ways to gradually improve

fat and slow

I would like to improve my swimming speed, is this a good way?

3 sessions per week, alternating between an interval session A and an edurance session B details below. cycle of 4 weeks with 3 weeks of training; week 1(A, B, A,) week 2 (B, A ,B) week 3 (A,B,A) then relatively easy week (B, rest , 5min race) repeat cycle if it's working

(Session A and B warm up)
slow stuff[ (2lenghts counting strokes), (2 lenghts of drills; 20m kicking only, 30m pulling), (2 more counting strokes)]

(main set A)
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/interval-training-how-to-improve-your-fitness-and-increase-your-vo2max-471 vV02max is your 5min speed,

30-second work intervals at vVO2max with 30-second recoveries at 50% of vVO2max, repeat ~ 15-20 times
then (5) 50m intervals, at race pace -10 secs with equal work/rest time.

(main set B endurance)
3x500m race pace per 100m+15 secs per 100m, then 5 intervals of race pace per 100m - 5secs, with 30 seconds rest

Cool down. (session A's cool down is slightly longer than session B's)

background novice swimmer, cant do flip turns, swim 3times per week in ucd pool. ( 5min pb is 285m) or 1:45 per 100m for 300m; goal to get it down to 1:30 within 8 weeks or 2 cycles. other background 25m pb 16 seconds, 50m pb 35 secs, 100m pb ??? (1:33 36,57split)

fionn_mac

seems very complicated?

what is the race that race pace refers to? 50m sprint? 200m fly? 1500mm open water? or just a notional 5min race?

you are looking for a 45sec improvement over 300m in 8 weeks which is ambitious but maybe not starting out, time will drop quickly before it plateaus (300m bit of an odd benchmark for swimming. 400m TT as a benchmark is more common http://www.swimsmooth.com/training.html). you are not slow, 35sec for 50m, 1.33 for a 100m is good starting point but your splits for your 100m show your dropping dramatically in the second 50m they should be within a second or two of each other.if your holding your 100m's at 1.45 for a 300m TT work on that as your threshold pace, try

10 x 100m on 2.00 holding 2.00

as that gets more comfortable, after few weeks
a. increase volume
e.g. 20x 100m off 2.00

b. decrease interval
e.g. 3 x (3 x 100m) descend RI from 2.00 to 1.50 e.g. first 100m off 2.00, second off 1.55, third off 1.50; repeat by 3

you can also do the equivalent in 200m (e.g. 6x 200 off 4.00 maybe). The key is knowing your threshold pace and using the clock. those are standard sets for building endurance etc. if your race is is a 50m sprint then its a different story.

main thing keep at it, your A,B sets seem fine (maybe a longer warm-up) but dont be obsessed with vo2 max .feel for the water is harder to learn/quantify. doing the same thing regularly off a time is good to plot progress but vary it up to avoid boredom.
www.swimplan.org and www.goswim.tv good for sets (and the latter for drills too)

enjoy your swimming

fat and slow

Thanks for reply, & advice. I'll definitely try out those suggested workouts.yes my 1:45 race pace just refers to a notional 5min race. Also my threshold swim speed is 2:00. I will in future do a 400m conventional tt.

Really i'm swimming just for fun and i might also try a triathlon next year so those suggested workouts are ideal.
I also agree that getting a feel for the water is important. A lot of the time, I wish I could maintain the form and ease of movement i have in the first few lenghts of a 500m set for the full set.

fat and slow

lost one week of training, recovering from cough/cold/tiredness. this last week i decided to do some tts just to finish the year off and to find out exactly where i'm at.

my pb for my 100m came down by 5 secs, to 1min28, uneven splits (38;50) so i took a rest and repeated the tt got one second slower (1min 29) with still uneven splits (40;49). I suppose it shows that my speed endurance and pacing is terrible. I should learn how to swim a 42second 50m effeciently and then do a (42;44) 100m.

on the longer distance 400m my pb came down by 53 seconds to 7min 7secs. this was the first time i did a full out 400m tt, my splits for this distance are (1min 47).

reviewing my goals they might be a bit ambitious.
so my less ambitious new years goals are a sub 7min 400m, and a sub 1.25 100m. 3.20 200m. happy new year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3g7ynDe7DY

biomed32

Try the speedoTri Athlete page on facebook, they usually have great posts on improving stroke, speed etc