviice my season starts this tuesday morning. Im so excited to get back in the water. I really Want to improove my 50m Free Style! I do it in 26s Right now. Best i done was high 25's Do you have any advice? Im 6'5 190lbs. 16, And im swimming for my high school team and i REALLY want to make state on the individual relay this year. I need to get to at least 23.50 to make it but i want to go down to at least 22s so i actually dont get last place in state! What should i do!? I have from This tuesday 5am in the morning till february 9th next year to make it! Ahh. Please Tell me if you got anything that can improove my free style. Id apreciate it Thats my breakthrough. I kick pretty fast. Im going to try counting my kicks now to see if im doing 6beat and im going to work on my SDK.. But i never used it before so ill tell you the results later if you got any tips just post it here and let me KNOW! Thanks!