Looking for a programme

ted1

Theirs three of us that swim lanes about 4 days a week. Generally about 1km each session

We’d like to do a program this year. Goals are to lose weight and get faster

200m time is about 3:20. And 50m is about 45 secs

WeeBushy

Was just perusing the loneswimmer's blog this morning, this article may be of interest: https://loneswimmer.com/2017/12/31/ten-specific-tips-for-successful-improvement-of-swimming-fitness-health-and-weight-management/

A few general points:

1km sessions probably aren't long enough.. based on your 200m time, including breaks, 1km can't take you longer than, what, 20 minutes? imo you should be looking to increase your sessions to 2-2.5km (gradually so as not to injure yourselves from overloading) to get a proper workout and see real improvement.

Try and seek feedback from a good/experienced swimmer on your technique - this is probably where you will see most improvement in your speed.

For weight loss pay attention to point 5 in the above blog! Weight loss will be primarily from your diet so focus mostly on that.

To increase speed/fitness your sessions should be based around repeats (50s/100s/200s) at a pace that you can just about sustain with a short break (~10 seconds). Basically swimming hard but not flat out for e.g. 10x100m with short rests in between each 100. Have that as your main set with a warm up and warm down and some specific drills to improve any technique deficiencies you have, and you have the basis of a decent session.

Hope that's of some help. Don't know any programmes to follow, specifically, maybe someone else will be of help there... but there are endless sessions you could come up with based off of repeats of 50s/75s/100s/200s!

ted1

Cheers , we’ve probably got 35 minutes in the pool so could bring it up to just under 2km.

1km takes about 20 but we lose time deciding what we are doing

4 and 5 dont really tie in with lunch time!!

I cycle in to work 30km each way so my body craves food. Generally porridge in the morning and sandwich/wrap at lunch

WeeBushy

35 minutes is tight, but you can still get a decent session in. You'll need to come in with a plan before you start and stick to it rigidly, no time for faffing about. Write it out on a piece of paper (and stick it inside a lunch bag to stop it getting wet) and take it to the poolside with you.

Off the top of my head something along the lines of:

200m warmup [~4 mins]
4x50 @1:00 (ie. you start each 50 on the minute, what ever time is left in that minute is your rest period) [4 mins]
10x100 @1:50 (same as above, whatever time is left in the 1m50s is your rest period) [18m20s]
4x50 @1:00 [4 mins]
200m warm down [~4 mins]

Total distance: 1,800m
Total time: 34m20s

To fit it inside 35 minutes reduce distance a little and increase the times if the above is too fast, or visa versa. If there are particular drills you want/need to do then use the first set of 50s to focus on them. Mix it up with repeats of other distances to keep it interesting and more effective over time.

I think doing repeats on a set time like above is much more effective that doing repeats with a set rest after each one. The above has no variables so you can asses your progress effectively. The clock doesn't lie, you can't afford to slow down or it'll catch you! When your rest period consistently becomes more than about 10-15 seconds then reduce the time you are going off.

ted1

Much appreciated, 38 is doable. We’ve an hour for lunch . The restriction is we’ve an hour for lunch. So we need to get to the pool (1 minute walk ) changed , swim, showered. Back to office eat lunch.

We use ALSAA pool.

ted1

So did a time trail today and knocked off 10 seconds. Down to 3.10 for 200m

We’ve changed our sessions to a 250m
Warm up followed by sprints of various lengths in groups of three

WeeBushy

Nice one, that's a great improvement.

Sprints are great but if you can do some sustained effort sessions it will help greatly in improving fitness and speed. In saying that unless your training for something specific, whatever gets you in the water and enjoying yourself is most important!