The Swimming Thread - Pool/OW
Discussion
dirty boy said:
As for your coach...26 is seriously fast on back and 3:53 for a 400! Reg Lloyd at Ipswich does a 3:47, love seeing him swim a 400, just another level and to think he's 10 seconds off Max Litchfield....I'd love to see the top athletes swim...hope to get tickets to the ISL in London at the end of the year.
Yes, our coach was a GB international and in the top squad at Loughborough - 200 back was his best event and he was obviously well under 2 minutes.The ISL should be good - I watched the FINA effort (World Series?) in Guangzhou, Budapest and Indianapolis on Eurosport and wasn't that impressed tbh - the swimmers loved it by all accounts, well of course they would as they're guaranteed at least a few grand for coming last in a four horse race!
I've recently joined a local tri club and did my first CSS test on Wednesday - it was not fun!
I've never really been 'taught' to swim, I watched some youtube vids and then on the recommendation of some guy on here I had a session with a swim coach (Adam @ Greenlight PT, top bloke! Which helped A LOT) but a house move put the stoppers on any more sessions.
Anyway, my CSS Pace/100m is 3:03, which to be fair is piss poor. On the positive side, because it is so bad by going to regular training sessions where the drills can work on my technique, and CSS based sets on my own (I've ordered a tempo trainer today to help) with any luck my next CSS should be improved. I think if I can get below 2 minutes 50 I will be very happy!
The swim smooth website says I can expect to make gains reasonably quickly, but I'll take that with a pinch of salt.
Does / has anybody used CSS based sets for training, and what have the results been like? Good or bad?
I've never really been 'taught' to swim, I watched some youtube vids and then on the recommendation of some guy on here I had a session with a swim coach (Adam @ Greenlight PT, top bloke! Which helped A LOT) but a house move put the stoppers on any more sessions.
Anyway, my CSS Pace/100m is 3:03, which to be fair is piss poor. On the positive side, because it is so bad by going to regular training sessions where the drills can work on my technique, and CSS based sets on my own (I've ordered a tempo trainer today to help) with any luck my next CSS should be improved. I think if I can get below 2 minutes 50 I will be very happy!
The swim smooth website says I can expect to make gains reasonably quickly, but I'll take that with a pinch of salt.
Does / has anybody used CSS based sets for training, and what have the results been like? Good or bad?
Must have been me recommending Adam, I've worked with him for years!
I do the bulk of my training on CSS. I have made big improvements and its definitely worked well for me. When I first went to see Adam I couldn't really swim (that was a few years back). When I was training for Ironman last year my CSS was 1:29. CSS based sets have been the bread and butter training I have been doing for last 4-5 years.
If I was swimming 3 times a week then 2 would be CSS based, the other would be focused on speed. Sometimes this still has a CSS flavour (e.g. sets where you are trying to stay slightly ahead of the beep), other times its just pure max effort speed work.
For you though your biggest gains right now are going to come from technique improvement. Working on those drills, and getting time in the pool will all help.
I do the bulk of my training on CSS. I have made big improvements and its definitely worked well for me. When I first went to see Adam I couldn't really swim (that was a few years back). When I was training for Ironman last year my CSS was 1:29. CSS based sets have been the bread and butter training I have been doing for last 4-5 years.
If I was swimming 3 times a week then 2 would be CSS based, the other would be focused on speed. Sometimes this still has a CSS flavour (e.g. sets where you are trying to stay slightly ahead of the beep), other times its just pure max effort speed work.
For you though your biggest gains right now are going to come from technique improvement. Working on those drills, and getting time in the pool will all help.
Scabutz said:
Must have been me recommending Adam, I've worked with him for years!
I do the bulk of my training on CSS. I have made big improvements and its definitely worked well for me. When I first went to see Adam I couldn't really swim (that was a few years back). When I was training for Ironman last year my CSS was 1:29. CSS based sets have been the bread and butter training I have been doing for last 4-5 years.
If I was swimming 3 times a week then 2 would be CSS based, the other would be focused on speed. Sometimes this still has a CSS flavour (e.g. sets where you are trying to stay slightly ahead of the beep), other times its just pure max effort speed work.
For you though your biggest gains right now are going to come from technique improvement. Working on those drills, and getting time in the pool will all help.
Think it might have been - thanks for the tip.I do the bulk of my training on CSS. I have made big improvements and its definitely worked well for me. When I first went to see Adam I couldn't really swim (that was a few years back). When I was training for Ironman last year my CSS was 1:29. CSS based sets have been the bread and butter training I have been doing for last 4-5 years.
If I was swimming 3 times a week then 2 would be CSS based, the other would be focused on speed. Sometimes this still has a CSS flavour (e.g. sets where you are trying to stay slightly ahead of the beep), other times its just pure max effort speed work.
For you though your biggest gains right now are going to come from technique improvement. Working on those drills, and getting time in the pool will all help.
