I used to be competitve between ages 9-18. I swam in summer leagues and all through highschool. My best 50m freestyle time was 24s. When I started college, I stopped swimming. Now I am 21 and am trying to swim again. I am looking for workout suggestions and tips that will help me out a great deal. Currently, I am recycling workouts I remember. For example, yesterday I tried out starting with 4x100 Free, and then 6x50 Free, followed by 4x50 over-under breastroke, and then a 200m free cooldown. Some parts of the workout left me pretty gassed. I wanted to come here and see what workouts would you guys suggest for a guy like me. If it helps, I am 6ft-0 inches, 190lbs. I timed myself yesterday and did a 50m free in 30s without a dive. Any tips or suggestions will be much appreciated :)
Former Member
You should try some of Jonathan Miller's workouts:
Fun, and Fast - U.S. Masters Swimming Discussion Forums
It doesn't have workouts but if you want a lot of useful hints try to read Ande's swim faster faster thread.
As far as planning your own workouts go:
For each workout:
1) Create an end goal (what is this workout targeting?)
2) Have a plan of attack (Drills, Kick, Sprints, etc...)
3) Have fun!
In my blog post Strokes and Sprints I decided that since my workouts with my masters team were primarily endurance workouts for me (shorter intervals, continuous sets...etc..) I decided that during my free time in the pool, I would focus on building stroke form via drills and long intervals and building my sprint ability by doing 25s all out (on long intervals as well).
Most importantly though have fun with your workouts! Its easy to burnout, so make sure you try something new, or do your favorite drills at least once or twice during your practices.
Welcome to the Masters! Hope to see you at a meet!
