I recently started swimming laps again for relaxation. Having never been on a team, I have a) no idea what I'm actually SUPPOSED to be doing with my arms and legs and b) no idea of what a good practice/workout session should consist of.
I'm going to be taking a stroke technique class to address "a".
In the meanwhile, however, I need to get stronger and faster, and I need a goal to work towards in each of my workouts. Does anyone know of a good way to drill myself, or some kind of series of goals I can set myself that would get me going faster and for longer?
Look into joining a masters' swim club. If you Google it, you might find one locally. Upside is that you'll get a killer workout tailored to your ability level and you'll be swimming with other swimmers by whom you can gauge your progress and maybe learn a few more things. Downside is that your workouts will be on a scheduled (likely early in the AM). Some clubs might be more flexible than that.
The stroke technique class will be HUGELY helpful, but if you want to try a workout on your own for the time being, a friend of mine who played water polo in college built a workout for me that's been great (read below). At this point, don't worry at all about the time intervals. Just work on accomplishing the yardage. And even if you can only finish some of a particular workout before your arms are jello, keep at it. At first, you'll waste a bunch of your energy on bad form, but that's OK. Your endurance will come and will only get better as your stroke technique improves.
Also, don't feel the need to just rotate routinely through these workouts. If you find one you like, stick with it until you get bored, then move on to another. After a while, you'll get to the point of being able to do all 5 in a week. By that time you'll be well on your way to finding more workouts.
Let me know if you have questions.
*******
All workouts include the warm-up. I usually do the same thing for all swim workouts:
Kick set:
100 - 50 flutter (free), 50 eggbeater - pull kickboard underwater and hold it so that it is acting as wall for resistance
100 warmdown
Totat yards for workout 4 -----> 2,100
Workout 5
10 x 100 free on 2:30 - first one will be 75% (cruise this), the second one will be 100% sprint -- alternate every other one this way through the whole set. Take a 1 minute break between five and six
Wow, that's immensely helpful!!! Just what I needed, thank you.
I do want to join a Master's swim class--they're even at the perfect time for me here, 7-8pm weeknights--but I don't have the money at the moment. I'm also not quite good enough to throw in with them, yet. I want to build up some stamina and speed first or I will just be really frutrated trying to swim with them, I think.
For example, I cannot do backstroke yet without getting water up my nose. (How on earth do you do that?!) And have never had someone show me a proper fly, so I pretty much blow chunks just trying it. BUT I am really motivated, luckily, so I will give it my best shot. Gonna try to find some free video tutorials online for the back and fly, at least.
Thanks, thanks, thanks a million... I'll probably have questions to email you about because not all of this makes sense to me yet.
Also I need to practice my flip-turns a bit too... I seem to take my last breath too close to the wall and so I come against the wall without enough speed to do a good flip turn. But as I breathe every 3rd stroke, if I take my last breathe one breathe before, I'm too far out to hold it all the way through the flipturn. (Does this make sense?) Ahh well. Got some kinks to work out still.
Backstroke-
momentum definitely helps you stay afloat a little better. make sure you're reaching back fully and truly kicking for speed and not just twiddling your legs. keep your head tilted back and that'll lift your nose further out of the water. use the lane markers above and to your side to judge your distance.
things will also become easier as you develop better muscle strength. fly is very difficult but awesome when you can get it. it's a lot about timing the kick and the arms properly. takes a lot of strength which is why it's tough. but then you get to have what i call "kraken of the deep" photos of yourself:
also, as you develop better cardio and breathing, you'll find if you have to you can hold your breath a little longer if you have to and get the flip turn right. maybe to start, try taking your breath where you need to at the end of the lane rather than restricting yourself to a strict 3 stroke breathing pattern. so you might take just 1 or 2 strokes, take a breath, one pull and then initiate your flip.
with fly, start w/ a kickboard and get your kicking down. gotta put it together in parts...
also, cheap place to swim is your local YM(or W) CA.
just swim across the lake & back...i usually find that this is more than enough. bonus points for doing thisafter dusk, naked, slightly inebriated and with several friends of the same gender while members of the other sex hang out back at the cottage wondering what's the matter with you.