My tempo trainer arrived yesterday so with any luck I'll get to have a play about with it tonight at the training session.
I've googled for some CSS based training sessions to do on my own, and some of them look impossible. One 'red mist' session is 4km! That is like a full day at the pool!
craig r said:
Scabutz said:
Must have been me recommending Adam, I've worked with him for years!
I do the bulk of my training on CSS. I have made big improvements and its definitely worked well for me. When I first went to see Adam I couldn't really swim (that was a few years back). When I was training for Ironman last year my CSS was 1:29. CSS based sets have been the bread and butter training I have been doing for last 4-5 years.
If I was swimming 3 times a week then 2 would be CSS based, the other would be focused on speed. Sometimes this still has a CSS flavour (e.g. sets where you are trying to stay slightly ahead of the beep), other times its just pure max effort speed work.
For you though your biggest gains right now are going to come from technique improvement. Working on those drills, and getting time in the pool will all help.
Think it might have been - thanks for the tip.I do the bulk of my training on CSS. I have made big improvements and its definitely worked well for me. When I first went to see Adam I couldn't really swim (that was a few years back). When I was training for Ironman last year my CSS was 1:29. CSS based sets have been the bread and butter training I have been doing for last 4-5 years.
If I was swimming 3 times a week then 2 would be CSS based, the other would be focused on speed. Sometimes this still has a CSS flavour (e.g. sets where you are trying to stay slightly ahead of the beep), other times its just pure max effort speed work.
For you though your biggest gains right now are going to come from technique improvement. Working on those drills, and getting time in the pool will all help.
My tempo trainer arrived yesterday so with any luck I'll get to have a play about with it tonight at the training session.
I've googled for some CSS based training sessions to do on my own, and some of them look impossible. One 'red mist' session is 4km! That is like a full day at the pool!
I quite like the red mist set. Its starts off so easy. Though it gets tough towards the end.
Had to pull out of the OW champs on Sunday.
Ironically, picked up an injury last Saturday playing rounders in a swimming club Adults v Children match, got taken out by a 10 year old.....was sore but didn't think much of it, but pain that evening and the next day was excrutiating, presumed sciatic nerve, couldn't even lift my foot to drive for 5 days....frightening stuff. It's almost okay, but with my grandfather being ill (and dying the same day as the rounders incident) i've now not trained for 3 weeks 'and' in some slight discomfort still.
If I were a good confident swimmer, I could maybe scrape round doing pull, but i'm not, so seems daft to put myself out of my comfort zone not once for trying it, but twice for being injured and poorly prepped
I'll be back, going to sign up for a Tri instead now to keep on top of things.
Ironically, picked up an injury last Saturday playing rounders in a swimming club Adults v Children match, got taken out by a 10 year old.....was sore but didn't think much of it, but pain that evening and the next day was excrutiating, presumed sciatic nerve, couldn't even lift my foot to drive for 5 days....frightening stuff. It's almost okay, but with my grandfather being ill (and dying the same day as the rounders incident) i've now not trained for 3 weeks 'and' in some slight discomfort still.
If I were a good confident swimmer, I could maybe scrape round doing pull, but i'm not, so seems daft to put myself out of my comfort zone not once for trying it, but twice for being injured and poorly prepped
I'll be back, going to sign up for a Tri instead now to keep on top of things.
Highway Star said:
Scabutz said:
What the actual f
k is wrong with people. fk sake.
I guess it could point to some serious mental health issues or perhaps is a cry for help, but equally could just be some sort of ak is wrong with people. fk sake.hole. This is at the best (c5 years old) pool in the city, where we pay some of the highest pool hire fees (and therefore monthly subs) in the country. The pool itself is really good (when the lane ropes are tensioned properly and not waggling around like spaghetti), but every time we train there, something is up - mirrors smashed in the changing rooms, toilets blocked and overflowing, doors hanging off the cubicles, clocks not working - mainly small stuff but it builds up to give a pretty depressing environment to train in sometimes.Think it was some local who took umbrage that the club basically used 50% of the pool every single night for 2 hours (all night on the club nights).
Used to have all the same issues there with people smashing the changing rooms up etc.
Just on your spaghetti lane ropes note... ours have gone from bad to worse. Last night, 2 ropes basically needn't have been put in such was the lack of tension. I nearly broke my fingers in one of them as it meandered into my path!
I was going to ask this in the health forum but actually might be better off here first:
I dunno whats gone on but lately I have been struggling pretty bad in training. I've basically had nearly a year off from harder training due to shoulder injury (though I did still swim, just to keep ticking over and I did cycling instead to keep some aerobic fitness). But I've struggled to get feeling even anywhere near as good as I used to.
The main thing is just constantly feeling lethargic. No sparky-ness to my energy. On my best days it used to feel like I'd got real zing in my muscles, like a new elastic band. For a while now it feels like one of those old elastic bands you find in the street... not so elastic.
