Swim Training Questions

[bootsy]

If you can't get coaching, try checking out Total Immersion. You can borrow a copy of the book at your local library.

The drills in the book helped make swimming easier for me. I get across the pool in about 15 strokes, but I'm slow and glide a lot.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJpFVvho0o4

I believe Coach Shinji teaches in Fremont. TI is also taught every (other) month at College of San Mateo with Coach Eric.

 

[Holeshot]

G O B E A R S ! !

Yeah I played for Heaston. I remember Cutino though from my U16 and U18 USA team days at Spieker--I'll have to dig up some old pics. Those were great old days. If you ever do a trackday LMK I'm up there a lot and of course at AFM races as well.

Bill doesn't come to the AFM....

I'll introduce you two Sam, this weekend!

 

[wannabe]

For starters, count your strokes across the pool. In a 25 yard pool, 20 strokes is the demarcation line between a swimmer and non-swimmer.

Let us know what your numbers are.

So, I counted this morning for about 10 laps. My 25m stroke count varied between 18-20 strokes depending on how much I stretched the catch. I guess that makes me a swimmer.

After a quick warmup, I ended up doing sets of 250's for a total of 1600m before just working on flip turns on the deep end of the pool. (Failed miserably there, but I'll get it soon.) My cadence is still super slow because I'm super out of shape, and I'm still focusing on keeping the technique strong and not just moving through the water. Today, I was working on:

1. Hip movement
2. High elbow pull

I think I'm doing something wrong with the high elbow pull. It doesn't seem to be getting me as far with each stroke. Or, is that the idea? Does the high elbow pull allow you to swim with a faster cadence?

 

[Sammy]

I think I'm doing something wrong with the high elbow pull. It doesn't seem to be getting me as far with each stroke. Or, is that the idea? Does the high elbow pull allow you to swim with a faster cadence?

Get a coach. Seriously. It won't even take 20 minutes, especially if the coach gets some iphone video of what you are doing.

You don't need high cadence necessarily it is fine to swim "long and strong" I can make it across the pool in 9 strokes if I want to. Or frankly, I could probably do it in 3 strokes if I get to streamline off the wall and wanted to exaggerate to make a point.

Put some investment into coaching it will allow you to maximize the efficiency of all the effort you are putting into working out. You're doing the work already--why not make the work more effective? Swimming, racing, moto riding--it is all about wasted energy and movement and figuring out how to "be smooth."

Find some super-hot swimmer chick coach and just spend the time. It won't be painful.

 

[wannabe]

Find some super-hot swimmer chick coach and just spend the time. It won't be painful.

Best advice I've heard in a very long time!

I know you're right. Just gotta get off my ass and find a hot coach.

 

[Sammy]

Best advice I've heard in a very long time!

I know you're right. Just gotta get off my ass and find a hot coach.

Ask the lifeguards at your local pool who the hottest coach is. They will know her name, her number, when she teaches, etc. They will also know if there is a hotter one at another pool nearby. Lifeguards generally do nothing but yell at kids and spot hotties all day. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[Caddywumpus]

Go for it. I had/have a 3rd degree separation and was swimming again in three weeks. Its a great way to build up support for the damaged ligaments.

I still sometimes feel it moving around. Are you sure its ok to swim on? I was hoping to wait till everything settled, to avoid rubbing.

 

[wannabe]

Ask the lifeguards at your local pool who the hottest coach is. They will know her name, her number, when she teaches, etc. They will also know if there is a hotter one at another pool nearby. Lifeguards generally do nothing but yell at kids and spot hotties all day. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[billswim]

Get a coach. Seriously. It won't even take 20 minutes, especially if the coach gets some iphone video of what you are doing.

You don't need high cadence necessarily it is fine to swim "long and strong" I can make it across the pool in 9 strokes if I want to. Or frankly, I could probably do it in 3 strokes if I get to streamline off the wall and wanted to exaggerate to make a point.

Put some investment into coaching it will allow you to maximize the efficiency of all the effort you are putting into working out. You're doing the work already--why not make the work more effective? Swimming, racing, moto riding--it is all about wasted energy and movement and figuring out how to "be smooth."

