Due to a number a nagging leg injuries my competitive season is over. I am oiut of race shape but still in good shape. i definatly need to go back to base phase. From now until mid january I am gonna concentrate on running and swimming. The running part i have down but the swimming i would like some ideas. I am not a bad swimmer, i can go 25:xx for a 1500m. I plan on swimming 5 times a week probably for around 2 hours a workout. Should i just treat this like a long base period? any links tat might be helpful? thanks
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Re: Help with long term swimming plan [nos306stang]
[ In reply to ]
http://www.swim2000.com/page.php?p=workout&PHPSESSID=444b8c3a3d8cf03682b870b87c372ad9
Sign up to have the workouts emailed to you every week.
Sign up to have the workouts emailed to you every week.
Re: Help with long term swimming plan [Kevin in MD]
[ In reply to ]
I have a good source of workouts although i did sign up for those thanks. I was looking more to a phylosophy as opposed to just workouts
Re: Help with long term swimming plan [nos306stang]
[ In reply to ]
Should i just treat this like a long base period?
Not exactly, I think. I maintain that swimming is entirely different than a sport like running, in which, conceivably, a ton of slow miles will inevitably build a good running base. You can't just put your mind on auto-pilot, swim slow and steady for two hours, and expect much improvement. (Though I think spending a lot of time in the water is the first prerequisite for a big improvement swimming.) You have to be mentally engaged with the medium- you have to try to develop an awareness of the water, and it's dynamics, and how you can use them.
Also, I think you have to work harder physically to get the same benefit, relative to running. Let's say your perceived effort while running your base miles is a six, on a scale of 1 to 10. I think your perceived effort while swimming needs to be at least a 7, and more like an 8, to see much improvement. The upside is that you can swim harder without getting injured, relative to running.
Just my .02.
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."
Not exactly, I think. I maintain that swimming is entirely different than a sport like running, in which, conceivably, a ton of slow miles will inevitably build a good running base. You can't just put your mind on auto-pilot, swim slow and steady for two hours, and expect much improvement. (Though I think spending a lot of time in the water is the first prerequisite for a big improvement swimming.) You have to be mentally engaged with the medium- you have to try to develop an awareness of the water, and it's dynamics, and how you can use them.
Also, I think you have to work harder physically to get the same benefit, relative to running. Let's say your perceived effort while running your base miles is a six, on a scale of 1 to 10. I think your perceived effort while swimming needs to be at least a 7, and more like an 8, to see much improvement. The upside is that you can swim harder without getting injured, relative to running.
Just my .02.
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."
Re: Help with long term swimming plan [vitus979]
[ In reply to ]
I wasnt planning swimming slow a steady for 2 hours but i dont think you thought that. I was planning on kick work, pull, and paddles and some tempo type swimming. With what your saying about intensity should i include hard interval days or maybe just put in 400-500 yards of intervals a few times a week?
Re: Help with long term swimming plan [nos306stang]
[ In reply to ]
Personally, I'd include a couple of hard interval days each week. I'd forget about the kick, pull, and paddle work, for the most part- maybe during your warm-up, or something. And I'd take a day or two each week as "fun" days- swim different strokes, fool around, etc.
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."
"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."
Re: Help with long term swimming plan [nos306stang]
[ In reply to ]
I'd alternate interval days with distance days.
maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
So you basically want ot do for your swimming what we normally do for our biking and running I guess.
Check out "Championship Swim Training" by Bill Sweetenham. It is the swimming analog of the triathlete's training bible. The book covers triathlon swim training some but it mostly for the high level swim coach, but it could apply to high level triathletes. Putting in ten hours per week will get you there.
The weeks are broken out by preparation, endurance, quality, mixed, and specific. Specifics is for a pool swimmer and really doesn't apply.
So for your ten weeks you might go for 1 prep week, 5 endurance weeks, 3 quality weeks and 1 mixed week. Or whatever you choose. You look at how the weeks are laid out, for example he says on monday do aerobc FS and BK sets, FS pull, some quality kicking, and some high velocity overspeed suff.
Then you go to the appropriate seciton and pick from the sets listed. So you look in the aerobic sets section and see there are about a dozen so you pick one, then do the same for the pull, the saem for the kick and the same for the high velocity.
I don't often recommend the book but in your situation it seems to be right on the money. To make it work you need to be putting in some serious time in the water.
Check out "Championship Swim Training" by Bill Sweetenham. It is the swimming analog of the triathlete's training bible. The book covers triathlon swim training some but it mostly for the high level swim coach, but it could apply to high level triathletes. Putting in ten hours per week will get you there.
The weeks are broken out by preparation, endurance, quality, mixed, and specific. Specifics is for a pool swimmer and really doesn't apply.
So for your ten weeks you might go for 1 prep week, 5 endurance weeks, 3 quality weeks and 1 mixed week. Or whatever you choose. You look at how the weeks are laid out, for example he says on monday do aerobc FS and BK sets, FS pull, some quality kicking, and some high velocity overspeed suff.
Then you go to the appropriate seciton and pick from the sets listed. So you look in the aerobic sets section and see there are about a dozen so you pick one, then do the same for the pull, the saem for the kick and the same for the high velocity.
I don't often recommend the book but in your situation it seems to be right on the money. To make it work you need to be putting in some serious time in the water.