I’ve always wanted to do what arhy of TT1.0 did and try to get a <60s 100m with no swimming background.
I always have these winter plans of running a marathon, but that never happens and I just wander through the dark nights and gloom aimlessly.
RE: Mobility
I can touch my toes without bending my legs.
Actually, I can wrap half of my hand over them and lift them off the floor without bending my knees.
I can touch my fingers behind my back over my shoulder blades, too. But only from the left side. Right side I’m miles away
Can touch each shoulder blade with the opposite hand from over and under, too.
You’ve nailed my situation exactly there @Hammerer . I was a member of swim smooth squad for a year because it forced me to at least put some effort in to mixing up training sets and it was fun swim session.
But I just became good at drills, it didn’t convert into better race swim times. I can now swim pretty efficiently and over 25/50m can swim slightly under 1:20/100 pace. However an IM race that year was my worst swim time by a significant margin - approx 20 minutes if I recall. I now realise I simply didn’t swim sufficient volume and my ankle flexibility is appalling, partly down to ligament damage from a couple of motorcycle crashes. I was expecting my improved body position and stroke efficiency to cover the lack of time in the water and it simply doesn’t. Sadly, my nearest pool is a round trip of an hour so my swim volume is never going to be where it needs to be.
Actually no as for most people that would just involve 5 days of swimming up and down with little focus. I should say doing more focused swimming with a purpose and a goal. You can get to pretty useful levels as an AoS even on 3 times a week but as water is such an alien environment by not doing most days you spend time when returning just readjusting and it will be unusual to get to top AG and good swimmer levels.
He didn’t make it as far as I know, not for want of trying, but sub minute is regional qualification levels and tough even for a decent club swimmer! sub 30s 50 is a decent goal though
There’s your imbalance! I’m similar can touch easily one way, but where i had the shoulder injury I’m just short the other, work on that and you will improve!
Yeah! I said I know I lean to the left.
I also know the cause
Like I said, I don’t need to pay someone to tell me that
Okay, top age groupers…specifically Brian Fogarty.
Swims 4km straight once per week.
That’s it.
He’s said that on podcasts.
He swims under the hour, then beasts everyone on the bike…actually…brings me back to the other day.
Looking at Outlaw 2010-2012 results.
Loads of sub 10s.
50-55 / 5hrs / 3hrs 10mins - 3hrs 25mins
Anyways…if someone is doing 5 x 3km sets per week, what would that ROUGHLY look like? Mixed stroke work? Any drills? I know you’re a fan of fast 50s and 100s every day, aren’t you?
Without abbreviations
problem is fitness is just as important, as when you fatigue form drops off hence a lot of coaches heading into the direction of less drills more “mindful” swimming to keep fitness up more. A good coach once said to me the most important muscle in swimming is the brain, and its true you really need to be thinking throughout. One of the problems though with hard fitness sessions is your brain will switch off as the pain sets in, and you end up throwing arms over and going slower! Its also why I feel you should never swim when overly fatigued, better to get that rest in and swim every stroke well. Key to a good swim is Form under Stress or technique under fatigue. the swimmer that wins the 100 is the one that keeps close to top form for the second 50 not the one with the best form at the start. Bottom line is mix it up to keep the brain guessing and swim as consistently as possible.
Obviously once at a level its easy just to jump in once a week or so and hold a level, my friend and ex national level swimmer, was in his words “rubbish at front crawl” but always led out a swim and at the time did 1 masters swim a week for an hour.
SKIPS (10second Ri between each) (can be 800m SKiPs (same but with no IM drill!)
200 Swim - FC
200 Kick (50 fly kick on back, 50 kick on side, 50 torpedo kick, 50 Kick on back)
200 IM drill (50 single arm fly, 50 back drill (3 oclock drill or single arm) , 50 breast
arms, fly legs, 50 0 arms FC)
200 Pull (FC with pull descending)
200 Swim - Back
Pre Main (400m) (unless doing an endurance set where we would jump straight to main)
16 x 25 off 30 holding 17-20secs with max 17 strokes ( it's @Target Race Pace)
Main (sprint focus) (1200m)
24 x 50 of 12.5 sprints easy to end, off 1:15 or vary distance sprints
10m/15m/20m/25m
Main (endurance focus) (1800m)
16 x 100 / 8 x 200 / pyramid etc all Zone 2 focus on form, short rest 10-20 seconds
(maybe use pull paddles, snorkel etc)
8 x 25 take home sprints 10 or 12.5m all out efforts, off a minute) , maybe relays in a squad!
CD (200m - 400m)
200m-400m choice (no FC usually, longer for sprints than endurance, in squad i
sometimes use 200m "kick chat" which means they kick 200 with board and are
allowed to chat!)
the top squad at swim club do 2.5hrs on a Monday usually 7.5 - 8k. main can even be 60x100 FC off 1:25 holding 1:12!
Another favourite swim club set is the Olympian so all Olympic events
WU - 1500m FC
Pre Main 800m FC (maybe w/ pull paddles)
Main 400 IM, 400 FC , 200 IM , 200 Fly, 200 Bk , 200 Br, 200 FC , 100 Fly, 100Bk , 100 bR, 100 FC , 50 FC
CD 10-15minutes Kick chat
I look at the WU as an extension of the session, its typically Z1, can be good to look at strokes and give feedback, and 1k is ~ 20minutes so for a decent set the minimum you should be looking at to get loose. The problem is always in a public session you might get an hour in the current climate its so hard with time restraints to get a decent WU/Main in. You could use the WU to build into the main so you have time for 20x100 off 2mins, do first 400 easy with some kicking, then start to descend through the set so you are mixing up zones and getting decent WU in.
I know in club swims we have 1.5hrs for most swims, and if its only an hour session I would use it more as recovery and skills based (starts / turns / u/w phase etc)
Just noticed this, its easier! really helps with timing. As its not generally useful for a swimmer to swim fly slow; its a stroke that should nearly always be swum fast, so it helps swimmers get more fly in at a lower intensity without compromising race pace technique, we regularly do the final drill progressing " 2 * L arm strokes, 2 * R arm, 2/3 * full stroke which should just about get through twice in a length!
For triathletes I will do the arm out front version and you breath to the stroking side, a slight progression to this is arm by side and breath out front like proper fly, for most swimmers we would do the variation above.
I’ve progressively got better at swimming but was started from zero free style 8 years ago. My experience with swim stroke/technique ect is that suttle corrections in stroke have very small incremental gains. Balance - feet at the surface makes a massive difference & regular drill work keeps/improves that balance.
If I don’t swim for an extended period (Covid/Accident ect.) I lose that balance and have to work to get it back when stroke/technique barley changes even with time out.
My assumption is he wasn’t good enough on swim to make any lead packs when he tried to go in pro field. 1hour is usual swim him IIRC, ie never goes 55?
But you’re also taking someone who’s typically the overall AG winner. Clearly he’s an exception in terms of his fitness. Given how good his bike-run is then a 60-65min swim looks even worse in context.
Good memories did it as first session of Cyprus training camp a few years running - go through all the motions, shake off the flight, get used to the pool and swimming outdoors etc.
Having learned to flip over the last two years I have discovered I can only do it swimming anti clockwise! When forced clockwise I end upside down, miss the wall, totally confused underwater…Help!
I’ve been learning to do flip turns over the last 5 weeks or so, it’s been painful but I’m stubborn so stuck with it. I’m just about at the point where my flip turn is similar in pace to a wall push but maybe a little more effort. When it goes wrong though and I end up at the bottom of the pool, feck…
did it as first session of Cyprus training camp a few years running - go through all the motions, shake off the flight, get used to the pool and swimming outdoors etc.