I'm generally not a very active person and I don't like playing sports (pretty bad hand-eye coordination) but I do enjoy swimming but I don't do it often because of the hassle of finding everything and getting there etc.
I'm going to try and make it a routinely thing and swim several times a week for about an hour. Thing is, I'm not exactly sure what to do because the times that I used to go was to learn and with other people most of the time you don't end up doing much swimming, just splashing around. I want to do laps and I suppose, train to increase my fitness level. I do know how to do the 4 strokes.
Suggest any routines or words of advice?
I used to train squad hardcore, then I stopped. For the past 3-4 months, I've been getting back into it. Writing my own sets, having no coach yell at me etc. It's a very different dynamic, I can talk about all this forever.
Couple of tips:
1. Write sets to follow. A checklist kind of thing, this REALLY keeps you motivated. Make sure they are realistic.
2. When you write sets, work on a turn-around basis (are you familiar with this concept? If not I can elaborate).
3. Stay for longer than 1 hour if possible. If you only go for 1 hour, you will start convincing yourself "I'm only going to swim for 1 hour anyway, not worth the effort" when times get tough.
4. Record your sprint times for say 50m free, 100m free, 200m free, 400m free and then 1km. Watching your times drop really really motivates you.
5. Watch youtube videos about swimming technique. I trained with squads for a good number of years and I thought I knew it well. Upon watching youtube videos, my technique improved drastically and I am now much more efficient with my swimming than before.
6. When you write sets, give them a theme. For example, my Mondays are for 100m free (so the main set would be say 30x100m's on X turnaround). Each of these sets should be targeting a small aspect of your overall swimming abilities. For example, one for IM, one for long distance free, one for sprints, one for drills etc etc.
7. As kimjuliana said, see if you can join a teen squad. These are more oriented towards those who want to get a lot better (and are already somewhat competent), but don't want to go competitive.
8. Find a good pool that has a good environment and feel to it. I personally do my training at SOPAC now but I used to train and compete for another club.
Hi, it's great that you are getting active, esp. during HSC. Exercise was a great stress reliever for me... and I have to agree swimming is the best!! I joined a swimming school at my local pool to workout/ get better at my technique. Try to join the squad team for teens or adults. They will generally train you on improving technique and fitness. If you don't want to train/ work with others or if money is a problem I'd suggest looking up some workout plans on some fitness websites or magazines. My preferred workout was to do as many freestyle or butterfly laps as I possibly could (until your super sore and gasping for air) and then move onto something more relaxed such as breast stroke or slow down my pace. I'd aim for at least 1.5 hours (I'm assuming you're a good swimmer here)
Personally I find swimming in ice cold water in the morning/dawn is the best. I wakes you up and you feel refreshed. I'd try weekends and maybe a week day or too.
YES! The feeling when swimming in ice cold water early in the morning is amazing and indescribable. You feel so good about yourself and you feel so refreshed and motivated. A good kick-start to the day.