No problem myriam hope it's helpful...and yes, feel free to email me with questions (since I don't know you're experience level).
Your stroke technique class will be a HUGE help. Fly is definitely the toughest since, as ACfA mentioned, strength and rhythm are key. In the meantime, do what I did and just substitute freestyle so you can still get your yardage. Then when you've built up your strength and stamina give it a shot. And definitely don't quit...you WILL look and feel like a spaz at first...you have to let yourself suck (literally and figuratively) before you can get the hang of it. At some point it'll just "click"
Also...don't worry so much about flip turns at this point. Yeah, they look cool, but if you're still trying to work your strokes and get your wind back, it's not really worth it yet.
This is all very helpful. You nailed, it, broccoli, it's mostly that I feel like I look like an ass--so I get worried, lose my swim zen, and kind of spaz out a bit for a few strokes. When I'm in the pool with a lane to myself (rare but occasional) after about 40 laps suddenly and unnoticeably (at first) it just clicks into place.
Right now I have been alternating free and breast for about 50 mins without stopping, and pretty much just concentrating on not stopping (trying to get to an hour nonstop). Strength is decent, but I have asthma so I tend to have problems with breathing rhthym which then screws up my stroke rhythm. I'm sure that part will just come with practice, however, and it's reassuring to hear you say the same, pretty much.
Thanks for your help, all of you. And ACfA, I do in fact swim at the good ole Y! It's great in terms of hours and price but sucky in terms of there only being 3 lanes (which get crowded fast... and circle swimming basically makes a good workout impossible) and indoor to boot, in a stuffy room that aggravates my breathing issues. I miss the old Y I swam at in Orange County... $2 per visit and something like 8 lanes of outdoor glory... doing the backstroke meant you watched the stars.
oh totally forgot... sorta like the first exercise brocolli mentions... interval training is essential for increase in overall speed. you need to make your muscles work decently hard, give them a short rest and work hard again.
an alternative to set distances and times is to look at say your 100m time... say it's around 1 minute... so you give yourself 1:30 or 1:45 to swim several 100m laps. if you finish in 1 minute you get 30 seconds rest before the next, if you finish in 1:20, you get 10 seconds rest. if you finish in 1:30, you have to start the next one right away. good way to learn how to pace yourself and become acquainted with how hard you can push your body. slowly reduce the time....
and if you have a alarmed watch that can do countdown intervals, do say 15 minutes of freestyle. set it for 45 seconds and 15 second alternatively. so 45 seconds you swim at 40% and then you sprint at 90% for 15 seconds. vary number of repetitions for your level...
yeah acfa, i'm not down with the banana hammock either. i go with the jammers (although they are speedos). snug and sleek but not too "euro". board shorts are great for the extra drag.
myriam -- you're on the right track! the breast/free alternation is the best place to start. also, it's good that you're breathing every 3 strokes...i had to teach myself to breathe from both sides 'cause i started to have neck problems. 2 is too much, 4 is too little, but 3 is juuust right.
be glad you don't swim at bally's like me. dodging waders and old folks is a nightmare...i have to go at odd hours to get a decent workout. i'm hoping to get into ucla for grad school next year so i can get access to what i imagine is an awesome pool...and yes, that is in my criteria. ;)
ha ha! Yeah, I started swimming while in school--I would go down to the pool in between a few hours of studio, it was the perfect way to recharge. I go at odd hours too--which is a bit tought at the moment because the gym I go to is right next to work and far far away from home [no car].
