Lap swimming rates

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stephenrhinton
stephenrhinton Posts: 522 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok So I just logged 1625 meters (a mile and change) in 51:30

From brief general reading I've done an in-condition swimmer should have a under 30 minute mile. And a 'vigorous' swim is faster than 50m/min. (My numbers break down to 31.5m/min or 50m/1:35)

Now I'm a big dude. And I wouldn't consider myself even close to being 'fit' or athletic. I've only been swimming daily for about 2 months. But it is still hard for me to imagine ever being able to achieve those numbers.

Anyone out there actually putting in daily workouts in those ranges? Is 'vigorous swimming' perhaps really more of a 'sprinting' activity?

What are some other MFP regular swimmers doing for duration and pace?
(and if you want to use terms like lap,or length can you define them once in meters so we can compare apples to apples?) (or yards or feet ...i can handle math conversions, but I don't know how long your pool is or if you consider a lap one trip or, down and back, etc)

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  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
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    All answers in groups> swimming.
    Lap is an american term for 2 lengths.
  • HillOE
    HillOE Posts: 61 Member
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    Are you asking if your time is fast/medium/slow? If you feel like you're getting a good workout in, then you're at a right pace for you.

    Are you using a GPS to get your distances or actually counting the lap (once up) or length (up and back) in a pool. I know that if I use my old Garmin it gives me a farther distance if I wear it on my wrist, because your arm is moving further than your body (round and round), but my newer garmin calculates my stroke length into the equation and it's more accurate (so a couple of yards/meters off compared to a couple of lengths of a pool on a long workout).

    I'd consider myself a swimmer, competitively in my younger days and now I do some long course races for fun. So when I train I'm in the "fast" but not "very fast" lanes at my pool (a 50m). They define "fast" as 1:30-2:00 for a 100m...."race pace" or "sprint" In good shape I'm about 1:25-35 for a 100m. I usually swim a full workout at about 1:55 for 100m across the entire workout.

    I don't think big/small size has anything to do with speed or exertion (swimmers really come in all shapes and sizes). A lot of muscle is going to be dense and heavy to pull through in the water, I'd like to think my extra weight adds some buoyancy to my swimming, maybe a little less drag too, my keel. (lol). If you aren't efficient in your swimming it will be a more vigorous workout than if you're efficient but are taking it slowly and pacing.

    When training, I'll swim about 2 or 3 days a week (and do other disciplines in there on the other days). For me, I like doing one workout that's about 1500-2000 of various lengths and speeds (so vigorous all out sprints, recovery, moderate, easy, stroke drills, etc) and another that focuses on the long course aspect of swimming, which is consistency and endurance.

    If you are looking to get more out of your workout or become a better swimming, then defined workouts over back and forth in a pool will help out a ton. Even getting a coach for a couple sessions (maybe about $25 and up an hour) can help, don't be discouraged about joining a "Masters" team either. They range in speed and it's more to do with age than ability.

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