Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 14)

If you're looking to add upper body, I can vouch for the poolside pushups Stuart mentioned. I've done them twice now during my swim sets, and I certainly tell that I've done them. I think they'll always be the way I end my swimming now.

 I know about those, that's me ,  but i don't swim every day.  I was looking for somethig I could do on a daily basis.  Glad to know that the poolside pushups are working for you.

Oh yeah...idiot! Well, thanks for the tip anyway, although my shoulders aren't thanking you!

Lol, good entertainment in the forum today

Took my bike in today and they extended my aero bars, because of the extension, they had to lengthen the gear cables too, so I should be getting it back on Friday. I still had the wrist discomfort, but the bike guru pointed out to me that my grip was way too tight on the bars. He said I should relax my grip about 80%. Now that the bars are extended, I can relax my grip much more and still feel like i have control of the bike. I feel much better now, but we will know for sure when I get it out in the real world! He also guaranteed me that he would get me feeling better on the bike no matter what and I can bring it back any time for adjustments.

Nate, I had an extender put on last summer and it worked wonders on my neck.  Now I can ride for hours with minimal to zero neck/shoulder issues.  I may have had to sacrifice a bit in aero benefit, but since I prefer endurance events, comfort becomes much more important.

Good swim for me this morning.  Between tennis balls, wall pushups, and kicking drills I am definitely noticing a "sweet spot" in my stroke where my pull and body rotation feel more as one moving unit. 

I have a question for the group.  How many strokes do you take in a 25 yd pool?

When focused and working on stroke length, and good pull I can do 18 strokes per lap.

As I tire, I can eventually drop to 21-23 per lap, which is the pace where I feel I can "go forever".

Anyone play swim golf?

Great! That is how you should feel all the time when swimming.  Keep it up and you will see your times get better and better.

When I am stretching out I am down around 16 strokes but 18 is a good turnover for me for most workouts.  My 'swim forever' pace is 20.  Take one stroke off all of those with a wetsuit on.

Keep up the great work. 

Not only have I never played swim golf, never even heard of it.  Intertube water polo however, is great fun!

I have a question ... do you count every arm stroke? I am used to counting every stroke with my right arm. I average around 8 - 9 strokes per 25 yard length. 

I just finished a 70 minute trainer ride ... now its almost time for bed. Good Night!

That's encouraging! Can't wait to try it out, thanks!

I'm basing this off of what my Garmin tells me, but it says I'm doing 8 strokes per lap. It only counts the arm with the watch on it though, so that would mean at least 8 with my left and 7-9 with my right. So 15-17 on average I guess. I'll count manually next time I'm in the pool!

I think I'd like to try that form of water polo!

My sister, who is also a swimmer explained swim golf as counting your strokes for one lap and then on the next lap, you make the goal to do one less stroke by pulling harder and gliding longer down the pool. Keep doing laps until you can't possibly get a lower amount of strokes on subsequent laps.

D@mn you all.  Posting your workouts.  I had every intention of blowing off my run today, but the thought of of guys drove me to the gym.  You all stink. 

That's what my wife said to to me after my workout (minus the all)!

Ok - Question for the group:

Do you count your warm up and cool down on the bike?  I count the yards on the swim.  I count the distance on the pitiful excues for running I do.  For some reason I don't on my bike.  I guess my logic is since I don't time it I don't count it given it is sooo much slower than when I am on on 'the ride'.

So what do you do?

Count everything!   If I'm moving, I'm counting.   

...

Went to the pool today -- a rare midday pool session.  Nice and empty!   Did 3x500, times were much improved with the jammers -- managed a pace of 2:30/100 for the first set, which is some good progress (have historically been at or above 3:00/100)   Only downside was forgetting my towel -- oops!

Also had my annual physical today.  Everything in good health -- doctor was happy with my resting heart rate ~55.  Regular exercise definitely having a strong impact.

Absolutely!!  COUNT EVERYTHING!

ahhhh I love those pool days.....that's why I don't mind going on a Saturday afternoon at 5 ish.  I guess I'm the only one who has nothing better to do at that hour!

anyway FRACK it's cold here today.  The car said 6 on my way to the Y!  YIKES.  Another good swim, tennis balls and kick drills.  1200 yds total.

That's it for now - have a good day all.  

oh and Scott congrats on the good report at the doc!

That's good to hear about the bike, and exactly what my bike fitter said. He said you should remind yourself every so often to take a deep breath and completely relax the upper body, then wiggle/bend your toes, and finally to get off the seat a little bit and get some blood flow back down there.

Everyone seems to be working out well and have their training plans in operation-except me I've been as sick as a parrot and lost 2.3lbs in 5days while not having the strength to anything. I hate viruses. So I'm starting my 2013 fitness plans later than everybody else.

Just hoping for a prolonged period of well time. That's all

I count everything I do but I think it most important to be consistent in how you record your sessions thus allowing you to make comparisons, track progress, etc.

Swim Golf:

Swimming golfis a test of technical ability. It requires you to juggle the skills required for taking long strokes with the skills required for faster stroke tempo. Swimming Golf can be used as a benchmark to indicate technique improvement over a period of time. The rules are as follows:

• Swim a prescribed distance (usually 50-100 yards or meters), counting the total number of strokes you take—count once for each hand as it enters the water. (ex. If you are in a short-course pool and you take 21 strokes on the first length followed by 22 strokes coming back, your total is 43.)

• At the end of the swim, note your elapsed swim time in seconds. (Let’s say the swim took 47 seconds.)

• Add the number of strokes to the number of seconds. The total is your score for that swim. (Add the 43 strokes to the 47 seconds for a total of 90.)

• Take the prescribed amount of rest and repeat from the top, this time attempting to get a lower score—hence the name “swimming golf.”

If you do this a half-dozen times and average your scores you can use this as your "par" the next time you include a swimming golf set in your workout. (Say your scores are 90, 89, 90, 89, 88, 88. Your average, or new par, is 89.)

Jim

awww hang in there!!  It'll get better  Then you'll come back stronger than before.  

Your description sounds way cooler than mine. I like how it takes time into account as well!

Took my road bike out today for my prescribed Z2 ride and subsequent Z2 brick run!

The early weeks of this training schedule are pretty easy so far, I better enjoy them while I can