Swim

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ID10T

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Who here keeps track of SA swimming?

Does anybody know how much work, swimming demands?
 
I follow it a bit and will be swimming my 4th Midmar in the feb next year.

Are you interested in short course(in a pool) or open water(sea, lake etc) swimming?

Both take quite a few hours in the pool if you want to participate competitively.

Guys like Ryk Neethling or Roland Schoeman probably spend around 3 or 4 hours a day in the pool... and then there's gym work as well.
 
Pool... I am a swimmer and train 2hours a day... i also swim open water, but focus on pool swimming... Yes the top athlete's train up to 3 hours per session 2 sessions a day and also land training twice a day...
 
I have a 10 year old boy who is an above average swimmer. He competed this year in Durban at the Level 1 Age Group champs and has already qualified to compete at the Level 2 champs next year in Germiston. Been looking at ways and means (outside the pool, at home) to up his strength a bit, (he's a skinny one :))

Wandered around in Mr Price Sports and saw a decent (I think) rowing machine at around R2500. Apart from the positive health impact it could have on Dad ;) , would this be the best kind of "machine" to look at for that sport ?
 
I follow swimming (but not that religiously). But yeah, I know how much work and effort it requires to be a good swimmer :D
 
Luke7777 said:
I have a 10 year old boy who is an above average swimmer. He competed this year in Durban at the Level 1 Age Group champs and has already qualified to compete at the Level 2 champs next year in Germiston. Been looking at ways and means (outside the pool, at home) to up his strength a bit, (he's a skinny one :))

Wandered around in Mr Price Sports and saw a decent (I think) rowing machine at around R2500. Apart from the positive health impact it could have on Dad ;) , would this be the best kind of "machine" to look at for that sport ?
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A quick suggestion, wait until your boy has hit puberty. Building muscle at this young age may cause stunted growth. Does he excel at long-distance (200-400m+) or short distance (sprints, 50m - 100m). Because if he is long-distance then it is quite likely he will remain skinny. Otherwise, come puberty he will shoot up like a beanstalk and probably become more butch than you :P

As for ID10T:

I used to swim professionally up until I was 16. We went through what was known as Hell Week every year (just before Westville Sprints / Natal Champs in Durban) which was 2 weeks of, well, hell.

Morning (7:30am)
1.5 hour swimming session (around 4km)
Land training (running, weights, etc)

Break

1.5 hour swimming session (around 4 - 5km)
Land training

Break or inspirational talks from various people (Penny Heynes, International coaches, etc)

Evening session - around 3 - 4km
Home - Bed - Sleep - Die.

On average we would swim around 12 - 14km a day (sometimes making it up to 17km). That, of course, is for Hell Week. I coached for a while at the pool Ryk and Terrence train at when they are in the country and they tend to do a morning session of around 4 - 5km, and then an afternoon/evening session of the same, maybe slightly less. I'm not sure of what exercise they do outside the pool, but in the pool they probably average on around 7 - 9 km per day.
 
ID10T said:
Who here keeps track of SA swimming?

Does anybody know how much work, swimming demands?
Click to expand...

Oh to give you a decent idea, the reason I quit was because every day would follow a regimen somewhat like this:

5:30 - Wake up

6:00 - 7:30 - Morning Session

8:00 - 15:00 - School

15:30 - 17:00 - School Sport (they figure if you're good at swimming you're good at every other sport, so they force you to do it, even though I can't play rugby if my life depends on it)

17:30 - 19:00 - Evening Session

Eventually it just got to be too much and I was sick of it, I was 16 and spent more time in the pool than, say, sleeping. So all in all, it is one hell of a lot of work.
 
Picard said:
What about winters. Do you also train during the winter time.
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Yeah. And that REALLY sucks :P

Generally one would swim in a heated (and, if lucky, indoor) pool during the winter, but that doesn't stop one's nipples from falling off the moment you get out of it ;)

One of the bigger swim meets takes place during winter - Sasolburg Winter Championships. Now that is cold. Considering the outdoor pool is heated, the water temperature on the first day is a toasty 26 degress. However, on the last day the water temp has dropped to roughly... Twelve? :(
I remember years when arriving for warm up on the pooldeck, only to see ice had formed on the starting blocks over night. Not. Fun.

Basically swimmers tend to train throughout the year, though their regiment will not always be 8kms a day, as such. There are taper periods, in which training will increase for a while and then steadily decrease until the swimmers are doing little more than 1.5kms a day. This causes their performance to peak, resulting in much faster times. Don't ask me how it works, but it does :P
 
sorry for the long time being away, ive been busy! HELL WEEK!!! (or so to say, HELL 2 WEEKS!!)

yeah, swimming is tough, we all hate it, but learn to love it, and a 6pack (and maybe the 8pack, if youre working hard enough)

At the moment im not doing less than 6Km in a single set, im averaging between 6.2Km to 7Km for each set... its tough, but i love it!

And i swam a 24.00 for the 50Free(Long course) at CGA Champs the other day, and a 51.6 for the 100Free(short course)

:D
 
i would imagine swimmers dont just use rowing machine

surely they do alot of cardio as in running cycling etc

i would not suggest u use the running machines because all you do on those machines is bounce and down

rather run on the road and cycle
 
yes... i think 14th for one and 9th for the other... not too sure... they havnt posted the latest times... I'll check again though

yes... i prefer running on the road, and cycling a lot...
 
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