Village people
This is a quiet spot. I have volunteered to do the swim leg of a triathlon. I might have been drinking. It is 3/4 mile in August.
I used to be a good swimmer. 30 years ago! I am
just finishing up a six week swim class designed for triathletes. Holy cow that was tough! The instructor also has a private studio that I will use for checking in but now that I am on my own, what should my week look like? My instructor emails us the class workout plus extra stuff each week. I have been doing that twice a week along with the class. Should I stick with the skills for warm up and slowly increase the workout in my main set? How many days a week should I swim? I do other stuff like bike and weights but I have a long ways to go in the swim department.
Thanks
I'd say you're well on your way to having no problem. What's your goal for the swim portion? Are you looking to be competitive with it or get through it confidently? I know several others that grew up as swimmers and one thing I've noticed about them is that after a couple of times in the pool, the form comes back. Although it's been a long time for you, you probably have the essentials engrained in your head.
Depending on what your goals are, I'd suggest no less than 2 times per week. As part of your warm-up, I'd do skill sets and form drills. I also like doing kick and pull drills before I go into the main workout sets. Some of the things I like to do as part of the main workout is 10x25 (odd-sprint/even-stroke focus). I like to compare these to strides for runners. If you throw those in with any of the master swim workouts that your coach gives you, you'll be fine.
Good luck!
Thank you! I think my goal will change as I get stronger. Right now, not drowning sounds good but I sm feeling a bit more confident.
The 10x25 sounds great. My favorite main workout is 25 hard, 50 w/ 25 hard, 75 w/25 hard and 100 w/25 hard. That is done 3 times.
What at is a kick and pull drill. I do finger tip drag, power Y. Six kick switch and stuff like that. Is swimming like running in that the more you swim the faster you get? I love doing the drills and I wouldn't stop doing them as a warm up.
Thank you! I think my goal will change as I get stronger. Right now, not drowning sounds good but I sm feeling a bit more confident. The 10x25 sounds great. My favorite main workout is 25 hard, 50 w/ 25 hard, 75 w/25 hard and 100 w/25 hard. That is done 3 times. What at is a kick and pull drill. I do finger tip drag, power Y. Six kick switch and stuff like that. Is swimming like running in that the more you swim the faster you get? I love doing the drills and I wouldn't stop doing them as a warm up.
I'm sure there are more knowledgeable "swimmers" around here that can give advice. I do have a couple of friends that are solid swimmers and they helped me quite a bit earlier this year when I was training for my first half. On comparing swimming to running, the short answer is yes, however, you need to be careful. I was told that swimming more is important but you don't want to swim to just swim. Form is important in swimming and if you just swim more without doing form work, you'll just engrain those bad form habits.
Given that, I like doing drills too. I was told to include position and balance drills in the warm up and cool down. Some of those basic drills are what you mention. The others that I like to do are the kick and pull drills. I don't have a good kick in swimming. My ankle flexibility is poor and like most runners, I tend to over kick. If you've seen people at the pool using a kick board extended out in front of them and just kicking to propel down the lane, then that's the kick drill. It helps isolate that specifc piece and let's me focus on kicking from the core/hips instead of the knee.
For the pull drill, you need one of those foam things that goes between the thighs. This allows you to take the kick out of the equation and let's you focus on the arm stroke.
Thank you! I will definitely add the kick drill. I barely kick and usually only when I am thinking about it. I do the pull drill.
There are so many things to think about. Thanks.
delicate flower
This is a quiet spot.
Indeed. Being a tri noob myself, it'd be nice to see this place get some activity.
That's all I can contribute to this thread. You're welcome.
<3
Running Rev'd
The swim is my strongest/most competitive leg of the tri since I swam competitively year-round as a kid. I was very fortunate to have coaches who emphasized good form, and even though I hadn't swum in ~15 years, the form came back very quickly (with some minor adjustments!). I'd recommend swimming no fewer than 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes or so each time (or starting to work up to that) - one drill/form-focused, one speed/tempo-focused, and one smooth, continuous "long" swim.
I'm imagining that this swim is probably going to be open water? You'll definitely want to try it out in a similar body of water before race day. Most of my races are in lakes which usually means little to no visibility. If you're swimming in an ocean, the waves can take their toll as well. It takes some getting used to sighting so you don't get off course and not having those walls to push off of or the line at the bottom of the pool to guide you!
Called to Endure - Blog
"Everyone gets the sunset. Only the dedicated earn the sunrise."
Thanks! It is open water and I am going to work on that in the summer. It is in a lake, thank goodness and I have a couple friends who live at a local smaller lake who I am hoping will help me practice.
The pool is a bit of a drive so I spend at least an hour to make it worth my while. I do a lot of drills and I am working on my endurance.
I will have more questions.