How many yards & times per week do you like to swim when preparing for the 2.4 mile swim?
As with any question around here, the answer is: it depends.
I don’t swim yards…
.
How many yards & times per week do you like to swim when preparing for the 2.4 mile swim?
Too many, too often. most of it isn’t even distance work lol.
How many yards & times per week do you like to swim when preparing for the 2.4 mile swim?
You deserve at least one non-smarta$$ answer.
Of course it will vary enormously, but for me it’s 2-3 times a week, 7000-1000 yds. I’m now 50 and have twice swum 59 minutes at IMW.
Edit - meant 7000-10,000 yds weekly. Sorry.
How many yards & times per week do you like to swim when preparing for the 2.4 mile swim?
You deserve at least one non-smarta$$ answer.
Of course it will vary enormously, but for me it’s 2-3 times a week, 7000-1000 yds. I’m now 50 and have twice swum 59 minutes at IMW.
hey, just want to make sure I’m reading this correctly, you swim 1k-7k in your swim workouts? the descending order throws me off lol
He meant to say 7,000 - 10,000 yds/m per week. That’s about 3,500 yds/m per workout 2-3 times per week. Now, go get in the pool.
How many yards & times per week do you like to swim when preparing for the 2.4 mile swim?
You deserve at least one non-smarta$$ answer.
Of course it will vary enormously, but for me it’s 2-3 times a week, 7000-1000 yds. I’m now 50 and have twice swum 59 minutes at IMW.
hey, just want to make sure I’m reading this correctly, you swim 1k-7k in your swim workouts? the descending order throws me off lol
Sorry, not only wasn’t clear, but had a typo in there as well. Lemme try again.
2-3 times a week at about 3500 yds per session. 7000 - 10000 yds a week.
(I’ll go back and edit the original entry as well).
3 times per week, approximately 10,000 yards total per week. Mostly shorter interval stuff because that’s what the coach puts on the board. Works great, I’ve improved a lot and I am confident it is enough for IM. I have IMC to prepare for, so this summer I will start making more of the swims closer to 4200 instead of the usual 3300.
Hope this helped.
Good info. I guess I shouldn’t be a smart a$$ either and give actual numbers:
I swim 3x a week, Tuesday and Thursday mornings, usually 5k each. Also swim Friday afternoons 6-7k. It should be noted I’m a strong swimmer but it has definitely not taken me to a podium, so I definitely think I swim too much. I only swim that much because I love that form of exercise and crushing high schoolers’ dreams. Mr. Cocaine, I would recommend something on the order of what Bomber is doing.
I usually do 0 yards, 0 times per week. At least that has been the plan this year.
Alright since people have stopped with the smartass answers…
It sounds like you’re kind of new to this swimming thing. Personally, I think you want to swim 6 days a week if you want to progress rapidly. I think that it would be better to do 6 2000-2500 yard workouts than 3 4000 yard workouts. You build and maintain feel for the water and your technique will improve more rapidly if you’re constantly in the water. It’s almost like there’s a momentum to the rate of improvement that gets broken when you spend too many days out of the pool.
As others said, you will want some days to be 100-200 yard interval workouts, and some days 200-800ish intervals. Also, if you’re not technically solid already, get your technique figured out. If you try to ramp up volume on a flawed stroke you run a good risk of hurting yourself or plateauing.
I swim as far as I can with good technique and do that as many times per week as my schedule allows. I come from a swimming/water polo background and my IM swim PR is 55. If I’ve been out of the water for a while, I will swim as few as 1500y and do mostly 50 and 100y repeats with lots of drills added in. As soon as I feel my stroke deteriorate I stop and do a kicking set. I will continue to build until I get to a strong 4000y workout. Even as a stronger swimmer, my objective is to spend as little energy as possible in the water on race day and trust good mechanics and good drafting will get me there.
I’m not training for an IM, but I am a helicopter rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard with a 12 yr competitive swimming background 5 of those I was all-sate. I hate going to the pool to train, been doing it my whole life and just tired of it. With that being said, I go 2-3 times a week. I never set out to do a distance, its more time and HR. I usually start out with a 500 warm up then going into another 500 sprint down race pace back. Then pending the day I use fins ( your legs are so important in swimming ) I’ll do a primary leg workout, something for about 250m then arms only for 50m then right back to the 250m, 1min break then repeet. Going faster than race pace. Then I love doing 50m on the 45. Gets the HR racing. I’ll do 20-30 laps of those then a 500 at race pace then underwater down w/ sprint back 30 sec of rest between. Works on regulating breathing, you know for those rough water days.
Doing workouts like that will give you the yards you need, plus your hitting all muscle groups involved in the stroke. Even include wide arm push-ups (works your lats) inbetween a set or 2. Also flutter kicks (strengthens your hip-flexers for a better kick). Get yourself some pattles (for your hands) not too large if you have never used them before. I’ll help with your stroke.
The way I see swimming, is you want to be as fast as possable without wrecking yourself. Be efficiant, keep your head down hips up, reach out with a deep pull back, quality sholder rotations and KICK!!! We all know how to be aro, use that knowlage in the pool.
Hope this helps, good luck with your IM!!!
Luke
There are many right and wrong answers, and some answers are both right and wrong. What’s your background? Goal? Current fitness? Shoulder strength? How’s your technique? What kind of facilities do you have access to? How much do you enjoy swimming?
There’s probably 30 more questions that would have an impact on the right answer.