Help me swim faster - recommend a swim workout

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2009-08-28 9:02 AM

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Subject: Help me swim faster - recommend a swim workout
I've been trying to improve my horrendous swimming. I've taken a lesson, gotten my self-trained form ok'd by a swim champion coach who recommended that the most important thing for me was to swim faster, like in a masters group, and that there are no glaring errors in my form. 

It's been tough, but my typical workout has gone from 12 x 100, 20sec rest at 1:55ish to 20 x 100m, 10-15sec rest at 1:50ish. I could definitely go 25, if not 30+ x 100m with no dropoff in pace (all 100s are within 1-2 sec of each other.)

I feel like my swim endurance has improved, but my top speed hasn't improved at all. My max 100m pace is 1:40ish, all out. 

Per week, I pretty much do 16-20 x 100m @ 1:50 two or three days per week, and a continuous OW mile (a bit more, actually) swim on wknd.

I'm not sure what type of workout would be the next best one to throw in there. Should I do ladders of varying distances? Or should I hammer out 50s at a faster pace to get my max swim speed up? 

2009-08-28 9:14 AM
in reply to: #2376005

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Subject: RE: Help me swim faster - recommend a swim workout
Is swimming anything like running?

The only way I know to improve your running speed is to do speed workouts - short distance and fast pace, to build up those fast-twitch muscles.

It sounds like you have your endurance (assuming you can go 30 laps non-stop). So, you could work on your 25m and 50m sprints.

But don't take my word for it. It sounds like I'm at the same level you are, maybe a little slower. Perhaps I need to do some sprints, too!

Cool
2009-08-28 9:57 AM
in reply to: #2376052

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Subject: RE: Help me swim faster - recommend a swim workout
first, mix it up!

do some speed workouts, some longer stuff, and some harder pulling.

things i like and that have worked for me:

harder pull sets, both with and without paddles
some harder kicking.

speed sets, 25s through 100s with a LONG rest, over a min for the 100s, 20 sec for the 25s.

something like 4-6 x100 on 2:15-30 (this has me coming in around 1:05 or so).
30x50 on 1 min (coming in around 30 sec),

10-12x25 on 20 sec rest

8x150 hard pull with paddles.

adding things like this into my workout has done a lot for my top end speed.

i am sure those more in the know will chime in as well, but you need some harder swimming with longer rest to work on top speed, less rest to work on endurance.
2009-08-28 10:05 AM
in reply to: #2376005

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Subject: RE: Help me swim faster - recommend a swim workout
agarose2000 - 2009-08-28 7:02 AM I've been trying to improve my horrendous swimming. I've taken a lesson, gotten my self-trained form ok'd by a swim champion coach who recommended that the most important thing for me was to swim faster, like in a masters group, and that there are no glaring errors in my form. 

It's been tough, but my typical workout has gone from 12 x 100, 20sec rest at 1:55ish to 20 x 100m, 10-15sec rest at 1:50ish. I could definitely go 25, if not 30+ x 100m with no dropoff in pace (all 100s are within 1-2 sec of each other.)

I feel like my swim endurance has improved, but my top speed hasn't improved at all. My max 100m pace is 1:40ish, all out. 

Per week, I pretty much do 16-20 x 100m @ 1:50 two or three days per week, and a continuous OW mile (a bit more, actually) swim on wknd.

I'm not sure what type of workout would be the next best one to throw in there. Should I do ladders of varying distances? Or should I hammer out 50s at a faster pace to get my max swim speed up? 


Two words. Threshold and Interval.

Threshold - Pretty much what you are doing above, sets of 100-300's on short rest, at 80% +  of race pace.
Interval - sets of 50-200's at or faster than race pace, with enough rest to be able to make your time on every part of the set.

Look on the net for T-pace or threshold pace tests for swimming. Find your T-pace. This will let you figure out what times you should be aiming for, for both threshold and interval. Get swimming workouts in a binder, almost any version, and look at the workouts from there.

Threshold sets increase the time you can spend at a given pace. Intervals increase your top end speed.

Also, in your OWS, don't just mindlessly churn it out. Treat it like a race, do a couple hundred warmup, then go out in a start fashion the first 100-200, settle in to a pace, surge a few times (like you're either catching a draft or dropping someone), etc. Mix it up.

You're doing enough volume, and if your form is good, no reason you shouldn't be able to drop off some serious time.

John
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