As for timed intervals:
What do you guys think of getting a shark watch? I used to have one as a kid but hate wearing watches now. Is it useful to swim with a watch? Do you guys do it? My previous pools had seconds-clocks at each end for easy viewing but the one I'm at now only has it at ONE end, so it's really only good for 50s and 100s, and not much else. I've been mulling over the idea of buying a watch for swimming but I can't tell if I'll ever actually use it.
ACfA your suggestions are great--I didn't even know that about intervals building speed. I love the suggestion in your 3rd paragraph, too.
I can't tell you guys how excited I am right now. This is SO helpful!!! I feel like I've been stumbling along in the dark and you've turned the light on. Thanks!
myriam-
most mid-low priced digitals have all sorts of crazy countdown timers now. i just bought a new timex for just that purpose. cost me $45 @ REI. my only concern is that i had a coach screaming the timing intervals at me when i used to swim. now i just have the beeping of the watch. so it's hard to hear sometimes... look at the timex triathalon series. they're quite inexpensive and have several timers...
broccoli-
starting my master's @ UCLA in 5 weeks. i'll scope out the pool for you...
No--are paddles the little things you put on your hands? And "pull buoy" the thing you put between your legs? I tried to use that one a few weeks ago and found that it was easier to just not use it and drag my legs inert behind me. But I was pretty convinced I was using it wrong.
yes and yes. you place the pull buoy between your thighs that way it helps keep your butt floating higher in the water. swimming's all about minimizing your drag profile and maximizing the efficiency of your stroke. the pull buoy helps shrink your profile and the paddles help you practice maximizing your stroke.
a few pointers that really helped improve my freestyle stroke:
- for body position, imagine a line going straight through your head and down through your toes. as you stroke, rotate your upper body around that axis and, by kicking, try to keep that axis as parallel to the surface as you can
- for arm stroke, extend as far as you can in front of your head and pull your arm through keeping it close to your body. imagine you're pulling yourself through the water along a rope that's immediately below your body and parallel to the axis mentioned above. carry your hand all the way down to your thigh and don't let it exit the water until you do so. here's where the paddles help...most of them have rubber attachments for the wrist and the middle finger. remove the one on the wrist and it'll force you to keep your hands in the water until your arm stroke finishes at your thigh (this really helped me).
- and keep your fingers closed!
these tips really helped me get past the "penguin paddle" you see with beginners where their arms stroke out to the side and only partway through their stroke (more like the oars on a roman galley)
Probably more than you asked for, but hopefully this helps a bit.
also try open water swims for a challenge... no lanes, water aerobics obstacles, waiting for lanes to open up, or interval clocks.... just sharks to keep you motivated on perfecting that stroke.
Aug 17, 06 12:57 am ·
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Swimming Drills?
I recently started swimming laps again for relaxation. Having never been on a team, I have a) no idea what I'm actually SUPPOSED to be doing with my arms and legs and b) no idea of what a good practice/workout session should consist of.
I'm going to be taking a stroke technique class to address "a".
In the meanwhile, however, I need to get stronger and faster, and I need a goal to work towards in each of my workouts. Does anyone know of a good way to drill myself, or some kind of series of goals I can set myself that would get me going faster and for longer?
"get you going faster and for longer" …. Huh, let me think ......
Oh shush. I'm serious.
Look into joining a masters' swim club. If you Google it, you might find one locally. Upside is that you'll get a killer workout tailored to your ability level and you'll be swimming with other swimmers by whom you can gauge your progress and maybe learn a few more things. Downside is that your workouts will be on a scheduled (likely early in the AM). Some clubs might be more flexible than that.
The stroke technique class will be HUGELY helpful, but if you want to try a workout on your own for the time being, a friend of mine who played water polo in college built a workout for me that's been great (read below). At this point, don't worry at all about the time intervals. Just work on accomplishing the yardage. And even if you can only finish some of a particular workout before your arms are jello, keep at it. At first, you'll waste a bunch of your energy on bad form, but that's OK. Your endurance will come and will only get better as your stroke technique improves.
