Below is one of my favorite exercises in the pool because it is quick paced, but has a lot of variation in stroke. The individual medley was one of my favorite and best races; therefore I still like to practice all of my strokes when climbing in the pool for a workout. Freestyle is the most commonly used stroke, which is why I chose it as an individual set as well. It is important to practice the different components of a stroke, so adding kicks, pulls, and paddles into a workout is a huge advantage.
Warm up: 200 Freestyle
Exercise:
Set one:
- 80 Kick
- 100 Paddle
- 140 Pull
- 180 swim
- X3 (rest for 60 seconds between each set)
Set two:
- 40 Fly
- 40 Back
- 40 Breast-stroke
- 40 Free
- X3 (rest for 45 seconds between each set, 15 seconds between each stroke)
Cool Down: 200 Freestyle (easy)
Try this swimming workout today and let me know how it goes. If you have any questions please contact swim instructor and personal fitness trainer Amber Gruger.
Swimming, Workouts
club, conditioning, gym, health, indoor, masters, pool, Seattle Athletic Club, Swimming pool, workout
Lori lives and works over 40 miles away from the Seattle Athletic Club. She drives here religiously every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to participate in Swim Conditioning. I can always rely on Lori to show up with a smile on her face and eager to jump in. She helps me keep count of the set they are swimming. Her enthusiasm for swimming shows in every length she swims.
She has been a member of the Seattle Athletic Club since the club opened its doors in the 1980’s. Lori started in the swimming program just a short time after joining, going from only being able to swim one length of the pool to participating in the entire workout. She has been actively participating ever since, making her three swim workouts a high priority every week. Swimming has kept her healthy, happy, and relatively injury-free for a long time, she doesn’t plan to ever give it up.
“I’ve had various competitive goals during my swimming years, for 2012 I set a goal just to compete against myself–to swim 250 miles for the year. At the time I set the goal I really didn’t think too much about it, I calculated the number of yards I usually swim in a week and multiplied it by 52 weeks in the year.
What I didn’t think about was the inevitable snow and ice and marathon road-closures that make being late for practice a regular occurrence. I didn’t think about the work and family emergencies that would pull me away from practice. I didn’t take into account a bout with the whooping cough that took swimming away as an option for a number of weeks, or the fact that both Thanksgiving and Christmas hit on swim workouts days. During the summer I realized that hitting my goal was actually going to require some pretty aggressive work on my part.
From that point forward I made it a point to stay late after class if my yardage hadn’t met my daily goal. When the club closed for the summer maintenance I joined another club to keep my weekly yardage up. As the end of the year approached I counted out the number of workouts left, added up the anticipated mileage for each one and realized that I had to swim every single yard in every single workout to make my goal. If a snowstorm or illness prevented me from getting in I knew I wouldn’t make it.
Thanks to my coach, Kelli, who was tracking my mileage just as closely as I was, I got in a couple of extra yards here and there on top of my plan. It wasn’t just my coach that kept me motivated, the other members of the class have always been super supportive of each other, so they helped a lot, too. I hit my 250 mile goal with 2 miles to spare on the last workout of the year. Hooray!”
I look forward to seeing Lori 3 days a week. Thank you Lori for all of your hard work!
Lifestyle, Women's Health
conditioning, gym, health, instruction, lessons, member spotlight, Seattle Athletic Club, Swimming pool, testimonial
Do you ever see those swimmers in the pool who seem to go so far and fast but seem like they aren’t trying very hard? What’s up with that? How is it that they seem to be swimming slow but they are moving through the water like fish?
It’s because they are. They are allowing their entire body—from the arms and shoulders through the torso to the hips and legs—to join the fun. Many people swim with just their shoulders and arms and hope they can drag the rest of their body along without sinking first.
Rotation and glide is critical to a more efficient and effective stroke. In my experience teaching swimming, I find that the two biggest impediments to a well timed rotation and supported glide is awkwardness in the breathing and trying to balance with the recovery arm.
Breathing should always be calm and controlled, even in sprints! Inhale through the mouth and exhale though the nose. Take time to exhale completely before taking another breath. The amount of time you are inhaling should always be shorter than the time you are exhaling. (Click here to find out why.) You should be rotating your head easily and looking slightly behind you on the inhale. Wait for your elbow to extend past your head before returning your head back into the water. Start exhaling immediately and smoothly through your nose. This process should become very rhythmic whether breathing every second, third or fourth stroke.
The rotation should be full and done with your hips and torso, not the shoulders. Balance will come from your core. Your recovery (the hand that is traveling out of the water) should be just that, a recovery. It should be relaxed, free of tension, and placed into the water rather than thrown in. Practice leading you arm with the elbow and dragging your finger nails through the water during the recovery. If you can sustain that, you will be well on your way to becoming one of those swimmers who make it all look so effortless!
Swimming, Triathlon & Multisport
Athletic, club, coaching, conditioning, gym, health, instruction, Seattle, Swimming pool, workout
- Endurance- swimming longer and longer each time you get into the pool will build your endurance greatly. Swimming is usually able to be done for longer periods of time then running is which as a result a swimmer can train for longer time periods and burn more calories.
- Core- swimming use’s all of the body’s muscles together, but is stabilized and predominately balanced by your core strength. You are holding that long floating position in the water while being able to hold your body up and rotate your hips. The rotation process is in the hips, but takes a strong core to be able to do it well; therefore swimming will increase core strength.
- Flexibility- swimming relaxes your muscles (if the pool is heated or once you are warmed up), which increases the flexibility of your muscles. Lengthening your stroke and glide stretches the muscles and can increase your flexibility, the longer you swim.
If you would like to learn more about swimming please contact Personal Fitness Trainer/Swim Instructor Amber Gruger.
Fitness Advice, Sports Conditioning, Swimming
Core Strength, endurance, exercise, flexibility, gym, health club, Personal Trainer, Seattle, Swimming pool, workouts
Our Annual One-hour Postal Swim took place on January 29, 2012 at Mercerwood Shore Club. Seattle Athletic Club Downtown members took on the challenge to swim as far as they could in one hour with their friends and teammates taking splits and counting laps along the way. The results are mailed, hence the title “postal”, into USMS (United States Masters Swimming) to be ranked nationally amongst other dedicated swimmers. All results are posted in yards. Several swimmers were participating for their second or third year in a row, others for swam for their first time ever. It’s a fun, challenging, event that swimmers look forward to each year!
Congratulations to our following members!
Chad Baker – 3636
Victoria Boivin – 3510*
Tom Camp – 2991*
Addy Davis – 3325
Dustin Gilbert – 3582
Karissa Lackey – 3746
Elizabeth Martin – 3488*
Patricia Nakamura – 3336
Teresa Nelson – 4817*
Kirsten Nesholm – 2688*
Lisa Ohge – 3237*
Mike Podell – 3349
Darin Smith – 3150
John Strayer – 3321
Natalie Swistak – 3631*
Mark Webb – 3844*
The above figures are yards swam during the 2012 Postal Swim. Asterisk (*) denotes improvements in distance from previous Postal Swim results.
Swim Conditioning classes at Seattle Athletic Club Downtown are a great way to improve upon your swim fitness and technique. Contact Coach Teresa Nelson at tnelson@sacdt.com with any questions.
Health News, Swimming, Triathlon & Multisport
classes, coaching, indoor pool, lessons, postal swim, Seattle, swim conditioning, Swimming pool, TN Multisports, workouts
If you are a swimmer you have realized there are many…MANY aspects to our sport. Understanding the ability to combine stroke rate (tempo) and distance per stroke in order to increase speed and power output in swimming is very important. Being able to utilize this knowledge with understanding the biomechanics, physiology and training zones is also instrumental in being a successful swimmer.
Those are a lot of big words and we haven’t even gotten in the pool to start stroke mechanics yet! That’s why you hopefully have a coach or an instructor to help you in your swimming. From the beginner, to novice, to elite swimmer… we ALL need instruction in this great sport!
A few years back a scientist from New Zealand developed a little device that has made swimming more fun, more exact and more about the science of the sport and physiology. The Tempo Trainer (TT).
The TT is a little blue device that hooks onto your goggle strap or in your swim cap and basically is a mini metronome. It “beeps” at whatever setting you choose and basically….it sets your “cadence” or “tempo” in swimming. By understanding your combination of TEMPO and STROKE COUNT in swimming, you will be able to increase power and speed in your swimming.
For example: I want as much “distance per stroke” as I can for each lap I swim. So, it is better to take 15 strokes than it is 18. I ALSO want my tempo to be as efficient and fast as I can. By combining the two: tempo and stroke count… I am able to pull more water faster… which makes me a more powerful swimmer.
There is a lot of science in swimming and an even greater amount when discussing biomechanics AND training zones. But, the best thing you can do is learn to use the TT and how to make it applicable in your swimming goals.
USAT Level II Triathlon Coach Teresa Nelson and Outdoor Recreation Coach Brandyn Roark will be doing a Tempo Trainer clinic in November so this will be a perfect place for you to start! Email Teresa at tnelson@sacdt.com or Brandyn at broark@sacdt.com for more details or to ask more about the tempo trainer.
Swimming, Triathlon & Multisport
coaching, health club, multisport, Swimming pool, Training, triathlon, USAT
