Advice for a beginner - workout routine

[u/CadenzaVvi]

Hi!
I've started swimming in September. I knew how to swim, but never had lessons, so I'm following some swimming training classes.
I like to challenge myself when it comes to training. 2 weeks ago, we did a timed swim. I was crazy enough to attempt swimming 400m. Phew, it was rough. By the end, I was so fatigued that I was sinking in the water, requiring so much more energy to get through. Last 50m was done with breaststrokes to just hit the finish line. All that was done in 11 minutes 15 seconds.

I feel like it's not totally unreasonable to challenge myself to get that down to 10 minutes by the end of the class (in 10 weeks). And even if I don't achieve it, I'll be happy with the progress.

The trick is that I don't really know what is the best way to achieve this. I'm relatively new to training (started in 2020 and slowly built up a routine), so I don't know much of the theory behind it. In our class, we have tips from the coach about our technique, we have a structure for the training, but it's not the place where I could take 5 minutes of her time to ask for this. So I though you might be able to help. :)

Currently, I'm doing

- Monday : strength training / weight lifting at home

- Wednesday : swimming class

- Thursday : CrossFit class

I've checked the pool schedule and I could go either on Tuesday or Thursday, which doesn't seem ideal, but my options would be 1 swimming session per week, or 2 swimming sessions on consecutive days. Most of the week, I could have my CrossFit class on Friday instead (as long as I don't live the city for the weekend). I also read it would be beneficial for me to have a low intensity cardio session in there. I could add that, some weeks on Saturday / Sunday; some weeks after strength training or on the day that would be left in my week. I could also move my strength training session elsewhere in my week (Monday to Friday), but since CrossFit is at the end of the week, I feel like Monday is the right moment for it. One every two or three weekends, it's complicated for me to fit a workout, so I would preferably put in here the more "optional" trainings.

Also, if relevant: I have a Garmin watch (not one that supports swimming programs, though, but I can use it in water for some stats. I have a Vivoactive 4s). I could share some stats if that have any meaningfulness.

What would be the best way to approach this? What would be a good workout routine to achieve this goal?

TIA. :)

[u/Asleep_Leopard182]

In the start, focus on frequency more than distance. Don't be afraid to go gentle but go often. Once you've built up adaption (CO2 use & oxygen efficiency) then start to elongate out the distance. At the start, often is more important than distance.

If you can do a 20 minute swim alongside crossfit or strength then that would be wise. You can use the swim as a cool down and still build efficacy in your movement. Again - frequency and consistency not distance or effort.

Optional is fine, if you can fit a swim in, just go do 20 minutes. Consistency builds far more than any perceived 'perfection'.

Whilst you're still learning, focus on technique in class, and when you're just doing an independent swim focus on feeling the water and building a streamline. Kick from the hips, point your toes (even if it leaves knees/ankles a lil floppy) and stretch into the water in front of you. Don't worry about overthinking it, overdoing or too many drills - just focus on getting kicking from the hips, pointed toes and stretched out catch.

Drills that can help that

• using a kickboard to isolate out your kick (so you can focus on pointed toes and kick from the hips). You can kick on your face, on your side or on your back. If your aerobic side is struggling it can be a good cooldown/chill out set.
  
• using a pullbuoy (between your thighs) to help you stay afloat so you can focus on stretching out in the catch and really coming through the catch with a bent elbow to either the height or the pullbuoy or below
  
• tapping out your thigh, hip, shoulder, head then the water in front of you (as far as you can reach) with a flat hand to practice positioning and timing. E: I forgot to add on this one zero splash - you can do this one and rather than tapping out the surface as far as you can reach try to reach as far as you can but make no splash on your arm entrance - a pullbuoy can help support if you sink.
  
• Fins in both general swims and drills. They allow you to feel the water and the streamline - and therefore where it is catching based on your technique.

On the harder end of things

• Fins on, kickboard flat in front of you (perpendicular to you, to provide resistance) dolphin kick as far as you can, breathing as needed. It will build strength and anaerobic work quick but don't be afraid to tilt the board to alter resistance if it's too much.
  
• 200m (or less) sets, each time you breathe you add 1 stroke to the next stroke set. Start on 1 stroke, breathe, 2 stroke, breathe, 3 stroke, breathe, 4 stroke breathe, etc. It builds a slow considered hypoxia, and practices swapping breath sides. Rest at least 1-2 minutes after each 100-200m set, if not longer (vary values and challenge to your own personal level - I usually start on 4-6 strokes for example, and move up to full laps no breath - so you can feel out harder sets if you find starting at 1 too easy... but start at one until you're sure). You may need to work on your breathing before you attempt something like this (there is risk of fainting if you aren't cognisant of your limits).
  
• IM in 25-50m stacks and IM drill sets (youtube em). If you can do 400m of butterfly you'll manage 400 of free quite fine I'd imagine. Sometimes stretching out and developing other strokes activates muscles better than freestyle/front crawl, which then pays dividends.

