Swim workout

24 laps

We are kicking ass in the pool.

Today we did 100 yard swims four times! That’s two full laps without stopping – four times! Yeah, I’m pretty impressed.

It’s still super hard but I feel a lot better knowing it’s possible. My swim plan calls for four 100 yd swims but with only a few seconds of rest in between. Unfortunately, it took about a minute to rest between each one of these. I’ll stick to this plan until I can get those rest periods down.

After those 8 laps I did 7 single laps. Then I did 10 lengths going as fast as I could on each one. Finished up with 4 cool down laps.

Swim workout

24 laps

I just realized that my swimming plan only calls for 14 laps in week 1. Oops. I guess I’ll be really prepared.

Today I managed to do TWO 100 yd swims! Two whole laps without stopping! Pretty damn sweet if you ask me. I couldn’t get four which is my current goal so I guess I’ll just have to keep chugging along. Once I hit that mark I’ll start my plan in earnest.

After the first four laps I did 10 single laps. Then I did twelve 25 yd sprints as fast as I could. I finished up with 4 cool down laps.

My future workout plans

It’s time to start a new fitness plan.

On the weight lifting front I’m going with Chad Waterbury’s “Huge in a Hurry” I’ll admit that the title might sound counter productive to what I’m trying to accomplish. In his book even he doubts that anyone trying to lose weight would pick up a book with that title. What can I say? I’ve always been a maverick.

I don’t care. I’m at the point now where I realize that any weight lifting plan will work for fat loss. The biggest factor is diet. If you don’t eat enough then you won’t get huge. If you eat too much, though, you definitely will.

I chose this book mainly because I wanted to buy a weight lifting book. There’s just something about having one of those sitting on my table beside my couch. It’s a constant reminder that I need to stay in the gym. I looked around at all the ones that are currently out there, saw his name, recognized it and bought it.

The book is pretty much a mirror of the NROL plan in that it starts with a break in phase and you follow it with either a strength, hypertrophy or weight loss phase.

There is a difference in the rep scheme, though. Instead of a set number for each set this book calls for something called “loads.” In my other plans I might have three sets of 10 for example. Here I’ll have a day where the load is 10-12. I have to pick a weight that I can only lift that much. The entire lift will have a designated rep number. Say, 25 for example. In this case I might do 10, 10, 5 or I could even end up doing 10, 7, 5, 3. The sets after the first one aren’t really important. What’s important is that I do the total number of reps.

I really like this idea. Basically, you stop when you do your first bad rep. In the past, if I couldn’t get all the reps in a set I would just stop and call it a day. In this plan I’ll stop, rest a little and go back to work.

On the cardio front, I’m going to stick with swimming. I’m not ready to begin yet but I’m going to try “Zero to 1650.” The plan is to swim a “swimmer’s” mile.

It’s a six week plan but there’s no way I can do this in six weeks. The first week calls for four 100 yd swims. I just celebrated my first 50 yd swims the other day so I’m not even ready to start yet. I’m going to keep at it, though, until I’m able to do those 100 yarders.  I hope I’m ready to go in a few weeks but I’m in no hurry to rush. I’ll get there and I’ll get this one done just like I got all the other ones done.

Swim workout

24 laps.

Big progress today. I did 24 LAPS. Still can’t believe it.

I swam to the wall, tapped it and turned around.

I hope to get to the point where I can do two laps at once. That’s when I’ll be prepared to start my new swim program.

Swim workout

24 laps (700 yds)

Big milestone today. I got 24 laps in. That’s big because I’m gonna start a program soon that should help me swim a “swimmers” mile. It’s basically gonna be a Couch to 5K in the water.

The first week calls for a grand total of 24 laps. Unfortunately, it also calls for quite a few 100 yd swims and I’m still a 25 yd kind of guy. I got 24 laps, though, so I’m getting there. I’m gonna stay at this length for a while and try to get to the point where I’m able to tap the wall and immediately turn around.

As for today, I’m not gonna lie. It was crazy hard. It ended up taking me a solid hour. The idea that I’ll be able to swim for a mile (33 laps) seems impossible right now but it’s really something I want to focus on. I see other people in the pool go lap after lap without stopping and I want to be like that.

I’ve accomplished so much over the past few years that I really believe that even something as crazy as this is possible. It’s just a matter of time. I know that if I put in the time and effort I can get it done.

Swim workout

20 laps

I’m getting a lot better.  I’m at the point where I can get all the way through a length without much trouble. I’ve still got problems figuring out the breathing part right but everything else is coming along nicely.

