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0 to 1650 in 6 weeks

guest — Thu, 24 May 2007 09:11:30 GMT

I'm a 24-year-old guy who's been swimming for about six months now, and until recently I wasn't really making any progress. I would try to swim 10 laps, but that was about all I could do, if I even made it to 10 laps. I decided that I was serious about getting in shape and improving my fitness and stamina, so I found this 0-1650 plan at http://www.ruthkazez.com/SwimWorkouts/ZeroTo1mile.html and decided to follow it. I just started today on day 1 of week 2, and so far it's been easier than I thought it would be, as I've been finishing these workouts without getting tired and out of breath. I know the workouts are going to get a lot harder in the next few weeks, but it's good to know that I've gotten to week 2 without too much difficulty.

So does anyone have any advice for me on completing this workout plan? Weeks 1 and 2 haven't been too hard, but sometimes I struggle a little in the middle of sets to maintain proper balance and form as I get a little tired momentarily. The workouts towards the end though look really hard. Even week 3 (400, 4x100, 6x50, 6x25) looks like a pretty tough workout for a new swimmer like me. I want to beat this workout pretty bad, but I don't know how I'm going to deal with the later workouts, especially once I have to starting swimming 1000 yards straight.

Swimming with a healing wound

guest — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 01:57:39 GMT

I have a wound on the back of my ankle that has been healing for the past 2 weeks. It is non-bloody, and there is no scarring, it is just pinkish. I cover this with a bandaid. My question is, how can I swim with this? What should I use to cover it up, or is that not neccessary? I don't think you're allowed to swim in public pools with a healing wound or a band-aid.

How do I improve my stamina?

guest — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 05:35:22 GMT

I started swimming a couple months ago. I can usually swim 10 laps (500 yds) freestyle without too much difficultly each time I swim. I try to do several freestyle laps, followed by a few laps with the pull buoy, until it adds up to 500 yds. But it always takes me up to half an hour to finish, because I haven't been active in several years, and I always rest a couple minutes in between laps. My question is, how can I build up my stamina and endurance so that I can eventually swim, say one 50 yd lap in less than 60 seconds? I know they say you need to do interval sets and stuff, can someone give me a couple sets or a workout I can do to improve my fitness? I'm not training for a triathlon or anything, I'm just a fitness swimmer who wants to improve and get in better shape.

Pull-buoys and upper-body strength

guest — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 07:44:32 GMT

I'm starting to swim laps for fitness and to build my strength and stamina, and I'm a bit confused about pull-buoys. Some people say that they are good for building upper-body strength in your arms and shoulders, but others say that it actually makes swimming easier because it helps correct your position in the water, and that to effectivly work your upper-body you should swim with not just a pull buoy but also a band around your ankles to add resistance. I want to get stronger and start adding definition to my arms, chest, etc., so what should I do? Should I do sets with just the pull buoy, or both the buoy and the band?

Having trouble with breathing!

guest — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 05:26:49 GMT

I'm taking lessons to learn the freestyle stroke, and I'm having trouble with side breathing. I'm in the second (and last) week of lessons, and the instructor says that everything else, like my arm movements and stuff, are fine, but I have trouble getting the rythym down to consistently breathe. Sometimes I'm kind of able to do it and take one decent breath, but then I lose rythym and stop swimming. I don't know what my problem is - I know I must focus on exhaling when my face is in the water, touch my ear to my shoulder when I take a breath, etc. my last lesson is tomorrow and I need help so that I can work on this on my own so that I can start swimming laps and doing workouts. I tried using a pull-buoy and it helped somewhat because I didn't have to remember to kick, but I still need help. Anyone have any suggestions or drills I can try? Also, not to get ahead of myself, but once I get the form down, what's a good goal for a beginner swimmer like me in terms of how many yards to swim per workout? I'm a 23-year-old guy if that helps any.

Re: Starting a swimming program

guest — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 18:03:36 GMT

Can you recommend any websites with good workouts for me or maybe give me a sample beginner workout? I'd like something with kick, pull, and maybe sprint sets so that I can improve my overall fitness, and not get bored just swimming lap after lap with no variety.

Re: Starting a swimming program

guest — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:43:50 GMT

So can anyone recommend any workouts for me once I get the proper form down? How many yards/laps should I start out doing, and how should I structure my workouts so that I can work on different things? I found a few "beginner" workouts on the Net, but I'm not sure if they're the right ones for me, so I need some advice, I want to be able to do workouts on my own once I get the proper form down.

Starting a swimming program

guest — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 21:16:48 GMT

I am a 22-year-old male who wants to start swimming. I haven't had lessons since I was little, so I'm planning on taking private lessons to help me relearn proper form and technique and stuff. I want to start swimming regularly to get into shape, improve my fitness and mucle tone, etc. I need advice on where to start in terms of swim workouts for beginners, and where to go from there. I'm pretty skinny and out of shape, and I haven't been active since probably middle school, so I don't know what kind of workout or how many yards or laps I should begin with once I get the proper form down. I found a link to this site called "Zero to 1650 in six weeks" on swimming.about.com, is that a program I should follow, or do I need something else? Swimming a mile three times a week sounds like a pretty good workout to me, I'd feel pretty good about myself if/when I end up achieving that. Also, how should I mix up my workouts in terms of kick sets, pull sets, and sprints? BTW I'm planning on taking private lessons to (re)learn the proper freestyle stroke, so once I do that I need to know where to go from there.

Also, is it acceptable to wear regular baggy trunks during my workouts? Or do I need to wear a speedo-style training suit? I found these "short shorts" by TYR that are part of their "Training 2.0" series, I'd rather wear those than a speedo, would those work? Will my swim instructor require me to wear something like that, or will he/she let me wear regular, knee-length trunks? Thanks for your help.