q**l
发帖数: 505 | 1 You're swimming a set of 8x 200m and you are on number three. Your heart
rate is high and your breathing deep, and you're feeling some heaviness and
burn from your muscles as they resist the effort. There's still another five
reps to go, perhaps 15 or 20 minutes of hard work ahead of you, which right
now seems like an eternity.
Sustained speed training is critical to reach your
potential as a distance swimmer.
What are your thought process in this situation? Are you longing to stop?
Thinking of a good excuse to shorten the set? Or perhaps you avoid training
sets completely knowing they are uncomfortable?
This 'discomfort time' is the critical period where your body's systems are
challenged so that after the session they adapt and you gain fitness.
Without reaching this point you won't gain the fitness improvements you are
looking for. So this 'discomfort time' is not just unavoidable when fitness
training, it should be something you are actively seeking out.
The psychology here is very important, don't think: "God, this is really
tough."
Instead, replace that thought with: "OK, this is what it is all about. Swim
it out, one stroke and one lap at a time."
Embrace the discomfort as a place you want to be and you will have
fundamentally changed your thinking. From there on training sets start to
feel much easier.
Staying In The Moment
It's a sporting cliché to tell someone to 'stay in the moment' but within a
challenging fitness set it's absolutely critical that you do. Never think
ahead but simply focus on your stroke movements and your breathing rhythm as
the effort becomes challenging. It can be a good idea to monitor your
technique but only ever think about one thing and keep it very simple, for
instance you might choose to focus on:
- Exhaling smoothly into the water
- Lightly tapping your big toes together as they pass - 'tap tap tap'
- Keeping one goggle in the water and one out when you breathe
- Pressing the water backwards, not downwards
It's essential you keep these thoughts very simple as most of your focus
will be required to maintain your effort and pace things out well.
Make Sure You Are Distance Training, Not Sprint Training
If you've been following Swim Smooth for a while you will know we are big
fans of CSS / threshold training. This involves sustaining a strong pace for
longer periods will short recoveries and is quite distinct from sprint
training which is attacked at a faster pace but with longer recovery periods.
Swimming at this pace does not feel like sprint training and the effort
progressively builds over the set while holding the same pace. Initially it
may feel around 6 out of 10 for effort but progressively builds up to a 9
out of 10 by the end of the set. Pacing these sets well is essential (with
the same pace for each repetition) even if you have to start a little slower
, that way you will get the right fitness gains and can maintain your stroke
technique throughout.
CSS / threshold pace targets the energy systems critical to distance
swimming performance so that they adapt and improve. Sports scientists call
this training principle 'specificity' and it really works - experience some
consistent weekly discomfort in your CSS sets and your swimming will come on
leaps and bounds. It could be just what you are lacking with your swimming.
Swim Smooth! |
|