I generally feel like I am tiring too easily. My heart / CV system feels like its working entirely too hard for the times I'm doing and I can feel my coordination going in my arms; you know when you're putting in as much effort as you can but your arms are just doing whatever they want! washing out wide, generally not holding the water.
I seem to be getting cramp an awful lot in my feet and Its taking me days to recover from gym work; I had to leave mid session on tuesday because the DOMS in my legs was so painful I could barely push off the wall and my muscles were cramping just above the knee.
I'm 33 so not a super spring chicken, but I shouldn't be plummeting downhill like this!
I don't know what has changed, but a good culprit might be food and drink?
I will say that I spent a few weeks drinking Huel for lunch and I definitely felt better. The problem with that stuff was it completely blocked me up! which I suspect, from reading their forums, was a function of not drinking enough water and ingesting more fibre.
I struggle with drinking water because I just genuinely never really feel thirsty, so don't have that alarm in my head to go find water. I've gone whole days on just the cup of tea I had at breakfast and never felt the need to drink (also get super busy at work and can concentrate for 4-5 hours straight without break). But I know that can't be right and I must be dehydrated.
Can anyone help with how I can be:
1) Drinking more whilst keeping salts/electrolytes in balance? and
2) Eat/snack on low GI stuff... be really helpful if someone has a pre-training snack they go to because I have no clue what I should be eating or how much.
I dunno whats gone on but lately I have been struggling pretty bad in training. I've basically had nearly a year off from harder training due to shoulder injury (though I did still swim, just to keep ticking over and I did cycling instead to keep some aerobic fitness). But I've struggled to get feeling even anywhere near as good as I used to.
The main thing is just constantly feeling lethargic. No sparky-ness to my energy. On my best days it used to feel like I'd got real zing in my muscles, like a new elastic band. For a while now it feels like one of those old elastic bands you find in the street... not so elastic.
I generally feel like I am tiring too easily. My heart / CV system feels like its working entirely too hard for the times I'm doing and I can feel my coordination going in my arms; you know when you're putting in as much effort as you can but your arms are just doing whatever they want! washing out wide, generally not holding the water.
I seem to be getting cramp an awful lot in my feet and Its taking me days to recover from gym work; I had to leave mid session on tuesday because the DOMS in my legs was so painful I could barely push off the wall and my muscles were cramping just above the knee.
I'm 33 so not a super spring chicken, but I shouldn't be plummeting downhill like this!
I don't know what has changed, but a good culprit might be food and drink?
I will say that I spent a few weeks drinking Huel for lunch and I definitely felt better. The problem with that stuff was it completely blocked me up! which I suspect, from reading their forums, was a function of not drinking enough water and ingesting more fibre.
I struggle with drinking water because I just genuinely never really feel thirsty, so don't have that alarm in my head to go find water. I've gone whole days on just the cup of tea I had at breakfast and never felt the need to drink (also get super busy at work and can concentrate for 4-5 hours straight without break). But I know that can't be right and I must be dehydrated.
Can anyone help with how I can be:
1) Drinking more whilst keeping salts/electrolytes in balance? and
2) Eat/snack on low GI stuff... be really helpful if someone has a pre-training snack they go to because I have no clue what I should be eating or how much.
Scabutz said:
Adam Peaty just casually turned up at the worlds and smashed his own world record. 56.88 in 100m breast.
Yeah absolutely unreal. 57.5 in the heats, 56.88 in the semis. It's job done for him really. Even if he puts a second on, he's still way out in front. League of his own...he has the top 16 best times ever swum!!!!Otispunkmeyer said:
Yeah absolutely unreal. 57.5 in the heats, 56.88 in the semis. It's job done for him really. Even if he puts a second on, he's still way out in front. League of his own...he has the top 16 best times ever swum!!!!
He's fantastic. I'm excited about the medley relay - he's two seconds faster than the American breaststroker. If Greenbank can pull out the swim of his life, I think with Guy and Scott we've enough to hold off the Americans.Highway Star said:
Another great swim by Peaty today, but for me, was totally overshadowed by Milak's 200 fly, beating Phelps WR - in Phelps' best event when Phelps was in a full suit. One of the most impressive races I've seen in swimming.
Yes amazing. Beating a plastic suit WR- huge, beating a Phelps WR - outstanding, beating a Phelps plastic suit WR is beyond amazing. Hes only young also. Superb.Highway Star said:
Caeleb Dressel WR in the 100 fly - Phelps is losing all his WRs! He'll have to get back in the pool!
Hahaha. Bet hes crying into his 28 olympic medals.2 WRs down this week. Think they were both plastic suit records as well. Dressed has been threatening the record for a while.
Dont want to downplay any of this achievements. But these two, Peatys 56.x and the Missy Franklin's backstroke record all broken at worlds year before Olympics. Seems unusual, would expect people to be peaking next year. Wonder if the pool is fast.
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