For the fish - How to regain feel for the water quickly after time away?

Triathlon Forum
1

For the fish: Over the Christmas period (not helped by vacation a week before the holidays too) I was out the water for around 10 days. The training period leading up to this was great, I was moving up lanes at Masters, hitting all sorts of PBs, and my swimming was coming on leaps and bounds. Having just got back in the pool, I feel like I’m learning to swim again, it feels entirely alien (and hard work!). I’m not sure I’m that far off my previous numbers (it’s hard to tell though as my pool is closed for refurbishment currently and I’m having to use other pools that are not nearly as well prepared for lap swimming), but I’m trying not to worry about that - I just want to feel like I have control over the water again.

So, the question is, what drills/tips/tricks do you use to get feel for the water back after a period away from the pool? Or is it a case of tough it out until it comes back? As you can imagine, this is a little frustrating!

NB. I’m pretty sure I haven’t lost any cardio fitness - I was skiing for a week and am still hitting the same bike/run numbers.

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trying to swim fast can be counter productive. Since it is mostly technique driven I always start out very slow when I get back in the pool. Be very deliberate and smooth. the speed will come back. I actually can tell when my stroke ‘clicks’ back into place and then I can start laying the power out and speeding up, but not until then.

The only drill I ever do is a closed fist drill to give my forearms a feel for the water. You look like an idiot so it is extra motivating to get right fast :wink:

3

I just try to get out and do long slowish swims but get out every day to bring the muscle memory back. 10 days ain’t so bad to pick up on.

4

If I have been swimming 6 times a week and take 2 days off, then I feel terrible when I get back in the water. That feels worse than taking 10 days off - then I just feel slow. There’s some sort of stiffness that sets in with just those 2 days… some time, but not enough time to get the recovery of 10 days off.

Anyway, when it feels alien, I do my normal sets but on slower intervals… like 20 x 100 on 1:30 rather than 1:20s, and long aerobic sets until I loosen up a bit. Do your normal stuff just adjust the intervals

5

  1. swim a lot.

  2. as others have said, don’t go balls to the wall the whole time.

  3. in general, do sets like any good swimmer does. don’t get in the water and do 3k straight or something stupid like that.

6

I like to do one-arm drills to help regain a feel for the water and focus on balance, body position, and rotation. If you haven’t done one-arm drills before, start with your idle arm out in front of you. Once you are comfortable with that, try it with your idle arm by your side.

7

sculling drills
.

8

When I start swimming again after time off, my focus is: avoid injury. No need to rush back into high intensity and/or high volume.

First week back is light swim intensity but frequent workouts with length of workout being about 1/2 typical distance.

Workouts include mixing in brst/bkst and catch up.

Good luck.

9

sculling drills is the way to go. Always my first workout after a couple of days off, or first workout after a flight has almost 30-50% sculling. It is slow and boring but it works

10

I think you’ll be back to where you were after a week or two. I do aerobic stuff when I’m first back, as well, but I also find some very short, controlled sprints can help give feel for the water quickly again: e.g. 8-12 25s on :30, odds sprint with good form, evens easy.