Life has changed a great deal since the lockdowns for everyone, but especially for swimmers. If you’re lucky to have access to a pool, most likely, you’re limited to the amount of time you can spend in it. Those of us who are master’s swimmers find ourselves unable to swim with our teams because it’s one swimmer per lane and limited lanes, so we swim alone. I haven’t been able to get a spot with my team (Southern California Aquatics) since this second (third?) lockdown. But I’m lucky. I have a local pool, and, being a resident, I have “priority”–provided I can secure a lane. The challenge is coming up with workouts that I want to swim, fit my speed, and eke every last second out of that 50 minutes. Yes, I’ve swam for years, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. One strategy I use is to specify a type of workout for given days (stolen from my master swims pre-COVID). For me, Mondays are stroke-emphasis days, Wednesdays are mid-distance/distance days, and Fridays are sprint. That just leaves me with Tuesday and Thursday to figure out. Perhaps I’ll use one of those days to focus on technique and the other? Eh, I don’t know yet.
Being in touch with my swim buddies helps because they post their workouts, and I get inspired, but all of us are still searching for variety. Most websites I’ve visited assume you’re a beginner if you’re only swimming an hour. Today, I received an email from Swim.com promising a deep dive workout. When I clicked through the link, it was 1400 yards. (sigh) That would be a workout if it were lactic, but a regular workout? No.All of the other workouts are at least 1.5 hours. I don’t know anyone who has access to a pool for that amount of time anymore. Maybe if you’re an elite swimmer. I’m not.
There are programs you can download to your phones. I’ve seen them and haven’t been impressed. Maybe it’s because they don’t compare to the coaches’ workouts. Not that mine do, but I’m going to share them anyway. You can use them as is (adjusting for your speed) or just use them as inspiration. The one I’m posting today was what I swam this afternoon. It was inspired by one of the longer ones written for either a collegiate or an Olympic swimmer. Being neither, I made it mine. I encourage you to do the same.
This one was 49:03 minutes as my swim time is dependent upon when the facility lets us in.
500 warmup
Warmup set 3x (750 yds)
100 IM 1:45
100 free 1:35
50 on 1:00 25 kick/25 free
Kick is IM order
Main set 2x (1000 yds)
4 x 50 backstroke 200 pace on 1:00
3 x 100 on 1:30
50 easy on 1:15
Bonus set (200 yds)
8 x 25 on :30
Odds sprint
Evens easy
200 warm down
Total yards: 2750
#swimming #swimworkout #50minuteswimworkout #mastersswimming
