Mike's SwimBlog

**alphadog** · September 4th, 2008, 01:03 PM

Keeping track of my training and Masters comeback after an 18-year layoff. I'll be posting daily workouts and, when time permits, I'll fill in the details of my background.

Why come back after 18 years? Who knows really. Here are a few possibilities:

1. A good way to channel my mid-life crisis energy.
2. I can swim a 50 breaststroke.
3. I can swim a 50 fly.
4. I wasn't doing anything useful at 5:00AM anyway.
5. Brown hair is over -rated.
6. Grey hair is inevitable.
7. I don't have to wear a "speedo".
8. That SDK thing looks like cheating to me.
9. Cheating should make it easier to go fast.
10. To find out how much I've lost.

Anyone else out there making a comeback?

**alphadog** · September 4th, 2008, 01:30 PM

September 4, 2008

Slept in today after staying up late to watch the convention over a glass (or two) of wine. Needed the break anyway. Since I didn't start blogging when I started swimming, I've summarized my workouts below. Until now, I've focused on plenty of drills and a real emphasis on technique. I have trained alone for the most part. I'm still looking for a place to swim that has a deck coach that can critique my technique and instruct me on the finer points of all the changes that have occured in the last 18 years. Anyway, here it is since I started on July 24th:

See attachment

In addition to this, I lift 3 times per week. My wieght workout consists of at least two exercises for each muscle group, including legs. I can blast through 3 sets of 20 with little or no rest between sets in just over an hour. This has been a great injury prevention regimen for me. The exercises I do are:

Chest:
Cable flys
Flat bench
Incline bench

Back:
Upright cable rows
Lat pulldowns

Shoulders:
Upright Military press
Incline military press
shoulder flys

Legs:
Press
Extensions
Curls
Adductor
Abductor

Biceps:
Narrow barbell curls
Wide dumbell curls

Triceps
Dips
Extensions
Overhead extension (not sure what this is called)

Finally, I have a killer ab routine that I need to do more often. I probably do this 3 times per week (should be 5)

100 feet flat on floor
100 crunches legs raised
100 crunches legs extended and flat
200 crossover (100 each side)
200 legs to the side "
200 laying on side "
100 lifts

**jim thornton** · September 4th, 2008, 01:43 PM

I was just the American College of Sports Medicine conference in Indianapolis, and a researcher on weight training made a couple interesting points:

no evidence that multiple sets accomplish much more than a single set to exhaustion

little evidence that the number of reps makes much difference either, again, provided you go to exhaustion--i.e., three lifts of very high weights vs. 20 lifts of moderate weight accomplish more or less the same thing

a survey of weight trainers showed the vast majority do ridiculous amounts of ab exercises, again, with no evidence this does much good. one set is enough.

finally, and this was not from the conference but rather from my masters coach, swimming tends to train the same muscles that get tapped by overhead weight training exercises. She says the risk of injury from military presses, and in fact anything where the weight is lifted above the head, is just not worth it and strongly recommends swimmers who want longevity in the pool avoid these lifts.

if you want to improve your swimming, i say do 2-3 strength training sessions a week maximum (once you get your strength back, the ACSM guy said that once a week is enough for maintenance), and spend more time in the pool.

Just my two cents worth in inflation-adjusted currency

**alphadog** · September 4th, 2008, 02:05 PM

Interesting...

Thanks for the feedback.

I've been doing variations of this weight workout for many years. The current high rep version is intended to incorporate an aerobic element into the weight workout. It also takes a good amount of mental toughness and endurance to get through these sets.

Couldn't you apply the same concept to a swimming workout (i.e., one 500 swim to exhaustion accomplishes the same thing as 5X100s)?

I've had shoulder problems in the past, but isolated it to upright rows. Once I stopped doing them, it healed. I find that I'm OK as long as I'm not lifting directly above my head. All my overhead stuff is done in front of my face.

