YOUR ANSWERS

Why do this exercise?  It's simple.  It's hard to improve if you come into workout, jump into the water and proceed to swim lap after lap after lap without a true understanding of what you are really trying to accomplish.  Yes it is true that we are trying to get in a workout that will cumulate in your personal best times at that last meet of the season.

HOW DID YOU DO

STROKE ACRONYMS

FR=FREE  BK=BACK. BR=BREAST FL=FLY. IMO=INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY ORDER

IMFR=IMO/FREE. RIMO=REVERSE IMO

OTHER ACRONYMS

YOYO=YOUR ON YOUR ON

UW=UNDERWATER

UWD=UNDERWATER DOLPHINS

DPS= DISTANCE PER STROKE

HR= HEART RATE

BP=BREATHING PATTERN

OTHER THINGS WE USE

BROKEN SWIMS= EXAMPLE 200 FREE BROKEN 50/100/25/25

KBRD KICKING USING BOARDS

K NBRD KICKING NO BOARD

NEGATIVE SPLIT= EXAMPLE 100 BACK 2ND 50 FASTER THAN FIRST

EFFORT LEVEL

GREEN=SMOOTH 60-70%

PINK=75-85@

BLUE= 90%

RED= ALL OUT

BUILD= EACH REPEAT GETS FASTER EXAMPLE 4X50 FREE 1@PINK/1@BLUE/1@RED/1@GREEN

DESCEND= DESEND YOUR TIME WITH EACH REPEAT

BEST AVERAGE=THE BEST AVERAGE TIME YOU CAN HOLD FOR ENTIRE SET. EXAMPLE IF YOUR DOING 5X100 FREE AND YOU CAN MAINTAIN 1:05 THAN THAT IS WHAT EACH 100 TIME SHOULD BE REGARDLESS OF INTERVAL.

GOAL PACE=TAKE YOUR TIME FOR AN EVENT AND ADD A SPECIFIC TIME AND ADD IT TO IT AND THAT IS THE TIME FOR THE SET.

So now that we all have the swim jargon down there should be less confusion and blank stares when you see our workouts, but is that simple.  Yes and No.  You know the jargon but how do you get the most out of practice.  First and foremost is this single fact, Keep your mind engaged.  Every repeat, every stroke focus on a specific thing that you want to improve.  Maybe it's a specific thing a coach mentioned during the feedback after one of your races.  It always amazes me when I watch the same mistakes over and over after giving the feedback after a race to correct it.

here is another example of how a swimmer can stay mentally engaged in practice.  Let' say we are doing 4x50 back.  Simple. Attack each of these 50's the same way you would in a race.  You can't just swim them.  I am a firm believer that if you want something to change (time) you need to change something to make it a reality.  

If you want to win your races during a meet, you have to win your sets at practice.  If you give up in practice your going to give up in your race.  No I don't mean your going to stop but when you face adversity during the race You better know what to do.  You won't if you back off in practice.

Making it fun will also help keep you mentally engaged.  Challenge your teammates.  It doesn't always have to be about times although thats a start.  When doing your 50's free challenge someone on breathing pattern such as 0/1 or 2/3.  Stroke counts can be another challenge as long as your not swimming slow.

I was happy today when one of you mentioned that the warmup was the same for the last few weeks. Way to go Sadie for noticing and yes you are correct.  Since Feb 1 we have been doing the same warmup and her is the reason, I want you to actually take that warmup become comfortable, feel like your getting stronger and getting faster during warmup as we head into championship meets.  As you may have noticed the colors and intervals are being tweaked as we are progressing.

Hope this all makes sense.