G8r80's training / dieting / cycling / log

It is possible to swim slower and not sink or have to spend more energy getting to where you wanna go.

You should do some swimming with a buoy between your legs, or if you don't have one, put a kickboard or water bottle between your legs (thighs). Swim without legs like ff said. It will force you to stretch your stroke out, rely on the levers of your arms out in front of you as you find better rotation to move forward. Use your LAT muscles in your back, not your shoulders to pull. you will not tire as quickly. Imagine you are reaching for something far from your grasp and you are forced to turn your body sideways (elongating your arms) to get it. I have my beginner swimmers also feel free to do some strokes of freestyle but once tired simply flip onto your back and either float there a minute or do some slow backstroke strokes. This will help you regain your breath but not stop. then simply flip back over when you're ready. Before long you will need to do this less and less. Its also a good tool to have when open water swimming if you either get too tired or just panicked out there.
 
Swam 1000m today. I took FF's advice and intentionally went at a slower pace to see if that would allow me to go farther before getting winded. I was able to go the first 25m very comfortably, turn around, minor kick off, and finish the lap. By about the 30 - 40m mark, my breathing became harder and I was struggling for air. I then rested for 1 minute before resuming. I swam one lap with the breast stroke but it was difficult. I need to do this more often to build up these muscles as well.

I think I know where my swimming weaknesses are:

1. Breathing: I think my breathing process is okay.

2. Kicking: I lessened my kick which reduces my oxygen requirements but provides less propulsion and allows my legs to ride a little lower in the water.

3. Stroke: This is my weakness. My upper body, in particular my triceps, lats and deltoids, which are not the strong suit of my body, are getting fatigued and requiring more oxygen than can be delivered. In time, they will strengthen and require less oxygen. That will take months but I have time.

Ran 2.8 miles in just under 10min mile pace.
 
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you aren't holding your breath when your face is in the water right?
 
Are you serious aout raquetball? I will ask the gym about it. Or do you have an LA fitness pass already?

I'll check it out tomorrow and get you in whatever it takes.

THIS will be cool. A good sweat and maybe i can accidently "bean you!" hehehee
 
flyinfree said:
Are you serious aout raquetball? I will ask the gym about it. Or do you have an LA fitness pass already?

I'll check it out tomorrow and get you in whatever it takes.

THIS will be cool. A good sweat and maybe i can accidently "bean you!" hehehee
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Accidentally, my @ss! If I get beaned it definitely won't be by accident. I am a member of Lifestyle and the YMCA.


sparrow said:
you aren't holding your breath when your face is in the water right?
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After inhaling, I exhale after about 1 stroke, but I've been wondering if I should more forcefully exhale or should it be a more natural exhalation
 
Or you can get me a guest pass, and i will come to you this time. We'll figure it out tomorrow.

I'm leaving the swim breathign to Sparrow. She is a professional swimmer. WE are very lucky she pays attention to us at all. Take her advice to heart. she has helped me immmmmmmensely.

a raquetball welt only lasts about 10 minutes, you'll be fine. ;) gimme a couple please!!! yeehaw,,, full contact raquetball. My foot is starting to tap. Let's get it on!!! heheheh
 
This is more of a critique question for Sparrow, but something you might want to try if she thinks this is valid...

I had some breathing issues early on, but found that a steady, slow exhale during the strokes and culminating in a solid clearing blow just as my mouth exits the water helps with two things: It seems to clear the water away and prevent sucking in water during my breath, and it completely clears my lungs and allows for a full, fresh lungfull of new air. It also helps with my tempo.

I think I read above somewhere about the rotation helping in the breathing. That full rotation really does help involve the big lat muscles better, and actually gives you a little more time to keep the face clear to suck more air.

The worst thing for me is falling out of the groove and sucking water, then trying to catch up on the breathing, so do what you can to avoid this.

I remember the last time I played raquetball...I was in college and thought I was getting pretty good, then I picked up a game with a 72 yr. old professor. The guy hardly had to move two steps and kicked my yound butt so easily I quit forever!
 
