Hydrosloth wrote:
An eye-opening thread, so far. My interest lies with the rest intervals.
And also with my kindred "hydro-sloths" with bad form.
As many of us decent runners + cyclists can attest to, our stroke will break down, months before our cardio does, and in that, I think lies the danger + inefficiency.
It's a pretty personal thing, as different aspects of "poor form" can accelerate overall slowing down. And of course, the darn near - inevitable injury.
10 seconds rest on a 100 for someone may be excessive, but inadequate for some. I guess the same can be said for 20 seconds per 100.
Here's my question, is there ANY physiological value of the occasional over-distance swim (be that 1.5 K or 4 K) when a person's form, clearly is deteriorating?
Fire away
I don't separate the physiological from the psychological benefit. Having to focus and hold your form together when tired is as much about concentration as anything else. For me, this is where most of the benefits of the long continuous swim lie. Learning to relax the mind and body while still focusing on form and body-awareness is a valuable skill, for racing and life in general. When you add in the recuperative/regenerative nature of continuous swims (and subtract the psychological toll of constantly swimming hard intervals against the clock) you get more benefits (both psychological and physiological). Location matters too: I do all my over-distance stuff in the lake, and there are lots of other added benefits there.