Hoping to maximize my Swim!
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MonkeyMel21
Posts: 2,388 Member
Hi all! I'm new to this group. Actually, it's the very first group I've ever joined on MFP even though I've been here since 2009! My story is that my knee has been off and on bothering me and as a runner it annoys the eff out of me to feel like I either just shouldn't run, or if I run too much I risk injury. So, since I used to be on the middle school swim team (go Outriggers!!), I still fancy myself a "swimmer", lol. I have been swimming laps off and on for maybe 3 years now. I just got some prescription goggles and a new suit and am hoping to really step up my swimming game. I have about 30-40 minutes pool time before work and I want to really start focusing on maximizing my time. All I've been doing is just swimming continual laps of freestyle, breast and backstroke with short rests as needed. I know I'm not getting my heart rate up very high (which my garmin has recently confirmed) and I feel like I'm really just leisurely swimming. When I do try to go faster (mostly during freestyle) I get tired almost within just one lap and then go back to my "leisurely" pace. I don't use any type of equipment, though I'm sure there's stuff available at my pool. So, if anyone has any recommendations on workouts/intervals/equipment/websites/app/etc, to help increase my efforts and really get a good work out within 40 minutes, I would be so appreciative! Thank you and I'm looking forward to being a part of my first group!!!
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Remember that it's natural for your heart rate to be lower swimming and your target heart rate shouldn't be as high as when you run (see : http://www.instabeat.me/blog/2014/11/24/heart-rate-running-swimming/_ )
That said, interval or Tabata-style workouts (short bursts of energy interspersed through less intense training can be very effective.
I don't particularly like to sprint, but I've found that even swimming y regular pace for 3/4 of a lap and then sprinting the last 1/4 (e.g., that last half a lap to the wall) brings my heart rate up a good 8 - 10 bpm overall1 -
I am in no position to give any swimming advice as I am a later-in-life learner, but welcome to the group! There are lots of great people in this group, and lots of experience.
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I just swim. No heart rate monitor I have found works well in water.
For me it is an exercise in endurance. 4 miles a day minimum. Can't run so I swim.2 -
@MonkeyMel21 Welcome to our mad group of Swimmers. As some one who was a swimmer in school you have an advantage over a lot of us Late Bloomers. Get in and get wet.
On any day I don't really know if I will be doing drills or just swimming until I get in and see the Crowd. Busy pool = Just swim. Quiet Pool = Drills and Sprint Pyramid Repeats as you don't have to worry about timing conflicts with other swimmers.
I just finished off a full winter session of Adult Swim Club. 5 sessions, each 4 weeks long ( 5 sessions x 4 weeks x 2 days/week = 40 swim days ). Started as Adult Lessons but we kept asking to be pushed harder so they changed it into Swim Club with every 3rd day being lesson/drills. Can't describe how much fun it was getting pushed by the coach and fellow swimmers. So if your local pool offers Adult Club give it a try. My local pool is now going into Spring sessions with lots of emphasis on Kids and Water Safety so no Adult Club until next fall.
Although they just posted a Tri-Athlon 5 week Speed work course - first one of its kind and all my Swim Club Buddies are registering. The 3 coach's are all amazing swimmers.0 -
@MonkeyMel21 Welcome!
I know how you feel about considering yourself a swimmer! I started when I was a kid and eventhough I also run and do other sports, I will always be a swimmer first!
In terms of advice, it kinda depends on what your goals are.
You can certainly improve your endurance by just by increasing the number of laps each session. However, I find it quite boring to just swim up and down the pool
If I am on my own, and lane traffic permitting, I like to break up my swim in sets, starting with an easy warm up and then go in and either do sets like 4x100 or 3x200 or 8x50. Pyramids are good too (ie 50, 100, 150, 200, 150, 100 50) You can either do them on a set interval (8x50 on 1 minute) or with a set rest (8x50 with 15seconds rest). Doing sets is very useful if you want to get your speed and/or endurance up and you also get your heartrate up. I am no expert on this, but it will probably give you a bigger calorie burn compared to just doing laps at a steady pace.
The USMS website has some good tips on training and workouts and I also found this link: http://100swimmingworkouts.com/ with tons of workouts you can mix and match to suit your needs/goals/schedule.
You can also check out some of the workouts posted on the Did you swim today? thread. @juliet3455 has some good workouts that he does with his Adult Swim Club, as does @emmab0902, you can adjust the interval times according to your own levels.
Good luck! and let us know how you get on!
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@aliciamariaq Thanks for the Great Compliment. I have never had anyone call my workouts good . Like you i find it can get a little boring to just do laps, but the crowd in the pool dictates what can be done. Now those workouts posted by @emmab0902 are truly epic workouts as she is in a completely different league-skill level.
@MonkeyMel21 Once you get back in a routine you will probably start to remember some of the drills that you did in the past. Add them in and use that as a starting point.
At the start of the year the coach(s) had us swim the different distances ( 25, 50, 100, 200m ) at an easy pace and timed us, then did the same at fast pace. Notice that they made us do the easy pace before having us swim at out fast pace. They used this base to build our Swim Set Times for pyramid repeats. Depending on whether we were doing Ascending repeats ( 25m, 50m, 100m, 200m, 100m, 50m, 25m ) or Descending repeats ( 200m, 100m, 50m, 25m, 50m, 100m, 200m ) as to what time was used for a guideline as they do result in a different type of intensity. Hope this helps you build some swimsets. You might have to adjust your times so that you are constantly being challenged and pushed to the limit physically.
Some of my personal favorites;
Split 75m, 50m swim with Pool Buoy, 25m Kickboard x 4 ( 6, 8 ) Isolates the two swim motions.
60 Stroke count for Maximum Distance - Timed x 3. 60 strokes to travel maximum distance - minimum time. This is a real test of stroke efficiency. The first time I did this it was only 45 meters, my last one was 68 meters. The best swimmer in our Adult club manages 85 meters, just about twice my distance and about 7 seconds longer than my time. She is crazy fast and efficient. This also measures how good your turns and glide between strokes is.
Breathing control- Easy pace. 2 lengths x 3 stroke cycle ( 4 stroke, 5, 6, 7 ) keep increasing stroke count until you can't maintain the rate then descend back to 3 stroke breathing. I can only get 1 length at 6 then have to descend. I am still weak on my left side breathing so I find breathing drills help this out.
Ladder repeats. Timed per distance ( Easy Time/Distance or Hard Time + 5 to 10 secs) this gives you a little break between each set/distance to catch your breath.
Ascending 1000 meter - 25 x 4, 50 x 2, 100, 200, 200, 100, 50 x 2, 25 x 4
Descending 1000 meter 200, 100, 50 x 2, 25 x 4, 25 x 4, 50 x 2, 100, 200
Broken 800 meter x 2. Ascending or Descending. With a rest period between 800 meter sets equal to your 200 meter Easy Time.
Easy set by dropping the 200 meter out of the 1000 meter cycle 100, 50 x 2, 25 x 4.
Hard set by dropping the 25 meter out of the 1000 meter cycle 200, 100, 50 x 2.
To increase the intensity of any workout just decrease the Time cycle.0 -
You guys are awesome! (sorry I'm so late to respond, just noticed all the responses right now, lol) I did end up doing sets today. I did 8x50 free and 4x50 breast with about 30-45 seconds rest in between. It felt so awesome! I usually only have to share a lane with one other person and we don't circular swim unless there are 3 people, so this should work well for me. I also like the idea of the pyramids and might do that next time!1
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Welcome to our group.
I like a pull-buoy between my, legs keeps my face in the water, and I do not have to kick as much.0 -
Welcome!
Great advice for workouts etc already. , I wonder, is it worth maybe thinking on what made you give up swimming and make sure your time i the pool addresses this. Did you get bored - do lots of different workouts? Did you need a bigger challenge - go for an impressive distance or speed goal? Did you miss the social side - join a masters team.. Etc etc.
Happy gerting wet!0 -
gentlygently wrote: »Welcome!
Great advice for workouts etc already. , I wonder, is it worth maybe thinking on what made you give up swimming and make sure your time i the pool addresses this. Did you get bored - do lots of different workouts? Did you need a bigger challenge - go for an impressive distance or speed goal? Did you miss the social side - join a masters team.. Etc etc.
Happy gerting wet!
Soooo....like I said, I swam in middle school. And the reason I stopped was because I got my period and was afraid to use tampons, lmfao!!! I have grown as a woman since then. But thank you for giving me some other things to think about!1 -
MonkeyMel21 wrote: »gentlygently wrote: »Welcome!
Great advice for workouts etc already. , I wonder, is it worth maybe thinking on what made you give up swimming and make sure your time i the pool addresses this. Did you get bored - do lots of different workouts? Did you need a bigger challenge - go for an impressive distance or speed goal? Did you miss the social side - join a masters team.. Etc etc.
Happy gerting wet!
Soooo....like I said, I swam in middle school. And the reason I stopped was because I got my period and was afraid to use tampons, lmfao!!! I have grown as a woman since then. But thank you for giving me some other things to think about!
Lol! I had this very conversation with my 13 year old daughter the other day. I didn't manage to convince her so she missed her swimming gala at school...0 -
aliciamariaq wrote: »MonkeyMel21 wrote: »gentlygently wrote: »Welcome!
Great advice for workouts etc already. , I wonder, is it worth maybe thinking on what made you give up swimming and make sure your time i the pool addresses this. Did you get bored - do lots of different workouts? Did you need a bigger challenge - go for an impressive distance or speed goal? Did you miss the social side - join a masters team.. Etc etc.
Happy gerting wet!
Soooo....like I said, I swam in middle school. And the reason I stopped was because I got my period and was afraid to use tampons, lmfao!!! I have grown as a woman since then. But thank you for giving me some other things to think about!
Lol! I had this very conversation with my 13 year old daughter the other day. I didn't manage to convince her so she missed her swimming gala at school...
Poor thing, I know exactly how she feels!!!!0 -
Hi and welcome!
What are your goals for swimming - are you wanting to get faster, swim for longer time/distance or get fitter? I'm a competitive (but old!) swimmer but have helped a relative newbie friend get his fitness and speed up, so if I can be of any help, I'm happy to try! 0 -
Just overall fitness and getting in some badass workouts. While running I don't pay a whole lot of attention to my times, just a general idea, I will probably do the same for swimming. I only have 30-45 minutes so I don't think long distance is going to be something I'll go for.0
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Wecome! Due to injuries and foot/ankle reconstruction surgery, I can't run anymore either. But since I swam competitively Freshman year in high school, it has been my primary aerobic workout. Similar story to yours! Interval work with bursts of high intensity is probably the best use of your limited time in the pool. Personally, I prefer long mindless meditative but fast and exhaustive swims, but 3 hours of swim time is a rare luxury. I will frequently do 2 miles on my lunch hour and only do the long distances every couple of weeks. Good luck!1
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Love swimming. Like @Robertus I too have foot issues that don't allow for impact inducing aerobics. So I swim. A lot.
It also serves as morning meditation when I'm home. Evening meditation when I'm on business travel.
As far as increasing distance and endurance, just one more lap. When you think you can't go any further, rest for 30 seconds and do one more lap.1 -
Few years ago I was really into swimming. 1 + mile 2 to 3 times a week but I got stagnant. One of the owners at the gym where I swam was an olympic-level swimmer in fact he was an alternate on the Dutch Olympic team.
I thought I was in great shape. reality check was coming. He had me do 25 to 50 yard Sprints. Do as many as I could rest 5 to 10 seconds in between each one . Basically the way he explained that in the concept is like any other type of exercise you get into a routine and your body starts to get accustomed to it. What the sprints do is they totally hyper elevate your metabolism. Well needless to say I thought I was going to die after I got out of the pool and I only did10 sprints.0 -
Lots of great advice here already and I'm late to the party so I won't pile on too much. My background is Olympic Trial level and NCAA.
In short, 100% know what you mean and interval training is the way to go. You don't even need to do any sprinting to kill yourself. In fact, VO2MAX (max effort) isn't all that great for many because it will kill your muscles before you get the full benefit of a 30-60 minute workout.
My favorite "go to" set is as follows and can be changed depending on time, effort, skill, and desire.
400 moderate effort
4x100 descend 1-4
8x50 descend 1-4 to distance race pace (80% effort) and hold that effort for 5-8
16x25 4x25 of each stroke: 1 EZ, 1 @80%, 1 EZ, 1 sprint
That's roughly a mile and you can fit in a warm-up before. Or change to it a base of 200 or 300, etc.1