Mike

**ande** · September 4th, 2008, 02:47 PM

hey alpha
welcome to the swim blogo sphere
edit that long string of dates and numbers
it comes out as one long line
maybe separate them by hitting ENTER
pultting one date and distance on each line

**alphadog** · September 4th, 2008, 03:06 PM

I noticed that after I sent it. I tried to cut and paste from an excel spreadsheet. I've tried attaching it instead.

**alphadog** · September 5th, 2008, 12:07 PM

Woke up to a wet high 40s morning Here in Colorado. Since the indoor pool is closed for renovation, I lifted wieghts and stretched. I'll swim this evening at the EPIC center instead.

**Chris Stevenson** · September 5th, 2008, 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by jim thornton

a survey of weight trainers showed the vast majority do ridiculous amounts of ab exercises, again, with no evidence this does much good.

Jim, "good" in what sense? Brute strength?

**alphadog** · September 6th, 2008, 08:39 PM

Had some bad luck the last couple of days...seems I lost momentum as soon as I decided to blog. EPIC center was closed last night too, so I had to wait until this morning to swim:

400 Free
200 Kick
400 Pull

200 Free Drill
3 X (4 X 25) Free
1-3 Worked on SDK and break out 0:30 Sec rest
4 Timed from push (:12.0, :11.5, :11.5)

200 Back Drill
3 X (4 X 25) Back
1-3 Worked on SDK/long strokes
4 Timed from push (15.0, 15.0, 15.3)

200 Breast Drill
3 X (4 X 25) Breast
1-3 Flutter kick/scull
4 Timed from push (16.0, 15.8, 15.4)

200 Fly Drill
3 X (4 X 25) Fly
1-3 SDK
4 Timed from push (13.2, 12.8, 12.8)
200 warm down
Total 3200 yards

Lifted:
Chest/Back/Shoulders
3 X 10

Notes:
Can't seem to get turnover going on breaststroke
Fly feels really good
This was my first time since I started back that I sprinted all out. I felt very tired afterwards and have a little bit of stiffness in my right elbow, especially during free sprints.

**alphadog** · September 8th, 2008, 02:11 PM

500 Free
500 Pull
20 X 25s Kick (:30 rest between)

10 X 50 SDK Down - NB/Long & Strong back - 2 Breaths

Lift:
Arms/Legs
Abs

Swam in the indoor pool since morning temps are in the 40s and they've closed the outdoor pool for the season. The indoor pool is warm.

Taking the next two days off due to kid schedules. I'll work on posting background information and goals over that time.

**alphadog** · September 8th, 2008, 02:49 PM

So...I'm trying to set realistic goals for an October 11th meet. They're calling the meet a "Sprint Pentatholon". It is dual sanctioned. The session I'll compete in is Saturday afternoon and only has two age groups (13-14 & Open), and the events are 50s of each stroke and the 100 IM. I plan to swim all five events.

Here are my recent 25 times from a sprint practice (from a push):

Free 11.5
Back 15.0
Breast 15.4
Fly 12.8

The last time I tested (August 15th), I could bench press 250 and squat almost 400 pounds.

After 5 weeks of comeback training, I only started swimming "fast" in practice a week ago. I plan to spend the remaining 4 weeks (3-4 workouts per week) emphasizing speed in my workouts.

Does anyone know a way to extract goals from these variables? Is there anything else I should take into account? I'll be doing timed swims over the next couple of weeks, but wondered if anyone has an idea of how fast I might be able to go based on my first set.

**mctrusty** · September 8th, 2008, 03:05 PM

http://forums.usms.org/showpost.php?...&postcount=657

You might want to do some fast 50s and experiment with what kind of splitting will work for you.

**alphadog** · September 8th, 2008, 03:36 PM

mctrusty ~ I was debating whether to do that this weekend vs. 25s from the blocks. I guess I could do both.

**pwolf66** · September 8th, 2008, 03:43 PM

Splitting? In a 50?

/Tom Hanks
There's no splitting in 50s
/Tom Hanks

A 50 is a pure all up sprint. Unlike 100s, where you want to hold something back, there is no real gain to be had by holding back on a 50 as most folks will not gain back on the 2nd 25 what they lost by holding back on the first 25.

