HOW SHOULD I DIVIDE MY TRAINING TIME? What should the balance between technique and endurance training be for a novice swimmer – or one with ingrained bad habits? I’ve got a decent aerobic base from running and cycling, and can swim three times a week in the pool with occasional open water sessions. Robert Haynes, via Facebook
Paul says… An excellent question, and one that not many people think about. At Swim Smooth, we fi nd that many swimmers either just practise endurance/speed training sessions – essentially ‘hard work’ – or pure technique sessions, ie, drills, without necessarily blending the two together. While it is true to say that novice swimmers should devote a good portion of their training time to developing sound technique, it is still worth your while to include some element of endurance training in your programme as well.
IN THE LAST FEW ISSUES OF H2OPEN WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT CSS TRAINING Those who just practise drill aſt er drill become very good at
doing drills, but not great at transferring this across into the full freestyle stroke for prolonged distances at sustained speeds. We aff ectionately refer to these swimmers as “technique hermits”.
Equally, those who just thrash up and down the pool relentlessly may be missing out on developing bet er effi ciency in their stroke.
In the last few issues of H2Open we have been looking at CSS training (see issue three) as a useful and structured way of incorporating endurance work into your program. Oſt en this pace feels easier than what many would regard as “interval” training. It allows you to maintain good technique without the fear of this all suddenly falling apart. For a suggested weekly breakdown – if you’re swimming three times per week – please check out my suggestion on the Swim Smooth web forum at:
bit.ly/qRGwsy
WHAT SHOULD I EAT AFTER TRAINING? I train in open water at Thorpe Lake and sometimes I do my swim training late in the evening and I struggle to know what to eat aſt erwards. Can you help? Maxine, by email
Sports scientist Joel Enoch says… Training late in the evening can make recovery diffi cult as you need to get the right nutrients in to help the body refuel but you don’t want digestion to interrupt your sleep, or to put on weight by eating late. The old saying, ‘Breakfast like a
king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper’, fl ies in the face of modern eating habits but is actually a very useful tool in
remembering how to structure food consumption throughout the day. Food intake should tail off throughout the day, especially as you approach bedtime, when your metabolism has started to slow down and you need less energy as you will be sleeping. However, aſt er any exercise there is a need to refuel, so when you have been training in the evening this pat ern can be relaxed slightly. Yet, while it is important to eat something, a full meal is not needed. To recover eff ectively, you only need to take on board about 1g of carbohydrate per kg of your body weight and about 15g of protein, and this can easily be done with a bowl of cereal, a tuna sandwich and some nuts and raisins, a small chicken-and-couscous snack- pot or an energy bar and recovery drink. You should aim to consume your snack as soon as possible aſt er
training as it will be utilised by the body more quickly, and will also allow more time before bed.
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