Find some super-hot swimmer chick coach and just spend the time. It won't be painful.

All very good advice

I still sometimes feel it moving around. Are you sure its ok to swim on? I was hoping to wait till everything settled, to avoid rubbing.

I'm not your doctor. Hell, I'm not even A doctor but my understanding of an AC separation is it is permanently unstable and moving around. If you wait for everything to settle, you'll be waiting a very long time. Like I said I was swimming as soon as I could after mine and mine was/is pretty bad. I think its been about 5 years now and it still moves around but I love to swim and it feels fine. YMMV

 

[Caddywumpus]

All very good advice



I'm not your doctor. Hell, I'm not even A doctor but my understanding of an AC separation is it is permanently unstable and moving around. If you wait for everything to settle, you'll be waiting a very long time. Like I said I was swimming as soon as I could after mine and mine was/is pretty bad. I think its been about 5 years now and it still moves around but I love to swim and it feels fine. YMMV

You are a car doctor.

 

[Holeshot]

He plays doctor too.

 

[wannabe]

OK, just an update for anyone who cares, I am still swimming every day. I even bought a little teather to bring on business trips with me so that I could still swim and get a workout in the hotel pools. I used it all last week, and it was soooooo booooring, but I at least got some workouts in while on a business trip.

I've had some issues with finding a hot coach, so I decided to just suck it up and join the Santa Clara Swim Club masters. I'm gonna start with Group 3 and see how it goes. I think that my first group workout is going to be this Wednesday morning.

They said that I can schedule some 1:1 coaching after the group workouts. They do 3 workouts a day.

Group 1: -Swimmers in this group can expect to swim about 4000 yards in the one and a half hour workout. Workouts for Group 1 are interval based with an emphasis on high level/faster paced swimming with less feedback/technique work. Participants of this group must be able to swim repeat 100 freestyle on an interval of 1:40 or faster.

Group 2 - Consists of swimmers who are still looking to develop the four strokes while learning the fundamentals of interval based sets. Swimmers in this group can expect to swim between 2000 and 3000 yards depending on their stroke profficiency. Feedback and drills are prevalent throughout the course of workout. Swimmers must be able to swim repeat 100 freestyle on intervals between 1:40 and 2:10.

Group 3 - Group 3 is our introductory group for our Masters program. Here swimmers learn the fundamentals of the four strokes from scratch with the help of their instructors, building the strength endurance and confidence to transition to our Group 2. Training is teaching oriented with plenty of instruction, feedback, and attention. Teaches all 4 strokes from scratch. Must be able to swim one length of pool without stopping. (Does not need to be correct form)

 

[wannabe]

BTW, what happened to Sammy?

 

[wannabe]

At the risk of basically talking to myself in this thread, I figured I'd post an update in case anyone cares. I've been swimming with the Group 3 peeps in Santa Clara. I'm definitely learning a lot. Here's a quick list of the things I've learned:

1. I fucking HATE the breast stroke!!!
2. The butterfly is surprizingly fun. It's turning out to be one heck of an ab workout.
3. I was breathing way too late in my stroke, and that caused a bunch of bad things afterward.

So, it turns out that getting a coach was the right thing to do after all.

This morning, the coach told me that I still have a few minor things to fix in my stroke, but I've got a good base to work with. I've been the fastest one so far in all the workouts, but I still don't feel ready to move up to Group 2 yet.

Dang, I'm really enjoying the shit out of swimming right now.

 

[Dr. Evil]

1. I fucking HATE the breast stroke!!!

Backstroke for me. Fucking despise it. Breaststroke is boring, IMO.

2. The butterfly is surprizingly fun. It's turning out to be one heck of an ab workout.

My favorite stroke. I'm good at it, too.

3. I was breathing way too late in my stroke, and that caused a bunch of bad things afterward.

How do you mean? For freestyle/crawl? I've found that if you breathe a bit later and briskly bring your face back down under as you cycle your arms, you can drag a bubble with you and keep inhaling even after you're facing the bottom of the pool.

