Former swimmer, took a year off; how to get back in shape?

Question

One year ago I was in great shape. As a former Div1 swimmer with most of my life spent in the pool, I never had to worry much about what I ate or how active I was outside of the sport. I've taken a year off (my first year ever) and I'm just now trying to get back in shape but I'm having a difficult time without being able to dedicate 4-5 hours a day and no coach to provide me with direction. I've recently join a gym with a pool however I've discovered I'm completely lost in the weight room and, having never had to start fresh, I don't know what to do in the water. In fact, the only part of my training regiment I've been able to hold on to is my chords. I'm dedicated and hard working but I don't have much free time. Any advice?

Answer 1

I was in a similar spot and know how you feel. I competed for about 15 years, then was out of the water for about 15 years and recently got back into it middle of last year. I felt terrible when I first got back in, but now I'm up to about 30,000 meters/week.

General tips for getting back into it
- Start slow! For your first couple couple times back, don't think of them as "work-outs" as much as just getting in and swimming. Stick to maybe 1000-1500 meters total per day. Be sure to mix in a little kicking, a little pulling, and a little bit of stroke work. You don't need to do any sets in particular, but just focus on getting stretched out and used to the water again
- After that, try to increase your total swim to maybe 2000-2500 for a couple weeks. Start to add in some small sets. Good things to start with are builds (i.e. 8 x 50's build up each one or 4 x 100's descend 1-4). For the first few times, just do them on a rest basis--such as 20-30 seconds after each one. After that, do them on intervals instead.
- From there move it up to longer sets...sets of 200's-300's. Mix in some IM and pulling sets, and maybe some breath-control stuff.

Also a few other things--maybe find a person at the gym to swim with. Having someone else keeps you "honest" in your workout and also helps give you some motivation.

Alternate swim days with weight days, gradually increasing the time you focus on each one.

Give yourself about 8 weeks to get back into it. If you start slow and gradually increase--you'll get there. You should be able to build up to where 4000-5000 meter/yard workouts aren't an issue anymore.

Good luck

Answer 2

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