Off-Season Swim Challenge - get off your duff! (Page 3)

I really enjoyed this workout, Shanks!  Thank you!  I might have needed to do it a little faster to make it harder, but it was pretty darn fun at cruise pace.  : ) 

I was dreading those 100 kicks after the ladders, but they were fun too.

OK, the kids are out of school and just about everyone is on vacation, but that is no reason to slack off on your swimming!  Use the gym's childcare or bribe your spouse so you can get in the pool for the last few yards/meters of the year.  I will be swimming at dark:30 on Friday morning at LTF Mountain Brook if anyone wants to join in.

This week's workout is brought to us by raceready, who is a real swimmer and not a hack like me.  : )  In short, that means that workout #1 below is less than half of the real workout, which is attached at the very bottom for the brave among you. 

Workout #1:

Workout #2:

*2,100 total 

Workout #3:

*1,000 total

The Real Deal:

Guys,

I am not swimming this week, so here are some choices for your workout this week.

A.  If you did not swim during the holiday week last week do raceready's workout.  It was a good one!  Don't forget to check out the 7,700 meter workout at the end.  That is farther than I have ever swum!

B.  If you did the workout last week, here are some low-impact distance workouts for this week.  Do these workouts focusing on streamlining and elongating your stroke.  Start at forever pace (the pace at which you feel like you could swim forever) and going faster on each interval with the last one at hard pace (as fast as you can do the interval without having to take any extra breaths and without losing your streamline/form).

Happy Swimming! : )

Workout #1:

Workout #2:

Workout #3:

OK Gang - with my apologies for falling off of the wagon last week, here is this week's workout.  It is a variation on a Coach Sara workout from last week.  I'll be at LTF Mountain Brook on Friday at 5 if you want to race!

Workout #1:

500 warm up
4x150 @ 4:00 (25 free/25 back/25 free/25 breast/25 free/25 fly)
3x200 swim (1 @ 4:10,1 @ 4:00, 1 @ 3:50)
50 easy
3x200 pull (1 @ 4:10,1 @ 4:00, 1 @ 3:50)
100 easy
6x75 @ 2:00 (25 kick/50 swim)
200 cool down
*3,100 Total*

Workout #2:

300 warm up
2x150 @ 4:00 (25 free/25 back/25 free/25 breast/25 free/25 back)
3x200 swim (1 @ 4:30,1 @ 4:20, 1 @ 4:10)
50 easy
3x200 pull (1 @ 4:30,1 @ 4:20, 1 @ 4:10)
50 easy
2x75 @ 2:00 (25 kick/50 swim)
150 cool down
*2,200 Total*

Workout #3:

200 warm up
2x75 @ 4:00 (25 free/25 back/25 breast)
200 swim
50 easy
200 pull
50 easy
2x75 @ 2:00 (25 kick/50 swim)
100 cool down
*1,100 Total*

This week's workout was pretty fun.  The kicking made the swim part of the 75s feel easy! 

However, no one told me this but there appears to be a new rule that Friday morning swimmers must carry an insulated Polar bottle.  I was the only one without one.  Very strange.

This week's workout is another variation on one of Coach Sara's workouts from earlier this month.  I modified the medicine ball throws to be pushups instead because they work similar muscles.  For the sailboat drill, hold a kick board between your thighs. Make sure 1/2 of the board is sticking below your body when you swim freestyle. Use your core muscles to control your hip rotation (while the board tries to prevent rotation).

I will be at LTF Mountain Brook at 5am on Friday if anyone wants to join me.

With my apologies for posting this ridiculously late, here is this week's workout.  It is a modification of a workout I posed last spring, where I think the important thing is the pull set. 

Usually, we just bang out the pull set and don't think about WHY it is there.  This week, try pulling without a buoy, practicing your balance in the water (lean forward, then back and see how it feels and whether it makes your stroke easier or harder).  Practice your torpedo/streamline position as you pull so that you waste as little motion as possible as if you were a torpedo or a fish (except for your arms pulling).  IMHO, the object of the hypoxic pull sets (other than increasing your ability to hold your breath) is to help you groove your pull in a smooth way that does not waste energy or oxygen.  I like to pretend that I am one of those free divers without weights who must descend as smoothly as possible to conserve oxygen for the return to the surface:

WORKOUT #1:
600 warm up (100 swim/50 kick)
8x50 @ :60 (IM order, drill/swim)
12x25 @ :40 (2 easy, 1 FAST!)
12x100 @ 1:50 (3x: 1 easy free, 1 FAST IM, 1 easy free, 1 FAST free)
5x100 @ 2:00 pull (3/5 breathing pattern by 50 – practice zero wasted motion)
300 cool down

I am swimming Friday morning at LTF Mountain Brook at 5-ish if anyone wants to join me.  I will have the workout printed on paper and a blue GU bottle at the end of my lane. 