Krodad said:
This is more of a critique question for Sparrow, but something you might want to try if she thinks this is valid...

I had some breathing issues early on, but found that a steady, slow exhale during the strokes and culminating in a solid clearing blow just as my mouth exits the water helps with two things: It seems to clear the water away and prevent sucking in water during my breath, and it completely clears my lungs and allows for a full, fresh lungfull of new air. It also helps with my tempo.

I think I read above somewhere about the rotation helping in the breathing. That full rotation really does help involve the big lat muscles better, and actually gives you a little more time to keep the face clear to suck more air.

The worst thing for me is falling out of the groove and sucking water, then trying to catch up on the breathing, so do what you can to avoid this.

I remember the last time I played raquetball...I was in college and thought I was getting pretty good, then I picked up a game with a 72 yr. old professor. The guy hardly had to move two steps and kicked my yound butt so easily I quit forever!
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On the breathing, I tend to do what you do, i.e., blow hard just before inhaling, but I sometimes forget - I am thinking of a lot of stuff simultaneously. Yeah, let's see what Sparrow says.

On the racquetball, the good players never seem to have to move much...
 
Well, FF is nice. "Professional" is kind of a big word. I've just been "down the lane and back" a while ;) he he. I agree with Krodad on the breathing, I do the same thing. Your head shouldn't necessarily turn that much when you breathe. Your head clears the way through the water and makes a sort of pocket with the water under your mouth when you turn to breathe. Too much movement of your head while swimming, or not a streamlined position while rotating (this is mostly core strength) will mess up that little pocket and create all sorts of waves looking to choke you instead

The rotating is HUGE HUGE HUGE. Its the difference between a row boat and a kayak in the water. Are you still having private lessons? Hopefully the guy has given you some drills to work on for rotation. It really makes or breaks you as far as progress and feel of effort goes.

I think you are doing great. Swimming is a really hard sport and besides just being hard, it often brings up all sorts of unexpected phobias for people. You are really hanging in there and 1000 is no short feat! I look forward to watching things progress for you! YOu're going to have a rockin season!
 
Sparrow, I see my swim instructor next week. I do have some balance and rotation drills that I will try out this week. I am progressing with my swimming, so that is the all-important factor right now.

I just found out about a nearby sprint triathlon, March 9, 2008. It is truly a beginner triathlon and will be a nice introduction for me; 300m pool swim (sounds chaotic), 11 mile bike, and a 5K run. I have already registered for it.

I have to be careful with weights because I don't want to tire out a muscle group that I need for a swim, bike or run. My glutes are still sore from the squats I did on Saturday and that affected my swimming and running yesterday. Today, I focused on the muscle groups that otherwise don't get worked: biceps, triceps, and pecs.

BP: 135x10, 155x10, 175x1, 185x1 (yeah, weak, but it is my pb)
Bicep curl bar: 55x10, 65x10, 75x10x2
Assisted dips (least weight): 10x2
Assisted chinups (least weight): 10x2

Spinning class this evening
 
I overdid it in spinning class last night. At one point, I thought someone had removed all the oxygen out of the air! I was gasping - mouth open, heaving, eyes closed - and the instructor says, "Okay, good, now let's take it up a notch!" I never felt this way before at sea level, although I have felt this way at elevation.

Sparrow, I received my copy of "Total Immersion" swimming and this is a revelation! Very intriguing. The examples they give of kicking and flailing like a madman and working to exhaustion versus effortless gliding and minimal kicking (for triathletes) are right up my alley.
 
Skimmed through my copy of "Total Immersion" but didn't actually read it .. yet. Swam 1000m today, thinking about the rotation while thinking about everything else. A little improvement from before. For giggles, I breastroke 1 lap (50m) and my arms wanted to fall off! I need to continue to strengthen the arms, be more relaxed, improve my rotation, continue to improve on the breathing. Bilateral rotational breathing seems natural to me now. If I do anything different, it seems unnatural.

