Week 2
We've started our second week of training! This week we're focusing on the catch position on Freestyle and Backstroke. Don't forget to register at the Front Desk if you haven't already!
Workout:
Total Yards: 2500/1600
Warmup:
-200/100 FR
-150/50 BK
-100, 5 strokes FR/5 strokes BK
-4*50 working on cues
Main Set
Warmup:
-200/100 FR
-150/50 BK
-100, 5 strokes FR/5 strokes BK
-4*50 working on cues
Main Set
-500 FR strong @90s rest
-400 FR @4*BT+30s
-300 BK @3*BT +30s
-200 FR @2*BT +30s
-100 BK AFAP
Alternate to Main Set:
-2*100 FR
-2*100 BK
-4*50 FR
-4*50 BK
Conclusion
-50 easy
-4*50s working on cues
-100 warm down
The Dangers of Garbage Yardage
We're taking a little extra space today to teach about the dangers of what we call "Garbage Yardage" and why it's not a great idea.
Too often we find swimmers that carry a mindset around that in order to get in shape and stay fit they have to swim more than anyone else in the pool. You'll hear them in the locker rooms bragging about how they just swam "3 miles and didn't stop once!" That's impressive to be sure, but if they're such great swimmers, how come they haven't gained an ounce of muscle or lost a pound of fat over their last couple years of training?
The problem isn't with their work ethic. Swimming long distances with little or no rest is difficult to be sure. The problem is with the workout itself. It's tempting to say that those continuous 2-3 mile swims are the same as a distance runner training for 15-20 miles at a time. Tempting, but inaccurate. It's comparing apples to oranges. A better comparison would be to compare heart rates. Have you ever seen a really good runner finish a run? The best runners in the country still collapse with exhaustion after their workouts, yet we seem fine with finishing a long swim and not feeling any more tired then before we hopped in the pool. That's the definition of garbage yardage: swimming long distances without getting your heart rate up or improving your technique.
There's at least two problems with garbage yardage. The first is that it's not intense. It's too easy to get in a pool and slowly swim a few laps and call it a workout. While aerobic workouts have significant effects, the best health and fitness benefits come from combining aerobic with anaerobic training. Mixing long, slower sets with faster, high-intensity actions is one of the best ways to lose weight, gain muscle, and improve cardiovascular fitness. To be clear, long, slow distance workouts do have beneficial health effects, but not nearly to the same effect as mixing the long aerobic practices with shorter but higher intensity training sets. A good example of this would be comparing a nice relaxing walk to a person sprinting a 5k for a race. Which is the better workout?
The second problem is technique. A swimmer trying to maximize his or her yardage generally tends to go until they can't go any farther, which means they're going until exhaustion. Good? Not really. When you get exhausted it's much harder to keep proper form. Swimmers usually revert to a flat, gasping stroke with poor body position and raised head. Incorrect form will often lead to shoulder and back injuries, especially with the high repetition associated with swimming, not to mention that you can't develop muscle strength or coordination without proper form.
When we design our workouts, we glance briefly at the total yardage, but only after making sure we've properly mixed fast and slow, short and long sets throughout the workout. We always try to elevate your heart rate while keeping your stroke technique and building your endurance.
Yes, that means that workouts might be a little bit shorter overall than you might be used too, and you might have to deal with not having done as many miles as the Joneses over in the far lane. But since you're the one who's going to be more tired and sore, yet also more fit and satisfied the next day, does it really matter?