This week's swim workout is a variation of a Coach Sara workout from January and the theme is the negative split.  If you fancy some racing, join me at the LTF Mountain Brook at 5am-ish on Friday. 

Workout #1:

Workout #3:

This week's workout is a modified version of one of Coach Sara's workouts from last week.  The modification is that I removed the flippers and changed the underwater kicking to swimming because (a) I don't have flippers, and (b) there is not usually a lot of need to swim underwater in triathlon.  I'll be at LTF Mountain Brook on Friday at 5am-ish if anyone wants to share the workout:

Workout #3:

This week's workout is Coach Sara's workout from Friday, which I have modified to remove the fins and modify the kicking sets because (a) I have no fins, and (b) I don't do a lot of underwater swimming in triatlons. 

If you have fins and want to use them in the first two sets, no problem. 

Swimming laps with "NO Walls!" is easiest if you just flip or turn on the "T" at each end.  It is a surreal feeling, though, when you flip over and have to start swimming again from scratch.  I'll be at Lifetime MTB on Friday at 5 if anyone wants to jon me.  I'm the one with the printout of the workout on her flip-flops and a blue GU bottle.

Happy Swimming!

WORKOUT #1:

8x50 swim @ :60
6x50 @ 1:05 (25 kick, 25 swim)
12x50 @ 1:10 (2x fly/back, br/free; 1x build free; repeat)
300 swim w/NO walls!
4x50 @ 1:10 (25 tarzan drill, 25 swim)
300 swim w/NO walls!
4x50 @ 1:10 (25 tarzan drill, 25 swim)
6x100 pull @ 2:00 (3/5 breathing pattern by 50)
200 cool down
*3,100 Total*

WORKOUT #2:

8x50 swim w/:15 seconds rest
6x50 w/:15 rest (25 kick, 25 swim)
12x50 w/:15 rest (2x non-free/free, 1x build free, repeat 4x)
300 swim w/NO walls!
2x50 w/:30 rest (25 tarzan drill, 25 swim)
4x100 pull @ 2:00 (3/5 breathing pattern by 50)
100 cool down
*2,200 Total*

4x50 swim w/:20 seconds rest
4x50 w/:20 seconds rest (25 kick, 25 swim)
6x50 w/:20 rest (2x non-free/free, 1x build free, repeat)
200 swim w/NO walls!
100 pull
100 cool down
*1,100 Total*

This week's workout is a modified Coach Sara workout from last week that involves a sprint distance race portion (the "FOR TIME!" interval).  Make a note of your time on this section and we will do a similar workout in a month or so to see if our times have improved.   If you want to come back and report your time, that would be great also.  See who is the fastest!

Please note that Coach Sara's instructions on the pull sets said to use the buoy only so no paddles.  Also, the original workout included 50 kicks instead of the not-frees in the first set after the warm-up, but I swapped them because I like not-free better than kicking.  If you prefer kicking, please feel free to switch back.

I'll be at Lifetime Fitness Mountain Brook at 5am on Friday to do workout #1.  I will have 2 copies of the workouts if anyone wants to join me.

WORKOUT#1:

200 swim/100 kick/200 swim/100 kick
4x150 @ 3:30 (50 not-free/50 drill/50 swim)
2x200 @ 3:45 (descend 1-2)
200 easy pull
1x500 FOR TIME!!
100 easy recovery
2x200 @ 3:45 (descend 1-2)
200 easy pull
300 cool down (50 kick/100swim x 2)
*3,300 Total*

WORKOUT #2:
200 swim/100 kick
2x150 w/:30 rest (50 kick/50 drill/50 swim)
2x150 w/:20 rest (descend 1-2)
150 easy pull
1x400 FOR TIME!!
100 easy recovery
2x150 w/:20 rest (descend 1-2)
150 easy pull
100 cool down
*2,100 Total*

WORKOUT #3:
100 swim/50 kick
150 w/:30 rest (50 kick/50 drill/50 swim)
3x50 w/:20 rest (descend 1-3)
50 easy pull
1x300 FOR TIME!!
50 easy recovery
3x50 w/:20 rest (descend 1-3)
50 easy pull
150 cool down
*1,200 Total*