General Discussion Triathlon Talk » swim warm up? Rss Feed  
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2016-09-22 3:06 PM


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Subject: swim warm up?
Hi all,
I don't understand the concept of the W/U portion of a swim workout. I understand it when it comes to cycling and running, as I go slow and get the body used to what is about to occur.
When I swim, I just swim. I can go faster for a short distance than I normally do, but I can't really go slower than normal.
Are "main sets" supposed to be significantly faster than a warm up? I guess what I am trying to say is that it is easy to run a 9:30 mile to warm up, and then take that to 8:45-or any pace you want. I can't tell any difference in swimming the warm up versus anything else. Probably a bad swimmer!

Any advice on this?


2016-09-22 5:21 PM
in reply to: Burchib

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Subject: RE: swim warm up?
Yes ...

Typical warm up for me:

2-300 swim easy
6x50 kick @ 60
8x25 @ 25 strong (90%) (activation effort similar to the short hard efforts in many bike trainer sessions)
2016-09-22 5:36 PM
in reply to: Burchib

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Subject: RE: swim warm up?
In my mind the warmup is more to get the swim muscles stretched out, breathing into a good rhythm, acclimate to the water temperature and conditions (esp. for OWS) , etc. Pace is kind of irrelevant. You might be going at a decent pace because at that point you are fresh, but I never push the effort in a warmup, at least until the latter part when there may be some kind of short accelerations. I try to concentrate on good form.
2016-09-22 6:24 PM
in reply to: Burchib

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Subject: RE: swim warm up?
It's different for different people. For the first 400 metres or so I am really slow. I swim significantly faster after the warmup.
2016-09-23 7:24 AM
in reply to: #5199630


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Sarasota, Florida
Subject: RE: swim warm up?
From what i read a warmup will not benefit a poor swimmer. For me its kind of mental, i only do 50 yards or so before a race just to get a feel for what I'm jumping into. It takes me about 500 yards to fall into a good rhythm but my muscles start feeling fatigue at 1200 so i figure I'll just find my rhythm after the start. I've never been a big warm up guy with anything. Usually throw in a minute of dynamic stretches and line up. I'm interested in hearing more too.
2016-09-23 7:36 AM
in reply to: runtim23

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Subject: RE: swim warm up?
I think the OP is talking about a warmup prior to a workout, not a race. Racing is a somewhat different animal and I think it varies a lot from person to person. . For me, it really depends on the length of the race, as that determines the intensity I'll be swimming at. In general, I want to get in the most warmup (easy swimming, with some short accelerations) before a sprint, and the least before a HIM (I haven't done a full). I also have to consider the logistics of the warmup and how much lag, if any, there will be between the warmup and the start. If there's a lot of time, and the air temps are cold, I might go with no warmup swim, as below a certain point, it becomes counterproductive when I get chilled and start to cramp while waiting to start. If air temps are below about 60, and/or it's a HIM, I'll usually just do exercises on land to get my heart rate up before the start. I have been known to just dance to the pre-race music until called to the start line!

I've done a couple of "deep water" starts, which I really liked. Three were not truly "deep" water, just jumping off a dock or wading in from the shore, swimming out a little ways, and then treading water till the gun. That allowed me to do a swim warmup and then stay in the water, moving around, until the start. At Worlds (ocean swim) we actually swam out a good 2 minutes or so out from shore to some paddle boards and boats in the water. I felt like that was the perfect amount of swim warmup for a HIM.


2016-09-23 7:59 AM
in reply to: simpsonbo

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Subject: RE: swim warm up?

Originally posted by simpsonbo Yes ... Typical warm up for me: 2-300 swim easy 6x50 kick @ 60 8x25 @ 25 strong (90%) (activation effort similar to the short hard efforts in many bike trainer sessions)

Mine is pretty similar to this ^^^  about 800 yards of progressively harder work.  I start with a pull buoy and go as slow as I can while holding good form.

2016-10-02 10:26 AM
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Subject: RE: swim warm up?
Originally posted by Burchib

Hi all,
I don't understand the concept of the W/U portion of a swim workout. I understand it when it comes to cycling and running, as I go slow and get the body used to what is about to occur.
When I swim, I just swim. I can go faster for a short distance than I normally do, but I can't really go slower than normal.
Are "main sets" supposed to be significantly faster than a warm up? I guess what I am trying to say is that it is easy to run a 9:30 mile to warm up, and then take that to 8:45-or any pace you want. I can't tell any difference in swimming the warm up versus anything else. Probably a bad swimmer!

Any advice on this?


At your level of swimming, if you have only "one speed" or can only swim faster for a short distance, and have no ability to go slower, then the "Warmup" portion of a swim practice is typically not best spent warming up the muscles, but rather tuning up your awareness and perceptions of your body in the water.

You need to develop "gears" in swimming. Just like you can switch gears on a bike and choose both your effort AND your pace on the bike, triathletes will benefit from being able to do this with swimming as well.

otherwise you're out of options when swim conditions change and vary from race to race or mid race, you'll lack the ability to adjust to conditions and make strategic moves....all things we take for granted with cycling or running.

Easy ways to start exploring these gears is to use a tempo trainer, or to work on awareness of counting strokes, or better yet...both at the same time (that is an advanced skill). That will give you a sense of how to change or adjust your stroke to use different effort levels and different paces.

Or more simply, practice doing descending sets...the more you practice the more you'll learn, and you'll get a workout at the same time.

Here are 3 different ways to practice gears:
4 x 4 x 50 descend. Swim each 50 1-2 seconds faster than the previous. Repeat for 4 rounds and try to improve pacing each round (eg 50 sec, 49sec, 48sec, 47 sec, repeat 3 more times).

With a tempo trainer: 4 x 4 x 50. Each 50 start at the same tempo and speed tempo with each repeat. restart at the same tempo for each round (eg 1.2, 1.15, 1.1, 1.05 seconds/stroke for 50 repeats #1-4. Repeat teh same tempo for each of the additional rounds. COmpare your paces. You should increase pace as tempo speeds up )

With stroke counting 4 x 4 x 50, add 1 stroke per 50 (eg 16SPL, 17SPL, 18SPL, 19SPL, repeat for each round. You should see an increase in pace as a good "tradeoff" for adding a stroke)

Once you improve at swimming a chosen gear, then doing a 15-20 minute swim warmup makes more sense from a physical perspective. Swim easy (slow tempo, moderate SPL) to warmup the joints & muscles & get used to the water, fine tune your pushoffs and get into a better mindset.





Edited by AdventureBear 2016-10-02 10:30 AM
2016-10-02 12:06 PM
in reply to: AdventureBear

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Subject: RE: swim warm up?
I take the first 200 yards at 1/2 speed, next 200 at 3/4 and then I'm good to go. If I started out at full pace, the workout would crash and burn probebly before 1000 yards/
2016-10-02 12:30 PM
in reply to: 0

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Subject: RE: swim warm up?


At your level of swimming, if you have only "one speed" or can only swim faster for a short distance, and have no ability to go slower, then the "Warmup" portion of a swim practice is typically not best spent warming up the muscles, but rather tuning up your awareness and perceptions of your body in the water.



+1 This is my experience. Warm-up helps me to build awareness of my body position and sets me up for better form during the main set.

Edited by tedjohn 2016-10-02 12:31 PM
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