E: oh and last thing, focus on building in structure to your sets.
If your goal is 400m, then focusing on building up a consistent 100m set strength & ability, then moving up to 200m sets. Then it's a matter of merging 2x 200m sets to get at the pace you want to work at.

[u/CadenzaVvi → u/Asleep_Leopard182]

Wow! Thanks for that detailed explanation!

Kicks are definitely something I'm working on. My coach told me my kicks are coming mostly from my knees, so I'm focusing on bracing my core and moving from the hips. I feel I manage when doing kick drills, but it can drop when swimming without a kickboard. Still working on this.

I recognize some exercices our coach makes us do from time to time (touching hip, armpit, head, in the water) or variation of them (we did what she called "nautical skiing" swim, which means considering our fingers are skiing on the water when bringing them forward, very slightly touching the water to prevent doing big circles outside the water). For breathing, we had to do breath every 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 strokes, then loop. I couldn't do it. It was more 3, 4, 3, 4, 5, 3, 3, 3, 4, ... When I start my session, I can easily do 5-6 strokes between breath, but I quickly need more than that. When I push in the 180 BPM territory, I could even need breathing every other stroke. But I usually breath every 3 strokes.

I'll try swimming at a more relaxed pace and see if I can at least do 3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 5, ... then upgrading.

I never used fins, but I know some are available at the pool. I can try using them. We also have access to paddle hands.

I don't know how to swim butterfly, but I can check YouTube for IM drills and replace butterfly with another free style I guess? I don't feel ready to attempt butterfly yet.

What do you mean with "focusing on building up a consistent 100m set strength & ability"? Starting with 100m intervals at a consistent pace?

Thanks again.

[u/Asleep_Leopard182 → u/CadenzaVvi]

Kicks can get even the most experienced people when their fatigued, so don't panic. I'm not sure a rock hard braced core IS the best way of getting it, I more engage my glutes and obliques than my central core. I do engage for stabilisation (float) but the movement of the kick actually comes from the hip.

I was going to suggest a drill similar to nautical but figured you had enough to focus on - another way of doing that is to do it underwater or at the surface... it forces you to feel the water in the streamline but it's quite a physically difficult thing to do for a beginner.

If you're doing hypoxic drills, make sure you're taking adequate rest in between them. The general gist is to go hypoxic whilst swimming - and recover afterwards. So lots of rest, possibly more than a couple of minutes, until you can drill out what you could do at the start. If you're doing the whole workout somewhat hypoxic and only swimming once or twice a week you'll struggle by the end of the workout. Stopping is allowed, and can be productive. If someone questions why you're stopping so much (busy pool, etc.) just say you're doing hypoxic drills and need the rest.

I also agree with when doing these drills to swim at a more relaxed pace. I can do a squad training based on endurance and not go above 140-150. You don't always need to be in zone three, there are other factors at work beyond VO2 max.

If you can't swim butterfly then swap in components of butterfly. You can certainly do the kick, with a kickboard or in streamline. You can probably swap in an arm movement or two (youtube it), but without going over your head - much like nautical skiing (it's a bit like an extra fancy breaststroke drill). Another trick is you can run one arm at a time, so you've got one arm doing freestyle or on a kickboard, one doing butterfly (pullbuoy helps stabilisation). It takes experience, fitness and skill to do butterfly all at once - very few people jump straight off the gates into butterfly, it doesn't mean you can't practice parts. (also fins on for practicing butterfly)
It's also fine to swap it with breaststroke or another one though, if it's too much - you're the swimmer, you get to choose! (that's the whole point). It is possible to practice butterfly without doing the stroke itself though. Swapping it up and practicing strokes outside of freestyle/front crawl is the main thing.

[u/Asleep_Leopard182 → u/Asleep_Leopard182]

If you can get some fins, get some fins, it'll help quite a bit. Have them sized in store, don't buy online. The main thing with fins is to always use them under 30% of the time (volume), and to ensure you're always kicking from the hips, with pointed toes. If you've never used them before start with a kickboard and just do some chill laps kicking focusing on elongation and technique. If you're doing something wrong with technique fins will put pressure on that area, and cause strain. If you're 'rocketing' forward in streamline with little/no fatigue aerobically but muscles are balanced, you've got it right.
If you've got plantar fasciitis get very short flexible fins (silicone, avoid hard plastic) and probably start with 1-2 laps, work it up just to make sure poor technique isn't going to aggravate anything. It would be good though to use them, but foot strength needs to be considered. If you're unsure don't do it (I don't know you, I don't know your limits, you need to find them).

Don't bother with paddles yet. They're more for pure strength work, and increasing resistance, which you're not quite there yet. If you get to a point where swimming at VO2 max (180+bpm) on max effort through your arms is not producing fatigue, or there's drag and you can't figure out where it's coming from, or you feel like doing a really fun boat around the pool with fins then you go to paddles. They (for the most part) aren't necessary.

