I was having a bit of fun, but in reality the response to my post, validated the OPs original post.
Anyone can, at any age, on taking up the sport get faster.
Including the OP.

The age caveat was unwarranted.

ski erg for HIIT training if you have access to one

https://www.instagram.com/...igshid=1pgy9a2wgx5m9

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

Don't neglect strength training. Real strength training, not "triathlon" strength training. Remember, Nathan Adrian could alternate press 135lbs in each hand on a balance ball before the 2012 olympics.

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"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Did the OP say she was looking to break an American record in the 100?

Nathan Adrian was a very athletic young man with decades of training.
He was probably doing 40,000 - 80,000 yards week, with lots of work on turns and dives. Maybe working with a sports psychologist. Probably a dietician.

In contrast, I also broke 1:30 for 100:
When I NINE YEARS OLD!!!
AND doing 3 short workouts/week during the summer!!
No weights- I was too busy playing.

But the OP, she has lots of time for low return activities!!!
She should do high yardage, weights, see a sports psychologist.
That's what Nathan Adrian did.

I've seen video of him doing 70lbs, I find it very very hard to believe he could do 135lbs in each hand..? Link because if true that's absolutely insane.

This made me chuckle a bit, terrible advice. "triathlon strength training". Any middle of the pack junior triathlete can swim 1:30s all day long. I swam under 1:30 when I was like 8 or 9 and I was just an average club swimmer. Don't need to bench anything to swim 1:30s.

Just to add my two cents, I do realize that my goal is still ridiculously slow for some. I'm a terrible swimmer, I never learned it properly as a kid and I just picked it up some years ago to participate in triathlons. I'm a really strong runner and a good cyclist, and swimming is just hard for me.

I am seeing some progress in the pool with finally swimming regularly though (even if in the past week it's "Only" been 3 times a week).

By the way, I'm 28 ;)

Thanks guys

Don't worry, you are in the majority for triathlon. You'll always get comments like the one above that any 6 year old can do their repeats of 1:30 and the likes. Not everybody swam in a club as a kid. I struggle to make 1:30 even in a standalone 100m let alone on repeats, and my best IM swim is like 1hr 08m. That's middle of the pack, not back of the pack, and it gives me lots of crap cyclists and runners to chase down and make the day more interesting.

How are you progressing?

Cheers, Rich.

Hi, I got my swim times down from 1.50 to 1.30 per 100m in 12 weeks by simply swimming 5 times a week the exact same set. 16 to 20 x 100m reps with 20s rests. That's it. Not rocket science. No warm up, no drills, just 100 reps day in day out (not even that!). Good luck buddy! 😀

Exactly, thanks. It's soooo much easier if you swam as a kid, particularly if you swam regularly and in a club.

Plus, as a woman, 1:30 is much harder to achieve than it is for guys. I feel like many here are going off of their times, their years of experience and countless hours in the pool. I don't have that.

I'm continuously working on my technique now, so my slow times come purely from not swimming enough. I swam a total of 10 times this year until September. So it's just comes down to training regularly. I've never been to the pool 3 times a week, let alone 4. Simply by now swimming 5-7k per week, I already see progress after as little as 3-4 weeks.

I think I'm on the right path and I will time my current 100m time next week to see where I'm at.

Thanks again for your input everyone!

Don't feel bad.

It's actually VERY hard for the typical AGer in tri to go from 1:50/100m to 1:30/100m. Even if it's just for a single 100 all-out effort, I'd say it took me nearly 4 entire years of serious pool training for me (male) to accomplish exactly that.

And I wasn't messing around for those years - I swam almost as much as I possibly could - it's just that for the entire first 2 years, my shoulders couldn't take any load over 7k/wk before getting super sore (and yes, I was fully aware that bad stroke mechanics contribute to this, and I worked on stroke technique non-stop, obsessively during that full time.)

I'd even say less than 50% of AG triathletes (maybe a lot less!) ever get fast enough to swim a single 100 at 1:30/100m pace even at a full-tilt sprint. (Note that this forum is not at all representative of typical AG triathletes!)

Don't take this as offense, but honestly, if you cannot swim a single 25 at 1:30/100m pace right now, I'd be quite skeptical that you will be able to accomplish your stated goal. Of course, nothing is impossible, and yes, there are definitely individuals who are much more natural at taking to swimming - no different from folks who can run sub18min 5ks on next to no run training, and you might be one of them if lucky.

To be clear the comments about what 9 year olds are capable of was not an insult of you.

The comments were an insult to any one who is telling you that you need to be doing highly specialized training based on something some olympian are other might be doing. (The people recommending dry land HIT exercises and weight training may have been joking. But slowtwitch has a very long history of gym membership sales people give bad advice).


What you need is basic swim practice. Develop a good stroke, learn flip turns, do 3 or 4 practices per week. And have fun. The same things you would do if you were 9 and on a summer swim team.

