About This Workout
This workout is designed for all adult summer swimmers—both those who swim in pools and those who swim in open water. It is long and it is aerobic. It’s geared for building an aerobic base that will assist all swimmers, from recreational to Masters national competitors, and from open-water aerobic swimmers to drop-dead anaerobic sprinters. Distance swimmers must maximize aerobic capacity—that means yardage.
Summer open-water competitions have arrived and can be found all over the country in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, the gulf, and our two oceans. Try one this summer. Remember, when doing any exercise program, balance is critical. You may like sprints, but you should do some long-distance swimming to build your aerobic base.
1. Easy warm-up.
2. See the drill, as well as the open-water tip, which will correct your stroke as you warm up. Do the drill on the even laps, and regular swim on the odd laps. Practice your technique from these warm-up drills through the end of the long sets.
3. A kick set will finish off your warm-up and prepare you for the first long swim. If you are in the open water, roll onto your back and kick this casually with your hands extended above your head. Go for 3 minutes.
4. Here is the work: 20 minutes straight swim. Count your laps.
5. Kick again to space the long swims. This should be medium effort. If you are trying this in the open water, try it again where you can keep kicking as you kick backstroke.
6. Back to work: 15 minutes—this time of straight crawl. Your goal is to go farther than three fourths of the 20-minute set.
7. Another kick to give you a breather, physically and mentally, and get you ready for that last long swim.
8. Last, but best effort: 10 minutes. The goal is to go farther than at the 10-minute average of the 20- or 15-minute swim. If you want to make this a pull set, go ahead and put on the pull buoy and paddles.
9. Loosen down.
Catch-up Freestyle Drill
Just about the oldest swim drill is the catch-up freestyle drill. It is used by every coach to some extent because it is so effective. The catch-up will teach you how to glide at the entry of your stroke.
The catch-up can be on one side or alternating arms after each stroke. Start with one side; you can try alternating later. The idea is that you swim with only one hand, while the other hand sits stretched out in front of your head on the centerline of your body like Superman. This stationary hand acts as a target. It does not move. Your other arm does the stroke cycle alone, recovering over the water to meet it. Since it is stretched out, you are forced to stretch out to meet it with the moving arm. Glide, glide, glide. The elbows lock completely out as you stretch that hand forward; don’t cross over the centerline with either hand. Ever! The best part about this drill is with only one hand swimming, the movements are slowed down to a pace that is easier to visualize and feel. Your single arm stroke improves greatly without the asymmetrical alternating. Even the underwater S or scull improves.
Open-water Strategy
The number-one key is navigation. Without a line and lane lines corralling you in, you will definitely deviate off course. You have to sight your path regularly using some marker either on- or offshore. I suggest looking every eight to twelve strokes for your target, less if drafting off experienced swimmers. The frequency of lifting depends on the conditions of the water, your familiarity with the course, your ability to swim straight, and the number of experienced swimmers around you. The idea is when you have to raise your head, to be as efficient as possible. The “look-and-breathe” style first has you lifting your head forward to sight your course, then turning your head to the side to breathe. The “breathe-and-look” style has you take a breath to the side, then turn your head forward to look. Minimize this extra burden of turning your head by practicing these tips.
Workout Theory
The kick is stuck in between the long swims for two reasons: to give you a physical as well as a mental break to prepare for the next hard swim. Also, with this distance you need a little kicking since the legs are not worked as hard as the yardage increases.
TIDBIT FACTS
The fastest ever “mile” (1,650 yards—sixty-six lengths, swimming’s official competitive mile) is about 14:35. For a 20-minute swim that converts to 90 lengths of a twenty-five-yard pool (2,250 yards). That is 1.85 yards per second or 112 yards a minute.
The fastest ever mile by a Masters thirty-five-year-old man is 16:21. For a 20-minute swim that would be 2,018 yards.
The fastest ever mile in the fifty age-group is 18:53. For a 20-minute swim that would be 1,745 yards.
The fastest ever mile in the eighty-five age-group is 31:02. For a 20-minute swim that would be 1,063 yards.
After a month, most adult swimmers can complete approximately 30 to 40 lengths (750 to 1000 yards) in 20 minutes. An intermediate swimmer can do about forty-six to fifty-six lengths (average 1:25-1:45 speed per 100 yards).
For motivation, keep track of your distance (or pace if you can see a wall clock). The 10-minute swim should be faster (more lengths on average) than the 15, which is faster than the 20-minute swim. Keep a record of your distances.
For a little competitive fun to plug into your workout, bring a buddy close to the same speed and try an old coaches’ swim gimmick: alternate leading. Every 100 yards switch your positions. The leader goes all out. The second place drafts behind.
This gimmick is good training, especially for open-water racing. Not only is the hard-medium-hard-medium, great cardiovascular training but it heightens concentration and gives you the edge for those spurts in an open-water race that you need to pass someone, go around a buoy, catch a wave, lose a shark, or finish off with any race’s necessary sprint at the end. And it is fun working with a swim buddy.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий