40 aint no joke - General fitness thread

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TheCatt
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Post by TheCatt »

GORDON wrote:I just learned that swimming headphones were a thing.

http://www.amazon.com/PSWB4BL....s_107_2

Anyone ever use them?
I had a set of headphones that were waterproof, then a waterproof bag I could put my mp3 player in (the cord went between two pieces of foamish material that closed around it when the bag shut). This is back when I swam about 2 miles per swim.
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Post by GORDON »

I just ordered a self-contained swimming mp3 player/radio, that had good reviews. I was also clever and bought the 2-year warranty for $3 in case they do die within weeks.

I'm currently doing 30 minutes of laps, 3 days a week... I want to get up to 45 minutes, possibly an hour with some music to keep from getting super bored.

Also swimming is really hard because you can't breath most of the time, but I bet it's good for me.
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Post by TheCatt »

Swimming is kinda awesome, as long as you don't have shoulder issues. One of my shoulders has issues, so I have to ease into it, and limit my swims to a mile or 1.5 miles these days.
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Post by GORDON »

Can you do the fancy flip turns?

My shoulder issue is that I am usually stubbly-faced and I am getting stubble burn inside of my right shoulder when I turn to breathe.
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Post by GORDON »

I'm going to study this vid and start doing them perfectly tomorrow.

<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" style="width:420px; height:315px;" data="//www.youtube.com/v/IDQmM4lkm8c?color2=FBE9EC&version=3">
<param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/IDQmM4lkm8c?color2=FBE9EC&version=3" />
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" />
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" />
</object>
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TheCatt
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Post by TheCatt »

GORDON wrote:Can you do the fancy flip turns?

My shoulder issue is that I am usually stubbly-faced and I am getting stubble burn inside of my right shoulder when I turn to breathe.
Yes, I swam competitively in high school, was exceptionally lightly recruited by Division 3 colleges :) ("We'd love for you to swim for us! Uh, we really don't do scholarships for people like you.")

If your chin is near your shoulder when breathing, you may not be doing it right. Your shoulders should stretch with your stroke (so your "breathing" shoulder should be behind your reaching shoulder)
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Post by GORDON »

I'm doing it generally right, I'm sure. I probably just need to correct my form a bit.
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Post by Malcolm »

GORDON wrote:I'm doing it generally right, I'm sure. I probably just need to correct my form a bit.
I have every faith in your ability to stroke properly, G.
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Post by GORDON »

Shitloads of practice.

I haven't done any formal swimming since I was about 10, but I *did* have lessons, and they taught me proper styles and how to breath and shit. I'd bet like two dollars that I didn't suddenly start breathing at the wrong time in freestyle.
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Post by TheCatt »

GORDON wrote:Shitloads of practice.

I haven't done any formal swimming since I was about 10, but I *did* have lessons, and they taught me proper styles and how to breath and shit. I'd bet like two dollars that I didn't suddenly start breathing at the wrong time in freestyle.
I had to relearn somewhat when I started swimming again 15 years ago. I was a sprinter in high school, and it's a fairly different stroke than distance swimming, which is what I do now. (more breathing, slower strokes, different muscle engagement, much different/slower kick)
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Post by GORDON »

I practiced my flip turns this morning. I did about 10 of them, and maybe 2 of them felt good. The first one I was choking. Like when I was a hurdler in high school, I will have to just keep doing it over and over until I don't have to think about the last 5 strokes to make sure I am spaced correctly for the flip turn.... no stutter-steps. By the last one I was feeling brave enough to do it in the shallow end. All the stretching of the last few months has given me a good leg-tuck, I think.

And I think I have discovered a problem with my breathing... my standard stroke... at the moment... is a 4-stroke, then breathe. If I am pushing hard and out of breath I may do a 4-stroke/breathe, followed by a 2-stroke/breathe just to dump some extra CO2. I admit, my cardio-vascular sauce is weak, but I am working on it. ANYWAY.... I think I was expelling ALL my air on my 4-stroke, and I had nothing left for the flip turn and I was coming up gasping with possibly water in my sinuses because I had no more air to push out while inverted. So now I am expelling my air slightly slower when on my 4-stroke, and it feels better, overall.

Does any of this make sense? As an experienced swimmer, do my self-observations seem like I am on the right track? I'd pay $20 for a pro to watch me swim for 20 minutes and correct my shit.

As for the stubble burn on my breathing shoulder, I started making sure my shoulder was farther back. Seems to have fixed it. Like when lifting, I think I have been swimming with my shoulders squared off.... that's probably wrong? I should be stretching forward and pushing back with shoulders, right?
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Post by TheCatt »

GORDON wrote:And I think I have discovered a problem with my breathing... my standard stroke... at the moment... is a 4-stroke, then breathe. If I am pushing hard and out of breath I may do a 4-stroke/breathe, followed by a 2-stroke/breathe just to dump some extra CO2. I admit, my cardio-vascular sauce is weak, but I am working on it. ANYWAY.... I think I was expelling ALL my air on my 4-stroke, and I had nothing left for the flip turn and I was coming up gasping with possibly water in my sinuses because I had no more air to push out while inverted. So now I am expelling my air slightly slower when on my 4-stroke, and it feels better, overall.
You should breathe on a 2-stroke. Left arm, right arm, breathe. Repeat. (or right then left, whatever). Be sure to switch it up on occasion by breathing on your other side to even things up. (like down the pool breathing right, come back breathing left). Your body should roll to each side as you stroke as well to minimize resistance. If you ever plan on racing or open-water swimming, learn a 3-stroke.

When doing the kick turn, I typically take a breath shortly before (or simply make sure i didnt expel it all), as I have breathe out to avoid water up my nose. I also use earplugs cuz otherwise I get water in my ears.

As for the stubble burn on my breathing shoulder, I started making sure my shoulder was farther back. Seems to have fixed it. Like when lifting, I think I have been swimming with my shoulders squared off.... that's probably wrong? I should be stretching forward and pushing back with shoulders, right?

Your shoulder should not be square. The arm that is stroking should be reaching as far as possible, which should cause your shoulders to be asymmetrical. This picture may help

I've found that using pull floats(between your legs) helps focus on your stroke and body feel.
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Post by GORDON »

Why breathe on a 2-stroke?
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Post by TheCatt »

GORDON wrote:Why breathe on a 2-stroke?

To get more air, so that your muscle can do more work, so you can go faster.

I guess I'm assuming you're doing aerobic swimming (like constantly for 30 minutes), instead of anaerobic sprints.




Edited By TheCatt on 1449180795
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Post by GORDON »

I typically do about 20 minutes of slow-and-steady (not really that slow... half power) to "warm up," and 10 minutes of sprints, which is what I call doing a full length as hard as I can, and breathing hard for 30 seconds before repeating.

But as I said, I plan on adding time as I get in better shape. As of now my swim workout kicks my ass. I never have enough breath.




Edited By GORDON on 1449184930
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Post by TheCatt »

GORDON wrote:I typically do about 20 minutes of slow-and-steady (not really that slow... half power) to "warm up,"
This portion should be done at two strokes. Breathe faster.
and 10 minutes of sprints, which is what I call doing a full length as hard as I can, and breathing hard for 30 seconds before repeating.

For speed, this part should be done with as little breathing as possible. One length of the pool should be 0 breaths.
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Post by GORDON »

TheCatt wrote:
GORDON wrote:I typically do about 20 minutes of slow-and-steady (not really that slow... half power) to "warm up,"
This portion should be done at two strokes. Breathe faster.
and 10 minutes of sprints, which is what I call doing a full length as hard as I can, and breathing hard for 30 seconds before repeating.
For speed, this part should be done with as little breathing as possible. One length of the pool should be 0 breaths.
1. Very well.

2. Holy shit... that'll be hard. I will work on it. Pool is 75 feet long, btw.
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Post by TheCatt »

GORDON wrote:2. Holy shit... that'll be hard. I will work on it. Pool is 75 feet long, btw.

Honestly, for non-competition, it doesn't matter. But the fewer breaths you take, the faster you will go. Breathing slows you down.

And yes, pools are typically 25yards. :) I generally do my sprints with 0 or 1 breath for 25 yards. 50s I can do with 2 breaths, but that increases to 3-4 the more I do.




Edited By TheCatt on 1449189770
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Post by GORDON »

For me I have several goals with swimming:

1. I can't run, at all, so this is my running replacement. I just don't like ellipticals and shit, they don't feel right.

2. Increase my lung capacity... get to the point where I am not gasping like an old man at the end of the pool.

3. Just improve my cardio vascular efficiency overall.

So is my warmup phase/sprint phase a good plan for all that?

I never knew we had a swimming expert on staff.
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Post by TheCatt »

My wife and I both swam for our high schools. I still swim, but it's been off/on since college. She's "too busy" to get back in the pool more than once a month or so. She was the better swimmer of us in our primes.

If I were to make a suggestion for your plan, I'd separate the sprints from the slower swims, something like this:

1) Pace swims. 20-30 minutes, not quite as fast as you can, but a solid pace. You could work in some stroke technique swims if you wanted (finger-tip drills, side swimming, closed fist, catch-up drils)

2) Slow warm-up and cool-down, with Sprints: either 25s, 50s, or ladders (25-50-75-100-75-50-25 type of drills). I really like 25fast-25slow drills.

3) long slow distance. Try to increase time/distance each week, but at a more comfortable pace.




Edited By TheCatt on 1449192798
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