**alphadog** · September 8th, 2008, 04:16 PM

Based on the times above, does anyone have comments on the following methodology for the 50 goals:

50s ~ (2 X 25 Push off time) + 1 Second

This would mean goals of:

50 Fly ~ :26.6
50 BK ~ :31.0
50 BR ~ :31.8
50 FR ~ :24.0

Am I being too easy/hard on myself? What are your thoughts?

Any alternative theories?

What about the IM? Has anyone developed a formula for calculating how fast you can go?

**Midas** · September 8th, 2008, 10:03 PM

Originally Posted by alphadog

Based on the times above, does anyone have comments on the following methodology for the 50 goals:

50s ~ (2 X 25 Push off time) + 1 Second

This would mean goals of:

50 Fly ~ :26.6
50 BK ~ :31.0
50 BR ~ :31.8
50 FR ~ :24.0

Am I being too easy/hard on myself? What are your thoughts?

Any alternative theories?

What about the IM? Has anyone developed a formula for calculating how fast you can go?

Those are pretty good goals, but I would think that,unless your dive starts and turns are absolutely awful, your 50 race times will probably be more like 2 times your 25 push-off times MINUS a second or two. In addition to the speed boost you'll get from your dive, I would have to think you'll just go a little faster in an actual race situation as opposed to sprints in practice. At least, that's how it works for me.

**alphadog** · September 9th, 2008, 03:06 PM

So that would put me at:

Fly: 24.6
BK: 29.0
BR: 29.8
FR: 22.0

I would love to think I can go these times at my first meet back. I hope you're right.

I have decided to conduct a time trial this weekend. There is a pretty fast pool here in town. Hopefully, I can get some practice on my starts and see what me 50s look like from the blocks.

I have no idea how to translate these my 25 times to a 100 IM. Any ideas out there?

**ande** · September 9th, 2008, 04:39 PM

you should be much faster than that
what sort of suit are you going to wear in your meet?
At least get a PRO LEGSKIN

Train for speed and strength
Rest a little bit and
find out where you are

think you're going to surprise yourself

It also depends if
you're a "workout swimmer" some swimmers are very fast in workout and
how much rest you need for hard back to back 50's

Formula to figure out IM time
Swim a hard 200 IM in practice for time
subtract 10 seconds.

Originally Posted by alphadog

Based on the times above, does anyone have comments on the following methodology for the 50 goals:

50s ~ (2 X 25 Push off time) + 1 Second

This would mean goals of:

50 Fly ~ :26.6
50 BK ~ :31.0
50 BR ~ :31.8
50 FR ~ :24.0

Am I being too easy/hard on myself? What are your thoughts?

Any alternative theories?

What about the IM? Has anyone developed a formula for calculating how fast you can go?

**alphadog** · September 9th, 2008, 04:51 PM

Thanks Ande! That's encouraging. I hadn't put much thought into the suit since cash is a little scarce at the moment. I've been working out in a lycra TYR jammer.

**alphadog** · September 10th, 2008, 05:38 PM

Tried a different pool since it seems there is a conspiracy afoot. Really enjoyed the different scenery, cool water, and large digital pace clock. Today's emphasis was sprint kicking:

400 FR Swim
200 IM Kick
400 FR Pull

5 X (4 X 25) Kick ~ 4 SDK/4 BK/4 BR/4 FR/4 BR
1-3 Build :10 rest/ 1:30 rest after 3/Sprint 4 for time
Times:
SDK: 16
BK: 18
BR: 18
FR: 16
BR: 16

5 X (2 X 50)Kick on 1:00
Same order as above

6 X 75 Free on 1:05
4 Pull/2 Swim
Avg: 52+

400 Warm down

One month to go before my first meet!!!

Discussion Forums

Thread: Mike's SwimBlog

Thread Tools

Display

Mike's SwimBlog

September 4, 2008

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

September 5, 2008

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

Setptember 6, 2008

September 7, 2008

Goals & Reality Check

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

Goals

Re: Goals

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

Re: Goals

Re: Mike's SwimBlog

September 10, 2008

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions