The cross-training routine that was previously posted on this thread had a variety of advice. Although quite a few people have mentioned to me that they prefer to swim, and don't really want to lift weights. That's understandable, but attempting to compromise I suggest these 4 critical exercises, 3xweek. This could take as little as 15 minutes, but will have significant impact on your swimming base times.
Here's why:
Ankle flexibility is crucial, as this is the anchor on your ship. Even if you don't improve power or strength, having your ankles flexible will reduce the drag and improve body position. So, I recommend a minimum of 6 minutes (3x per week), on the bike with your toes pointed. This is primarily to warm up the ankles as well as training the range of motion.
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Don't be discouraged if you can't do this next stretch right away. When I started 8 years ago I couldn't get my knees off the ground, and my SDK was ineffective. Just have patience, and after several months you should notice a gradual improvement. Not everyone is gifted with natural mobility in the ankles, but the good news is this can be earned. Try and hold the stretch for 3x20 seconds.
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Moving up the body line, core stability is critical for maintaining the right trajectory while swimming. Be sure to bring the elbow all the way around the knee, and tighten the core as you go through the motion. Pick a weight that enables you to do 3x12 reps on both sides.
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This last exercise is great for your core, but I've noticed it is also really good for the upper body, especially the catch phase of the stroke, as well as engaging the lats on the horizontal axis. Again, 3x12 reps, and these four exercises can be made into a short mini-routine that most aspiring swimmers should at least consider.
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Happy swimming,
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So I finally have my video on FLOSWIMMING here it is
100 free SCM - 51.60 which converts to 46.02 SCY
swimming.flocasts.org/.../65295
Hmmmmm... It's a good thing I wasn't aware of the start rule, I might of contested it without writing in hand. The volunteer official may have been upset, especially since the age-group swimmers were doing a time-trial at the meet. (Something I'm proud to have been part of) So you see, I have mixed feelings about it now, because the honorable thing is to follow the rules, even when you disagree, and take the high road by performing better next time.
I take it that this meet was the Masters Cup in Edmonton? At Canadian Masters meets you are allowed one false start, so you should have been able to swim. The false start rule will change to a no false start rule on January 1st, but that hasn't even been announced yet. Too bad you had officials that aren't familiar with Masters rules.
So there I am, wanting to race a decent 25 free, hoping to have a better start. Being keen, I hold the start early, but wait, I'm leaning, no, no ,no, arrrgggghhh, I fell in the water. The rules are the rules are the rules... No worries, it's only a 25 free, and I'm soaking wet with the whole pool watching. The meet official mentions to me, you know, the show must go on, without "the rule breaker".
I take it that this meet was the Masters Cup in Edmonton? At Canadian Masters meets you are allowed one false start, so you should have been able to swim. The false start rule will change to a no false start rule on January 1st, but that hasn't even been announced yet. Too bad you had officials that aren't familiar with Masters rules.
Well, it's been 2 weeks since I've started back on my full dryland program, and I'm actually quite surprised how my body has been responding. The first week was very difficult, but now I don't really feel too sore, although I'm quite fatigued when I swim, but not as much as I was expecting. A good warm-up usually does the trick.
Some of you may be familiar with the routine. Mornings = Mon-Wends-Fri, heavy weights / Tues-Thurs-Sat, same muscle groups, light weight max repetitions.(40-60 reps) This ensures maximum strength and length of the muscle. Plus everything else, stretching, core, skipping, etc.
With a minimum of 8 hours between work-outs, the regular swim with the group Mon, Wedns, Sat, and usually 10x200 "extended DPS" with fins and paddles on tues, thurs, 12x25 max speed on 2:30 on friday.
Let's see how long I can maintain this before breaking, hopefully until April-May.
Oh the good ole boarding shorts! Can anyone say drag?! At least you got a good workout with them on!
Well actually, I swam last in my lane, and did the whole thing easy, "gravy" freestyle. It was a nice recovery work-out, although my body position wasn't very impressive. I'm so glad to be swimming in jammers again, speaking of which, the compression of the quads makes a huge difference on the streamline and SDK's, and that's for certain!
Tonight I left my swim suit in the dryer, and wrapped my goggles with my towel instead. Getting to the pool late, I unwrap my towel to be suddenly reminded of the work-out 10 years ago, the last time this happened. Asking around if anyone had an extra swim suit was fruitless, until someone offered his boarding shorts. Hmmmm... better than nothing...
These "shorts" effectively demoted me to swim last in my lane. I was somewhat surprised how quickly the swimming order was established, and began to view the swimming experience sleightly differently.
SCM
300 swim
200 drill
150 kick
100 dps
50 fly
300 free
3x100 IM
200 free
2x100 IM
100 free
100 IM strong
300 easy
2x(4x50 1 easy/1 fast + 100 easy)
200 easy
Saturday's swim
SCM
200 free
100 IM
200 kick
100 IM
200 pull
100 IM
10x100 on 1:40 paddles, average 1:15's
cruise, hold stroke.
16x50 on 1:20, descend 1-4
200 easy
So today is the 3rd week of my full dryland program, and I've been able to sustain it so far... In about 30 minutes I'll be doing the 18th weight session in 21 days, then I have a 2 hour massage booked, followed by acupuncture. Tomorrow is a day of rest.
:bliss::bed::bliss:
