Swimmers, I need ideas.....

BrianSharpe
BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am not a strong swimmer but one of my goals for 2013 is to complete an Olympic distance tri which means being able to swim (not necessarily fast - I can make up time on the bike and/or run) 1500m.

I have a municipal pool (a lovely salt water pool at that...) less than a mile from my house and they have adult lane swimming Mon Wed & Fri from 6AM to 7AM so I have zero excuses as to spending time in the pool. I spent some time in a coached program last year, my stroke isn't horrible, I'm comfortable with bilateral breathing etc

What I'm looking for are suggestions as to make the best use of the time available to me (I'd be hard pressed to stay for the whole hour more than once per week) but can commit at least half an hour the other two.

Workout suggestions? Drills?

Thanks in advance......

Replies

  • lmwfrosty
    lmwfrosty Posts: 16 Member
    http://www.usms.org/health/


    i just stared swimming (mainly because I hate running and I need some cardio) This website is great, it has everything you would need to know.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    http://www.usms.org/health/


    i just stared swimming (mainly because I hate running and I need some cardio) This website is great, it has everything you would need to know.

    Thanks, I've got some reading to do!
  • KALMdown
    KALMdown Posts: 211 Member
    Are you trying to improve your stroke? Your time? Your distance? Are you able to complete the entire 1500 meters now? Stroke efficiency will improve your time and distance. Try reading "Total Immersion" by Terry Laughlin. Do kick board drills, pull buoy drills, hand paddle drills, catch-ups, etc, to improve your stroke and increase your stamina. Good Luck.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Are you trying to improve your stroke? Your time? Your distance? Are you able to complete the entire 1500 meters now? Stroke efficiency will improve your time and distance. Try reading "Total Immersion" by Terry Laughlin. Do kick board drills, pull buoy drills, hand paddle drills, catch-ups, etc, to improve your stroke and increase your stamina. Good Luck.

    All of the above! No, can't do 1500m (non stop) yet. This morning I was doing 50m on 1:30 pretty much continuously for the half hour, my total distance may have been 900m or so. I'll look up that book! (I've got my fins, the pool has paddle boards & pull buoys.....)
  • kiminikimkim
    kiminikimkim Posts: 746 Member
    I am training for my first Sprint Triathlon. Every week-end I do the Swim (750m), Cycle (20km) and Run(5k) and try to beat my last time.

    At first, I would rest at the end of each lap, but I found that if I change swimming styles from Front Crawl to Breaststroke I don't need to rest anymore.

    My only goal is to beat my previous time. I check the stats and last year's best time was 11:30. My best time so far is 21:14, my worst was 30min. I have a lot to do to improve!
  • KALMdown
    KALMdown Posts: 211 Member
    Here you go, it's got a basic work out.

    http://www.active.com/swimming/Articles/Fitness_Makeover__Training_for_a_1_500-meter_triathlon_swim.htm

    Or you could do...

    200m warmup free
    200m pull buoy
    200m free
    200m hand paddle
    200m free
    300m kickboard
    200m free

    cool down with whatever.
  • Cgirlish
    Cgirlish Posts: 263 Member
    The catch up drill helped me with technique, good luck
  • SelkieDiver
    SelkieDiver Posts: 260 Member
    www.swimplan.com

    it will give you various workouts based on the time you have, the equipment you have, if you want to work on other strokes, and based on your baseline 100m time. Some workouts you just need to go and swim as non-stop as possible to build the endurance you'll need, but on other workouts you'll want to work on your speed and run various drills as well.
  • IronmanPanda
    IronmanPanda Posts: 2,083 Member
    Check out Total Immersion or Swimsmooth.com. They are both good starting points and there are a lot of vids on youtube you can watch.

    One of the best investments I've made in my swimming is getting lessons. You can "think" your form is all hunky dory until someone else actually watches you from the outside and tells you what is actually going on.


    ETA: Also the toys are great, but swimming really is all form. Don't count on fins/pull buoys as crutches.

    And this.

    http://www.ntcmastersswim.blogspot.com/
  • Canuck_TriFit
    Canuck_TriFit Posts: 97 Member
    This book is great to understanding the proper swim stroke.
    Swim Speed Secrets for Swimmers and Triathletes: Master the Freestyle Technique Used by the World's Fastest Swimmers
  • Kadidio
    Kadidio Posts: 10 Member
    I like this site, it has lots of workouts that are based on how far you want to swim and your level.

    http://www.virtualswimcoach.com/
  • Cgirlish
    Cgirlish Posts: 263 Member
    lol just downloaded mr smooth
  • sessygail
    sessygail Posts: 44 Member
    Bump for later

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