Today was the first day that the pool was full of people. My wife and I had to share a lane.  I swam across the pool and waited for her. When she got to me I went back. My breaks were a lot shorter as a result so I feel like I got a much better workout.

Swim workout

15 laps.

One lap less then last time. I guess I just forgot.

I did these as fast as I could. It ended up taking me 40 minutes. That’s got to be at least 5 minutes faster then last time.

I ended up thinking of these in laps instead of lengths. I swam a length, took a few breaths, swam the rest of the lap and then took a rest. It was tough and by the time I got to the last lap my legs were done.

I feel like I made a lot of progress. Doing these laps quicker is definitely the way to go.

Swim workout

16 laps (+3 laps)

I’ve made a lot of progress but I’ve still got a long way to go.

I’ve got to get dowm the correct swimming terminology if I’m gonna keep writing about my swimming. I think a lap is when you go down and back to where you first started. A half lap is called a length. At least that’s what I think it is and that’s what I’m gonna call it from now on.

Today I did what I always do. Swim a length, rest a while and then swim another, rest, etc. I was again able to go the whole way without touching the bottom. I’m still having trouble swimming the whole way though. Sometimes I’m so tired that I just end up floating toward the end. I’m just strong enough now to get going again from a full stop.

I never knew swimming was so complicated. There’s basically three things you have to get right.

First is the arm motion. I’ve read that you’re supposed to get your elbow high out of the water. Then you swing your forearm and hand over. I’ve got the pull through under water down but I still forget to do the elbow part sometimes when I’m tired.  When that happens my stroke is pretty weak and I don’t go very far.

Second is the leg motion. I simply don’t have the ability to keep them going constantly throughout the workout. I get too tired. That’s the first problem. The other is that I’m still not getting the kick right. Lots of times I’m just kicking with my ankles and not really using my whole leg. The funny thing is if I did it right every time I’d be even more tired and that would cause more problems. I guess the only solution is to keep swimming and get better endurance.

Third is breathing. Currently I’m basically holding my breath for the first half of the length. This allows me to keep my head under water so I can go faster. Once I have to breath all hell breaks loose. I end up pulling my head up and swinging it around from left to right at least two times. I guess I should be able to just turn my face to the ceiling on one of my strokes but I just can’t get the hang of that yet. Sometimes I do it but I feel like I have to take another breath on the very next stroke so it kind of defeats the whole purpose.

All that being said, today was a pretty good workout and I made a lot of progress. I feel like I have a good idea of what I need to be doing and I made steps in that direction. That’s really all I can do.

Swim workout

13 laps (650 yds)

Added three laps today and actually was able to make it all the way across on every single one of them. Sweet.

Swimming workout

10 laps (500 yds)

The wife and I are pretty much committed to a Tuesday/Thursday swim schedule for the time being. It’s pretty fun to hang out together at the pool.

I only did 10 laps but I tried really hard to shorten the time I did it in. Still took a little over 30 minutes.

Each half lap is only 25 yards but after the first few I’m basically done. It’s incredibly difficult for me to go the entire length of the pool without stopping. I’m kind of bummed about this but at least I’ll have a good idea of when I make progress.

The idea that I could do this entire workout without stopping seems almost impossible right now but I’m going to keep it up and see where things go.

Swim workout

10 laps (500 yds)

Added three laps to today’s swim. I still can’t believe how hard this is. I also can’t believe how hungry I am when I get home.

My first swimming workout

7 laps

Today was my first day to go swimming at the gym pool. I don’t remember the last time I was in a pool. Probably 10 years. I know that I’ve never spent any time doing laps with any amount of seriousness.

The pool at our gym is pretty nice. It has four lanes and there were only two people there when we showed up so we were in luck. I don’t know how popular that thing is so finding a lane could be an issue in the future. I guess I’ll find out.

Today’s swim was surprisingly tough. I was breathing heavy from the very first half lap. I had to stop and take a breather after every one that followed. A couple of times I couldn’t make it all the way and had to dog paddle or even walk my way to the end. You gotta start somewhere I guess.

My plan is to make swimming my primary cardio workout for a while and see how it goes. I like the idea of changing things up. I also like the possibilities of measuring improvement. It should be fun to increase my endurance. Another added element is the differing strokes. Right now all I do is freestyle but if I want I can incorporate all the other ones later on. The possibilities are endless.

I really don’t have any concrete plans in mind. I obviously want to increase the laps but first I want to build up to the point where I can do a full lap (to the end and back) without stopping. I’ll probably do a little digging and look up some workouts. This week will be dedicated to just getting a feel for the pool and having fun.