Great strides in the pool - in a way
I've been out of the pool for a bit recently, due to a shoulder injury. My physio says that my upper back is incredibly tight - not muscularly, but just the upper vertebrae are nearly seized. He has been manipulating my back for 20-minutes at a time, which was quite painful, and didn't seem to be doing any good.
After three sessions of this, he told me to stop swimming, in case that was the cause of my shoulder pain. I took a week off, but noticed absolutely no improvement, despite religiously doing my exercises and stretches. So, on Thursday, he tried something different. As well as working on my back, he did a bit of work in my pectoral muscles. This was a new level of pain, but seemed to finally have some impact on the pain! I was able to breathe more comfortably, and whilst the pain isn't gone, it's the first time it has gotten better since I first noticed it a month ago! He gave me the go-ahead to get back in the water.
I've been watching some swim training videos on GTN, looking at ways to improve my stroke. I'm very conscious that my swim is by far my weakest discipline, and that no matter how hard I train, I don't seem to improve my time from about 2:05/100m.
I made some strides a few months ago, when I tried some fist-swimming drills, but that only got me to about 2:00/100m, and I had started backsliding.
However, I have had a link bookmarked on my work computer for a few months, but never got round to watching the video. So, just before I left work on Friday, I finally found time to watch this, and I honestly think it took 15 seconds off my 100m time.
https://www.triswimcoach.com/the-freestyle-catch-progression/
I took three things from this. Firstly, keeping my wrist straight, secondly, keeping a much sharper angle in my elbow, and thirdly, keeping my arm from crossing over my centre-line.
My plan for last night's swim was:
350m warmup
10x25m front sculling drills
5x200m, starting at RPE4, building up to RPE8, and lowering to RPE4 by the end of each interval
10x25m all-out sprints
10x25m kick drills
350m cool down.
I chucked in a pull-buoy, and started my warmup, focusing on the right angle in my elbow, first of all. I did my first 100m in 1:30, which is definitely a record for me. Initially, I felt like I only had to breathe every 10 strokes! Once I got myself puffed out, I pulled back to what felt comfortable, but I was still stroking at about 1:45/100m! It was incredible!
The front-sculling drills were interesting. It took me a while to get the hang of them using hand fins, but eventually I found a rhythm. Then, the 200m efforts.
This was a surprise. I was struggling to keep my pace to something sustainable - I was burning through air faster than usual, probably because I was using a lot more of my body to swim. My core, particularly, felt like it was being used properly for the first time.
Amazingly, I also felt like my kick was actually contributing something to my swim! I've always had an absolutely awful kick, which doesn't seem to do anything except wear me out. This time though, I felt like I found a rhythm that worked, and suddenly felt WAY more fluid in the water.
The problem was that I wasn't able to sustain this. I only managed 3 of the 200m sets, before deciding to pull the pin on the last two.
The kick drills were another revelation. I used a kickboard, and fins, for the first 6. I didn't feel anywhere near as fluid, even with the fins. Then I tried without.
I was nearly stationary in the water! I couldn't seem to make ANY forward progress whatsoever! I just seemed to sit there making splashes behind me, without any seeming benefit at all.
I guess a few things still need work, but it's encouraging. I'll save fixing that for another time!
Onwards to Busselton!
After three sessions of this, he told me to stop swimming, in case that was the cause of my shoulder pain. I took a week off, but noticed absolutely no improvement, despite religiously doing my exercises and stretches. So, on Thursday, he tried something different. As well as working on my back, he did a bit of work in my pectoral muscles. This was a new level of pain, but seemed to finally have some impact on the pain! I was able to breathe more comfortably, and whilst the pain isn't gone, it's the first time it has gotten better since I first noticed it a month ago! He gave me the go-ahead to get back in the water.
I've been watching some swim training videos on GTN, looking at ways to improve my stroke. I'm very conscious that my swim is by far my weakest discipline, and that no matter how hard I train, I don't seem to improve my time from about 2:05/100m.
I made some strides a few months ago, when I tried some fist-swimming drills, but that only got me to about 2:00/100m, and I had started backsliding.
However, I have had a link bookmarked on my work computer for a few months, but never got round to watching the video. So, just before I left work on Friday, I finally found time to watch this, and I honestly think it took 15 seconds off my 100m time.
https://www.triswimcoach.com/the-freestyle-catch-progression/
I took three things from this. Firstly, keeping my wrist straight, secondly, keeping a much sharper angle in my elbow, and thirdly, keeping my arm from crossing over my centre-line.
My plan for last night's swim was:
350m warmup
10x25m front sculling drills
5x200m, starting at RPE4, building up to RPE8, and lowering to RPE4 by the end of each interval
10x25m all-out sprints
10x25m kick drills
350m cool down.
I chucked in a pull-buoy, and started my warmup, focusing on the right angle in my elbow, first of all. I did my first 100m in 1:30, which is definitely a record for me. Initially, I felt like I only had to breathe every 10 strokes! Once I got myself puffed out, I pulled back to what felt comfortable, but I was still stroking at about 1:45/100m! It was incredible!
The front-sculling drills were interesting. It took me a while to get the hang of them using hand fins, but eventually I found a rhythm. Then, the 200m efforts.
This was a surprise. I was struggling to keep my pace to something sustainable - I was burning through air faster than usual, probably because I was using a lot more of my body to swim. My core, particularly, felt like it was being used properly for the first time.
Amazingly, I also felt like my kick was actually contributing something to my swim! I've always had an absolutely awful kick, which doesn't seem to do anything except wear me out. This time though, I felt like I found a rhythm that worked, and suddenly felt WAY more fluid in the water.
The problem was that I wasn't able to sustain this. I only managed 3 of the 200m sets, before deciding to pull the pin on the last two.
The kick drills were another revelation. I used a kickboard, and fins, for the first 6. I didn't feel anywhere near as fluid, even with the fins. Then I tried without.
I was nearly stationary in the water! I couldn't seem to make ANY forward progress whatsoever! I just seemed to sit there making splashes behind me, without any seeming benefit at all.
I guess a few things still need work, but it's encouraging. I'll save fixing that for another time!
Onwards to Busselton!
Comments
Post a Comment