swim routine

[SaudeKeep]

what are some of the routines yall are using in the pool? i can swim but have never swam laps for exercise or competition. do you swim for laps or time? warmups? one stroke before another? whats the deal guys

[cracken]

I don't swim to compete. It's part of my routine to stay in shape for SCUBA.

I start off by stretching, then a couple laps to warm up.

1. 100ft underwater swim
2. 1/2 mile surface swim (crawl).
3. 1 mile surface snorkel swim
4. Then several different SCUBA & snorkel skills: snorkel ditch & don, SCUBA ditch & don, SCUBA bail out, etc.

[Willie D]

Originally Posted by SaudeKeep

what are some of the routines yall are using in the pool? i can swim but have never swam laps for exercise or competition. do you swim for laps or time? warmups? one stroke before another? whats the deal guys

I only swim to train for water polo in the summer. Water polo players are the swimmers with short attention spans who hate being stuck in a lane with two other slugs

There are a lot of variables: competition or casual, are your a "sprinter" or a "marathoner" on land, how many yards do you want to devote.

Generally, a typical workout consists of:

1. a warmup (just what it implies)
2. a pre-set (swimming certain distances
3. a main set (the most strenuous part of your day)
4. supplemental set (work on other strokes, kicking, etc)
5. warm down (headin' home)

Workout are noted by the distance, the number of repetitions, and the time interval to complete each distance before starting again: thus "10 by 50 on 1:00" means swimming 10 50-yard intervals, resting from the time you finish the distance until the next minute. If you finish in 30 seconds, you get to rest another 30 seconds. If you finish in 49 seconds, you get 11 seconds of rest.

Kicking workouts are also important. Your legs provide a lot of power to your stroke, and dead legs will drag you down. Start with flippers if you think you're going too slow.

Swimming World magazine has a huge archive of workouts from beginner to National level. swiminfo.com/swim-cgi/

[gb99]

I have been swimming for a couple of months now, with the goals of weigh loss and a general improvement in fitness levels. I only swim the crawl stroke, but have been thinking about adding in other strokes.

My routine is to complete 30 laps which generally takes about 1/2 hour to complete. I probably swim at the same pace throughout, and I try to concentrate on keeping my core tight and pushing the water with my hands.