Also, don't feel the need to just rotate routinely through these workouts. If you find one you like, stick with it until you get bored, then move on to another. After a while, you'll get to the point of being able to do all 5 in a week. By that time you'll be well on your way to finding more workouts.
Let me know if you have questions.
*******
All workouts include the warm-up. I usually do the same thing for all swim workouts:
200 Freestyle
2 x 100 MI's (reverse IM's -- free, breast, back, fly)
Workout 1 - pyramid sets
100 freestyle 75% (effort, 100% would be an all out sprint)
15 seconds rest
200 freestyle 75%
15 sec rest
300 freestyle 75%
15 sec rest
200 freestyle 75%
15 sec rest
100 freestyle 75%
rest 2-3 minutes
300 pull set (use paddles and bouy (between your legs))
100 kick set (use kick board) -- 50 freestyle, 50 breast kick
100 warm down
Total yards for workout 1 -----> 1,800
Workout 2
5x100 Freestyle on 2:00 minute intervals
Pull set:
300 freestyle - 75%
15 sec rest
200 free - 75%
15 sec rest
100 free - 75%
Kick set
100 - 50 breast, 50 free
100 warm down
Total yards for workout 2 ------> 1,700
Workout 3
8 x 100 IM's on the 2:30
Pull set:
500 free
Kick set:
100 kick -- your choice
100 warm down
Total yards for workout 3 -------> 1,900
Workout 4
3 x 100 Free on the 2:00
3 x 100 Free on the 1:45
1 minute rest
3 x 100 Free on the 1:30
Pull set:
300 Free
15 sec rest
200 Free
15 sec rest
100 Free
Kick set:
100 - 50 flutter (free), 50 eggbeater - pull kickboard underwater and hold it so that it is acting as wall for resistance
100 warmdown
Totat yards for workout 4 -----> 2,100
Workout 5
10 x 100 free on 2:30 - first one will be 75% (cruise this), the second one will be 100% sprint -- alternate every other one this way through the whole set. Take a 1 minute break between five and six
Pull set:
500 pull
Kick set:
100 your choice
100 warm down
Total yards for workout 5 ------->2,100
.... or you could do what i do:
swim for 30 minutes.
freestyle until you get pooped then do a length of breast, go back to freestyle
pretend you're the 'thorpedo' the whole time
Wow, that's immensely helpful!!! Just what I needed, thank you.
I do want to join a Master's swim class--they're even at the perfect time for me here, 7-8pm weeknights--but I don't have the money at the moment. I'm also not quite good enough to throw in with them, yet. I want to build up some stamina and speed first or I will just be really frutrated trying to swim with them, I think.
For example, I cannot do backstroke yet without getting water up my nose. (How on earth do you do that?!) And have never had someone show me a proper fly, so I pretty much blow chunks just trying it. BUT I am really motivated, luckily, so I will give it my best shot. Gonna try to find some free video tutorials online for the back and fly, at least.
Thanks, thanks, thanks a million... I'll probably have questions to email you about because not all of this makes sense to me yet.
Also I need to practice my flip-turns a bit too... I seem to take my last breath too close to the wall and so I come against the wall without enough speed to do a good flip turn. But as I breathe every 3rd stroke, if I take my last breathe one breathe before, I'm too far out to hold it all the way through the flipturn. (Does this make sense?) Ahh well. Got some kinks to work out still.
Backstroke-
momentum definitely helps you stay afloat a little better. make sure you're reaching back fully and truly kicking for speed and not just twiddling your legs. keep your head tilted back and that'll lift your nose further out of the water. use the lane markers above and to your side to judge your distance.
things will also become easier as you develop better muscle strength. fly is very difficult but awesome when you can get it. it's a lot about timing the kick and the arms properly. takes a lot of strength which is why it's tough. but then you get to have what i call "kraken of the deep" photos of yourself:
also, as you develop better cardio and breathing, you'll find if you have to you can hold your breath a little longer if you have to and get the flip turn right. maybe to start, try taking your breath where you need to at the end of the lane rather than restricting yourself to a strict 3 stroke breathing pattern. so you might take just 1 or 2 strokes, take a breath, one pull and then initiate your flip.
with fly, start w/ a kickboard and get your kicking down. gotta put it together in parts...
also, cheap place to swim is your local YM(or W) CA.
just swim across the lake & back...i usually find that this is more than enough. bonus points for doing thisafter dusk, naked, slightly inebriated and with several friends of the same gender while members of the other sex hang out back at the cottage wondering what's the matter with you.
"Release...the Kraken!"
No problem myriam hope it's helpful...and yes, feel free to email me with questions (since I don't know you're experience level).
Your stroke technique class will be a HUGE help. Fly is definitely the toughest since, as ACfA mentioned, strength and rhythm are key. In the meantime, do what I did and just substitute freestyle so you can still get your yardage. Then when you've built up your strength and stamina give it a shot. And definitely don't quit...you WILL look and feel like a spaz at first...you have to let yourself suck (literally and figuratively) before you can get the hang of it. At some point it'll just "click"
Also...don't worry so much about flip turns at this point. Yeah, they look cool, but if you're still trying to work your strokes and get your wind back, it's not really worth it yet.
watch out for the snapping turtles, puddles...they just might take your "bait"
This is all very helpful. You nailed, it, broccoli, it's mostly that I feel like I look like an ass--so I get worried, lose my swim zen, and kind of spaz out a bit for a few strokes. When I'm in the pool with a lane to myself (rare but occasional) after about 40 laps suddenly and unnoticeably (at first) it just clicks into place.
Right now I have been alternating free and breast for about 50 mins without stopping, and pretty much just concentrating on not stopping (trying to get to an hour nonstop). Strength is decent, but I have asthma so I tend to have problems with breathing rhthym which then screws up my stroke rhythm. I'm sure that part will just come with practice, however, and it's reassuring to hear you say the same, pretty much.
Thanks for your help, all of you. And ACfA, I do in fact swim at the good ole Y! It's great in terms of hours and price but sucky in terms of there only being 3 lanes (which get crowded fast... and circle swimming basically makes a good workout impossible) and indoor to boot, in a stuffy room that aggravates my breathing issues. I miss the old Y I swam at in Orange County... $2 per visit and something like 8 lanes of outdoor glory... doing the backstroke meant you watched the stars.
do you have a killer speedo?
I have a killer Tyr. :) Fire-engine red bikini.
i say yay for scantily clad women. i don't swim in a speedo. my excuse is that the drag is better for training. :-D
oh totally forgot... sorta like the first exercise brocolli mentions... interval training is essential for increase in overall speed. you need to make your muscles work decently hard, give them a short rest and work hard again.
an alternative to set distances and times is to look at say your 100m time... say it's around 1 minute... so you give yourself 1:30 or 1:45 to swim several 100m laps. if you finish in 1 minute you get 30 seconds rest before the next, if you finish in 1:20, you get 10 seconds rest. if you finish in 1:30, you have to start the next one right away. good way to learn how to pace yourself and become acquainted with how hard you can push your body. slowly reduce the time....
and if you have a alarmed watch that can do countdown intervals, do say 15 minutes of freestyle. set it for 45 seconds and 15 second alternatively. so 45 seconds you swim at 40% and then you sprint at 90% for 15 seconds. vary number of repetitions for your level...
yeah acfa, i'm not down with the banana hammock either. i go with the jammers (although they are speedos). snug and sleek but not too "euro". board shorts are great for the extra drag.
myriam -- you're on the right track! the breast/free alternation is the best place to start. also, it's good that you're breathing every 3 strokes...i had to teach myself to breathe from both sides 'cause i started to have neck problems. 2 is too much, 4 is too little, but 3 is juuust right.
be glad you don't swim at bally's like me. dodging waders and old folks is a nightmare...i have to go at odd hours to get a decent workout. i'm hoping to get into ucla for grad school next year so i can get access to what i imagine is an awesome pool...and yes, that is in my criteria. ;)
ha ha! Yeah, I started swimming while in school--I would go down to the pool in between a few hours of studio, it was the perfect way to recharge. I go at odd hours too--which is a bit tought at the moment because the gym I go to is right next to work and far far away from home [no car].
As for timed intervals:
What do you guys think of getting a shark watch? I used to have one as a kid but hate wearing watches now. Is it useful to swim with a watch? Do you guys do it? My previous pools had seconds-clocks at each end for easy viewing but the one I'm at now only has it at ONE end, so it's really only good for 50s and 100s, and not much else. I've been mulling over the idea of buying a watch for swimming but I can't tell if I'll ever actually use it.
ACfA your suggestions are great--I didn't even know that about intervals building speed. I love the suggestion in your 3rd paragraph, too.
I can't tell you guys how excited I am right now. This is SO helpful!!! I feel like I've been stumbling along in the dark and you've turned the light on. Thanks!
myriam-
most mid-low priced digitals have all sorts of crazy countdown timers now. i just bought a new timex for just that purpose. cost me $45 @ REI. my only concern is that i had a coach screaming the timing intervals at me when i used to swim. now i just have the beeping of the watch. so it's hard to hear sometimes... look at the timex triathalon series. they're quite inexpensive and have several timers...
broccoli-
starting my master's @ UCLA in 5 weeks. i'll scope out the pool for you...
which way is it to the gym? is it thiiiiis way?
watch = good
i haven't worn a watch regularly for many years, but it's really helpful in the pool. acfa's recommendations (par usuale) are spot on.
btw myriam, do you have paddles and pull buoy? you can get 'em cheap and they're great for arm strength.
acfa -- would love your scoop on the pool and your thoughts on the program after you've been there a bit.
(i think watching ahnold do 'fly would be pretty damn funny)
No--are paddles the little things you put on your hands? And "pull buoy" the thing you put between your legs? I tried to use that one a few weeks ago and found that it was easier to just not use it and drag my legs inert behind me. But I was pretty convinced I was using it wrong.
yes and yes. you place the pull buoy between your thighs that way it helps keep your butt floating higher in the water. swimming's all about minimizing your drag profile and maximizing the efficiency of your stroke. the pull buoy helps shrink your profile and the paddles help you practice maximizing your stroke.
a few pointers that really helped improve my freestyle stroke:
- for body position, imagine a line going straight through your head and down through your toes. as you stroke, rotate your upper body around that axis and, by kicking, try to keep that axis as parallel to the surface as you can
- for arm stroke, extend as far as you can in front of your head and pull your arm through keeping it close to your body. imagine you're pulling yourself through the water along a rope that's immediately below your body and parallel to the axis mentioned above. carry your hand all the way down to your thigh and don't let it exit the water until you do so. here's where the paddles help...most of them have rubber attachments for the wrist and the middle finger. remove the one on the wrist and it'll force you to keep your hands in the water until your arm stroke finishes at your thigh (this really helped me).
- and keep your fingers closed!
these tips really helped me get past the "penguin paddle" you see with beginners where their arms stroke out to the side and only partway through their stroke (more like the oars on a roman galley)
Probably more than you asked for, but hopefully this helps a bit.
I was expecting to see some cool waterproof Makitas here. Whoops.
i'm a dewalt kind of guy...
...apparently neither of you have ever seen a porter-cable in a thong and inflatable water wings.
Makita? Dewalt? Porter-Cable? Its all about Festool!
its all about the stroke...
also try open water swims for a challenge... no lanes, water aerobics obstacles, waiting for lanes to open up, or interval clocks.... just sharks to keep you motivated on perfecting that stroke.
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