Slowest rate ever?

[CharlesCouturier]

Hi everyone.

I am wondering about the typical lowish rate that some older swimmers who couldn't care less about swimming fast would train.

More specifically. Any among you going as low as .5? I mean TT-Pro mode 1 @ .5, ie 30 strokes per minute as a cruising training tempo?

**edit**
I made a huge boo-boo. By slow rate, I obviously didn't mean 120spm, but rather 30 so it's mode 1 @ 2.0

[andyinnorway]

I observe a lot of swimmers in our local pool and we have a set of people who you mention that swim about a mile of freestyle 3 times a week before hitting the sauna for a chat for an hour. Most of them use a pull buoy and they have a SR of between 35 and 45

[CharlesCouturier]

Originally Posted by andyinnorway

I observe a lot of swimmers in our local pool and we have a set of people who you mention that swim about a mile of freestyle 3 times a week before hitting the sauna for a chat for an hour. Most of them use a pull buoy and they have a SR of between 35 and 45

thank you very much!

[aquarius]

Originally Posted by andyinnorway

I observe a lot of swimmers in our local pool and we have a set of people who you mention that swim about a mile of freestyle 3 times a week before hitting the sauna for a chat for an hour. Most of them use a pull buoy and they have a SR of between 35 and 45

I find it difficult to swim so slowly without losing balance. Of course, if one uses a pull buoy, then the balance problem is solved. I'm old and slow, but can't swim that slow.

[jenson1a]

Charles--I am 69 and while I don't swim all the time at 1.8 or so, I find it is easier to concentrate on a certain focal point or drill at a slower speed. I also read that blog about swimming slower and thought it made some sense.

Prior to ti, I swam to lose weight. I didn't care how long it took me to swim the magic mile (took anywhere from 55 minutes to 1 hr--that's how slow I was) just as long as I was burning calories. Then I got the TI book and have been trying to get more efficient. While I have no desire to race, I would eventually like to swim at a more faster rate and also to swim more gracefully.

Sometimes I can swim with the TT at 1.3 or 1.35, and then the next day, in order to do the same routine, I have to slow the TT down to 1.5 or more. go figure.

Enjoy your posts, don't understand all of them, but some of them have given me some insight.

tks and Merry Christmas

Sherry

[Richardsk]

Hi Charles

I don't know if this information is of any use or interest to you but here it is anyway:

I used to have the original Tempo Trainer but didn't really get on with it very well. I could swim at settings between 1.8 and 1.0 and generally felt most comfortable at around 1.3. Any faster turnover than that and I began to slow down usually. Any slower than about 1.4 and I also slowed down. This is from memory and not absolutely reliable, but in the ball park as you say over there.

I left it switched on in the car by accident and it died, and so far I haven't really been tempted to buy the newer improved model.

I swam my first 1500 meter long course in 2007, aged 72, and I have managed to swim at least one each year since. My best time (don't laugh) was 39:14 or so in 2008, after which there was a decline due to stressful family circumstances, coming within a couple of seconds of my worst time (from 2007) of 44:15 odd in 2010, but never actually going that low. Since then there has been an upward progression and in March 2012 I managed 41:36 odd, which is my third best time so far. I am hoping to beat my PB in March 2013, but who knows what will happen?

Most days I swim repetitions of 25m, which is perhaps too short, but it is difficult to do longer repeats because of getting in the faster swimmers' way. At weekends, when the faster people are not usually there I can sometimes do longer repeats and recently have been adding in quite a few slow 100 m backstroke repeats, which may or may not be beneficial. I feel that it is but can't be sure. I treat it as a kind of kicking practice because I normally use the two-beat for my freestyle repeats and don't think the two-beat is very suitable for backstroke, in spite of Ryosuke Irie, who seems to do something very like a two-beat.

My speed for these repeats varies between about 33 seconds per 25 m on a good day and maybe 39 or 41 seconds on a not so good day. SPL varies between 18 and 23 or so. I'm never sure whether it's going to be a good day or not and generally take my cue from the first couple of broken 100s. A good day is normally followed by a not so good day.

This weekend, if family commitment permit, I may try some more one-arm drills.

I am the slowest by a considerable margin of the few in my age group who still swim the 1500. Nobody in the 80-84 group swam it this year. I see from the FINA site that there are some over nineties of both sexes who can beat the pants off me.

[CharlesCouturier]

Originally Posted by Richardsk

Most days I swim repetitions of 25m, which is perhaps too short, but it is difficult to do longer repeats because of getting in the faster swimmers' way. At weekends, when the faster people are not usually there I can sometimes do longer repeats and recently have been adding in quite a few slow 100 m backstroke repeats, which may or may not be beneficial. I feel that it is but can't be sure. I treat it as a kind of kicking practice because I normally use the two-beat for my freestyle repeats and don't think the two-beat is very suitable for backstroke, in spite of Ryosuke Irie, who seems to do something very like a two-beat.

Now ok wait wait... First thank you a zillion for having taken that time.

OK, if I understand correctly.

You are rarely training longer distances (non stop), but yet you prepare to 'race' these?

[terry]

Originally Posted by Richardsk

This weekend, if family commitment permit, I may try some more one-arm drills.

Richard
If you were to give the TT another chance, and do 800 to 1500m cumulatively per week of repeats that combine tempo with SPL, I feel fairly certain you would see satisfying improvements in your 1500m pace. You could post the details of your sets on the Favorite Practices conference and get feedback and guidance on how to adjust them to produce systematic progress.

Single-arm drills, on the other hand, are far less likely to result in improvement.

[jenson1a]

Originally Posted by CharlesCouturier

Hi everyone.

I am wondering about the typical lowish rate that some older swimmers who couldn't care less about swimming fast would train.

More specifically. Any among you going as low as .5? I mean TT-Pro mode 1 @ .5, ie 30 strokes per minute as a cruising training tempo?

Your first paragraph and 2nd paragraph seem at odds with each other. Isn't a TT setting in mode 1 @.5 a pretty fast rate? What are you getting at?

Sherry

[CharlesCouturier]

Originally Posted by jenson1a

Your first paragraph and 2nd paragraph seem at odds with each other. Isn't a TT setting in mode 1 @.5 a pretty fast rate? What are you getting at?

Sherry

Sherry, thank you so much. Wrong calculation. I wrote .5 (which is no less than 120 strokes per minute) I actually meant 2.0

So anyone training at 2.0?