I learned to swim by reading a book in 2010. I can run a 2:50 marathon and have a half iron bike PR of around 2:10, but my best 1000yd in the pool was at a 1:44/100 pace. So I had plenty of fitness but my technique obviously sucked. In 2012 I paid for five one-hour private lessons with a legit coach. The lessons were in an endless pool with multi-angle video, mirrors etc. I didn't do much swimming in the sessions, it was hardcore instruction. After only four lessons lessons I had to go on a bunch of business trips so never did the final lesson. I went back to swimming and applied as best I could what I had learned. After a few weeks I did a 1000yd TT and it was at 1:32/100 pace. Literally no fitness improvement whatsoever, just four private lessons, and I got 12 sec/100. Several months later as I ramped up training I got that down to 1:30/100 once my swim fitness closer to in-season. I know that with more instruction I could do a LOT better. But honestly if you're looking for very quick improvement, the private lessons for me revealed a LOT of low-hanging-fruit in my technique.

 
Well...
My humble opinion is - trying to be fast one time and trying to get faster for a long time are different things.

As a former sprinter - strength and short efforts are key to be fast. Volume is important to get swim endurance

Overall base on your time trying to improve technique can shave off a lot of time, long and short.

one of my go to sets are 20x 100y for 1:30 ( swim and rest ) - I can do that since a have the background and the proper technique so I don't get as tired as someone that is fit but would struggle with the water.


Don't worry , I`m happy when I can maintain 9 min per mile running 5 miles ( because....guess what....my technique sucks!! )

There isn't a technique to running.

Basically, your body will move in a way that is the best for you.

I find alternating 100s with a pull buoy and just swimming helps me to feel what going faster should feel like. The buoy lifts you hips and legs, lessening the drag and making you faster. Pay attention to how th water feels over your shoulders, along your abdomen, and legs when using the buoy. Then mimic that feeling when free swimming by engaging your core, tucking your chin, making your breaths as economical as possible (i.e. just barely getting your lips out of the water). It’s all technique. I’m no swimming titan and repping 1:30s is well within my ability, but I was swimming 2:10 a few years ago. Flip turns are free speed too, at least in the pool. It doesn’t count in open water obviously.

I stand corrected. He was pressing 150. I thought it was in each hand when I first saw it. Surely, 8 years later he is pressing more than that.

https://www.youtube.com/...p;ab_channel=TeamUSA

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"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Ok, everyone, let's all take a chill pill...it doesn't matter if you don't believe me. Weight training is important for swimming. If OP isn't lifting, this could be low-hanging fruit. I see a significant difference in my swimming when I focus on my lifting.

N=1, etc, but what would I know...I've only been swimming on swim team since I was 6, and both of my parents were solid NCAA D1 swimmers who gave me lots of sound advice and tips.

There's a lot of things that OP can do to swim faster. This was my advice. Strength training is important for a lot of other aspects of life and athletics. I'd suggest doing it anyway.

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"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Hi! Just to clarify, I swam 50m @1:26min/100m pace last week at the end of a training session. I think my current 25m time is 16 seconds.

That's very impressive! I might do a single coached session soon, I just wanted to see first how I can improve by just swimming regularly and going to coached swim lessons (with multiple people).

I definitely have to work on those flip turns!!! Regardless of the fact that we have to do them for the final, I'll definitely need those extra seconds.

.

Oh - then you definitely got this! I'll bet you can do it today if you can do a 1:26 at the end of a training session . That's a very fast 25m - I'll almost guarantee you can do it right now then!

I find it odd that you can swim a 50 and 25 that fast but then open your thread with 1:50/100m for a one-off. Those numbers definitely don't match up at all. With that sort of 50 and 25 times, you should already be sub 1:30 for a one-off 100 all out.

Honestly, I lack the speed endurance for the 100! I couldn’t swim those times a month ago either (and I opened up the thread at the beginning of October I think). So my last known time to swim a 100m quick was around that time 😂 plus, after the 50s (which were with the start jump and the flip turn), I was done. Lactate overload in the legs, no breath. I couldn’t have held that pace for a second longer. Basically what I need are some tips for good sessions that improve that speed endurance 😊😊

Update: I finally timed it today, no jump but with flip turns. Don't know how accurate the time is 'cause I timed it myself.

Visual timing said 1:35. My watch said 1:32.

I'm completely baffled. Didn't think I was ANYWHERE near that yet.

Sorry my comment was aimed towards the poster implying that you need to bench press god knows how much to be a decent swimmer. I reckon 1:30/100 m might be hard for some folks but some swim coaches go as far as saying that "any swimmer" does not need any specific sets until their 400 m time is below 6:00. I find this a bit too hard to go without main sets, but whatever, they do have point.

Just read you already got your time down to 1:32/100m, congratulations ! and I am certain that you didn't have to bench anything, which was my point. With the speed you have on the 25 m, you should have no issues getting your 100 m to around 1:20, just keep building at it.