Ran 3 miles. First lap, 1.5 miles, in 14:30 and the second in 13:29 (with a loose shoelace for 1/2 mile), which means I broke 9 min pace on the second lap. This is not earth shattering to most of the world, but it is the fastest pace I have run since 1988 when I could crank out a 26 min 5K. I am setting a goal of 28 minutes (9 min. mile pace) for the 5K portions of the two sprint triathlons.
 
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Swam 1000m, averaged 30 sec / length and 30 sec. rest after each length. Total time: 45 minutes. I could have shortened the rest after each length to 15 seconds, but that would have interfered with my comfort zone and breathing so I kept it at 30 seconds. Strokes: 28 - 30.

Bench press: 135x10, 155x8, 155x6
Barbell curl: 55x10, 65x10, 70x10
Shrugs: 45x10, 50x10, 55x10

As I was leaving the YMCA, my neighbor, a urologist, walks in and starts to use a cardio machine. I was pumped up (well, as pumped up as I can be) when he saw me :biggrinsanta:

Stopped by the bike shop to check on the progress of my bike. They are doing the final assembly and I go for the fitting tomorrow and then it's done!
 
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I didn't feel like working out today - took the day off from fitness.

But, I did pick up my new bike. It is a 2006 model Orbea Onix carbon fiber frame with Sram Rival components, 20 speed 53x39 (no wimpy compact or triple for this egoist), Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels, Look Keo Classic pedals, Easton carbon fiber bars, and carbon fiber seat post, stem and headset.
 
g8r80 said:
I didn't feel like working out today - took the day off from fitness.

But, I did pick up my new bike. It is a 2006 model Orbea Onix carbon fiber frame with Sram Rival components, 20 speed 53x39 (no wimpy compact or triple for this egoist), Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels, Look Keo Classic pedals, Easton carbon fiber bars, and carbon fiber seat post, stem and headset.
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Wow, don't let it float away on a windy day!
 
With a new bike, I'm gonna have to "bring it" tomorrow. Finally, I have comparable equipment so I'll see if I really have "comparable equipment".

Today, swam 1000m. Focused on a big rotation with every stroke and I think that did help, but it's gonna take some time getting used to. After 500 meters, i tried a pool buoy which didn't raise my legs as much as I would have thought. Definitely easier! I was able to go 50m without resting at all. For the last 100 m, I went back to no pool buoy and my legs felt really heavy but because of the pool buoy and no leg propulsion, my arms were dead tired. I am still waiting to set up some times with the swim coach once he gets back to me. In the meantime, I need to read up in Total Immersion how to keep my legs higher in the water without kicking too much.

Went inside and worked on vanity issues, biceps, pecs, traps, and triceps.

BP: 135x6, 155x6x3
Bicep curls: 55x10, 65x10x2
Dips: 10x3
Shrugs: 45x10, 50x10, 55x10

I ride with a new faster group tomorrow, so I need to get a decent night's sleep.
 
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Are those barbell shrugs?

I'll bet you would find that significantly heavier shrug weights are well within your reach, and would give you some bigger results. It's amazing how much you can shrug...kind of like calf work. I also do the dip/shrug routine. I don't know if it's the BEST push/pull combo, but it's fun to superset them.

Now don't go jumping off to 100lb dumbells!
 
Krodad said:
Are those barbell shrugs?

I'll bet you would find that significantly heavier shrug weights are well within your reach, and would give you some bigger results. It's amazing how much you can shrug...kind of like calf work. I also do the dip/shrug routine. I don't know if it's the BEST push/pull combo, but it's fun to superset them.

Now don't go jumping off to 100lb dumbells!
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Yes, they are barbell and yes, I was thinking that they were a little light and my traps were not sore from the last time and I would try heavier next time.

Thanks.
 
g8r80 said:
With a new bike, I'm gonna have to "bring it" tomorrow. Finally, I have comparable equipment so I'll see if I really have "comparable equipment".
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I know we all go in seach of "the perfect bike" but really, when it comes down to it, a bike is only as good as its rider ;) Good luck on your ride tomorrow!
 
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