I love swimming, too. Whenever I'm not in the pool, I've got an itch to get back in. But I'm feeling some pains in some arm ligaments, so running for the next few days.

 

[wannabe]

How do you mean? For freestyle/crawl? I've found that if you breathe a bit later and briskly bring your face back down under as you cycle your arms, you can drag a bubble with you and keep inhaling even after you're facing the bottom of the pool.

Yup, freestyle. I was breathing when my arm was basically near my head. That extra weight caused my head to sink further. That sinking forced me to stick my head up earlier in order to breath. At the same time, I tried to counteract that my pushing down with my lead arm in an effort to keep my head up for the breath.

So, I was taught to essentially rotate my head with my body so that I breath at the bottom of my stroke when my hand is by my hip. By the time my hand is by my shoulder, my face is already back in the water. Just changing that one little detail fixed a bunch of things in my stroke. I no longer needed to push down with my lead arm which meant that I could start my catch and pull much earlier. Also, since my head was no longer sinking, I could all of a sudden leave my head partially submerged in order to breath. (One goggle in the water.)

I love swimming, too. Whenever I'm not in the pool, I've got an itch to get back in. But I'm feeling some pains in some arm ligaments, so running for the next few days.

I went the opposite way. I ran until my knees started to hurt. (Bad form and too much too soon.) So, I switched to swimming until my knees healed. But, at this point, I could really give a rats ass about running. Swimming is all I think about these days.

 

[wannabe]

Oh, in case it matters, I'm now down a total of 31 lbs and hopefully still dropping...

 

[horsepower]

I have a little background here I won't go into, however, I type at 2 words per minute so just trust me on my earned expertise.
So, first question, how old are you? If over 19..
Have you considered Master's swimming?
USMS is HUGE in this nation, especially in CA and your area. Masters come in all shapes, sizes and speeds......workouts can be modified any which way to your particular speed, needs etc. So, you can only do freestyle right now due to injury? no biggie, you just alter the sets accordingly.
Walnut Creek Masters produces swimmers qualifying for Olympic Trials...at 50-55 age group.
Davis Aquatic Masters was founded by Dave and Vern Scott; Every Triathlete in my area belongs to DAM.
You get organized workouts keyed to your goals. And yes, lots of camaraderie to keep that weight coming off and yup, hot chicks in swim suits.

Not only do I have "a bit" of a background but my kid's Dad is a level 5 Olympic Swim coach; coached 2 Olympians to top 5 finshes...Scott Weltz being the latest in London. So just do it. The coaches will take it from there. You're welcome.

 

[wannabe]

I have a little background here I won't go into, however, I type at 2 words per minute so just trust me on my earned expertise.
So, first question, how old are you? If over 19..
Have you considered Master's swimming?
USMS is HUGE in this nation, especially in CA and your area. Masters come in all shapes, sizes and speeds......workouts can be modified any which way to your particular speed, needs etc. So, you can only do freestyle right now due to injury? no biggie, you just alter the sets accordingly.
Walnut Creek Masters produces swimmers qualifying for Olympic Trials...at 50-55 age group.
Davis Aquatic Masters was founded by Dave and Vern Scott; Every Triathlete in my area belongs to DAM.
You get organized workouts keyed to your goals. And yes, lots of camaraderie to keep that weight coming off and yup, hot chicks in swim suits.

Not only do I have "a bit" of a background but my kid's Dad is a level 5 Olympic Swim coach; coached 2 Olympians to top 5 finshes...Scott Weltz being the latest in London. So just do it. The coaches will take it from there. You're welcome.

I don't know if you were talking to me or Dr. Evil, so I'll just answer. I turned 41 this year. Yes, I just joined the Santa Clara Swim Club Masters, and I've been enjoying the heck out of it ever since.

 

[horsepower]

I don't know if you were talking to me or Dr. Evil, so I'll just answer. I turned 41 this year. Yes, I just joined the Santa Clara Swim Club Masters, and I've been enjoying the heck out of it ever since.

Yup, I was talking to you but apparently you figured out "the right lane" to jump in to; a big congrats for joining SC Masters!arty Nothing but smiles through those goggles.