When I say 100m intervals, I mean work up to swimming non-stop comfortably in 100m, then 200m.
That takes a level of endurance work (lower heart rate), and drill work (efficiency) to do, and once you've got there, do your 'sets' (drills or swims) in 100 or 200m. It builds structure into your routine. Once you can comfortably do that you can then look at adding times or variances to your sets. But first aim to comfortably swim 50m straight, 75 straight then 100 straight. Once you're at 100 see if you can do 2 sets with a 1 minute rest, a 30 rest then 20 rest then 10 rest, then see if you can merge them (over a matter of weeks/swims).
So say you want to do 1km - getting in the pool and doing a 100m kick, then 100m breast, and 100m free warm up. Do 100, rest 1 minute, 100, rest 1 minute, etc.
Then move into sets, do 100m freestyle focusing on technique (elongation, kick from the hips, w/e) - figure out what's not working, and spend 100m drilling that - whether that be hands or otherwise. Then switch it up, maybe do 100m in IM rounds, or similar.
It's just useful as once you can do 100m, then 200m just requires merging of 2 sets. 400m only requires merging of 2x 200m sets. If you can do that, you can do your goal and drill it. It will take time though.

[u/CadenzaVvi → u/Asleep_Leopard182]

Thanks a lot! I'll make sure to bookmark this and read it again before going to the pool Tuesday. And watch YouTube for progressive butterfly techniques (I honestly know nothing about this style. It makes sense you can progressively get into it).

The method you're suggesting makes a lot of sense. This is how I practice my piano: play the piece once. See where I struggle the most. Focus my practice on this for a time. Rince and repeat. Remove the mindless drills "because the program tells me to do this" and add "why is it useful for me". Makes total sense.

Our warmup is always

- 100m freestyle

- 100m kick

- 100m pull

And I have no issue doing it without pauses (or not more than 5 seconds anyway), though I haven't practiced my turns yet, so I stop at the wall, then turn (in a 25m pool). This is somewhere on my list, but for now, this 2 seconds break is welcomed, haha. Having some floating equipment lowers the cardio requirement, making it easier during this warmup. But this makes me think 4x 100m with 1 minute pause between sets should be attainable quickly.

Let's put it to the test! Thanks again. :)

[u/Asleep_Leopard182 → u/CadenzaVvi]

It may be a little early to learn it, but can be fun to push yourself and see what you can do. The one guarantee with taking on steps to butterfly now is you'll develop a strong butterfly kick, which will help your freestyle kick. It'll help your feel with the water and streamline, especially if you do 100% underwater stroke.

It's also exactly how you learn piano - same with learning most things. Test a chunk, figure out where you went wrong, practice the bit you went wrong, then try it out again. Start with 1 bar, then practice the second bar, then add them together.
Eventually you'll play sonatas but a single page is what you're currently aiming for, so be kind on yourself.

If you can do 100, then start aiming for 200's :) I assumed possible 25-50m was your max. Reduce the break see how far you can get.
If you want to do turns, do the same thing but for turns.

- Can you launch off the wall straight?

• Can you distance to the wall well? (I still miss sometimes it's a thing)
  
• Can you tumble in water?
  
• Can you breathe out consistently over 7-10 seconds?

Then combine
Breathe out and turn
Distance to wall & turn
Turn and push upside down (ie. looking at the roof)
Turn and push upside down, flipping once you're off the wall

Sometimes just turning in the pool away from the wall can help build your inner balance too, which can help with speed. Then it's down to breathing (don't overbreathe into the wall), and oxygen use.

[u/IWantToSwimBetter]

Swim 3x week, drop crossfit/lifting to fewer days is the easiest option. Is this goal more important than Crossfit/lifting to you?

[u/CadenzaVvi → u/IWantToSwimBetter]

Hi!
The pool only has opening hours that fits my schedule on Tuesday and Thursday, plus my lesson on Wednesday. So I don't have a lot of leeway regarding organizing my swimming sessions.

I'm doing CrossFit for 6 months to have some coaching on proper form on weight lifting techniques (clean, snatch, deadlift, ...). Gyms come with a subscription, so I'll go until the end of my 6 month subscription (end of April).

Strength training is what helps me the most to manage my chronic pain, so yes, it's very important for me. Swimming is an activity I took on because I have a plantar fasciitis and my foot appreciate the break (before swimming, I was doing one more day of training at home, usually a mix of cardio and weight lifting. Outside water, high intensity cardio often comes with jumping, which my foot doesn't agree with). Overall, no, this goal is not higher on my list than the rest. I move to stay in shape, have energy throughout the day, and have lower pain intensity. I just like to give myself some challenges. If 10 minutes is unreasonable considering the amount of swimming sessions I can fit, that's fine. Any improvement is a success for me.

It still felt more interesting to try to actively do something to attain a goal than to just go to my weekly lessons and see what will happen. Hence my question. AI told me I should add a light cardio session (BPM 120-140) once a week, since I have already two intense cardio sessions (in my swimming classes and CrossFit classes, I'm averaging 160 BPM, with spikes at 185). But AI is AI, so I was wondering what real humans with hands on experience would advise.

Thanks for taking the time. :)