The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi, should my highly competitive 10 year old take a break from swimming?

What are the benefits of taking say 4 weeks off in the winter season, contrasted with swimming all year with only a couple of short one week breaks? Would a shorter break of say two weeks be better than 4?

She doesn’t want to stop swimming – she loves it and wants to train as much as possible as she thinks that will help her swim faster.

She normally trains 4 times a week for swimming. She plays and trains for netball and basketball many times a week and runs once a week most weeks as well, so she is pretty fit.

Where can we find out more information about how much training she should be doing?

Thanks for your help.  Leanne

ANSWER:

Hi Leanne,  Each swimming coach may have a different thought of when swimmers should have a break and for how long.

My personal thoughts are that children aged 10 years should have a minimum 6 - 7 weeks off a year to allow their body to recover from the training and assist it to grow and develop without the requirements of daily training.  This can be taken in different ways however I would encourage at least one period each year of a minimun 3 weeks off and then possibly a couple of 1 to 2 week breaks during the year.  Other coaches have had great success by giving swimmers shorter periods of rest more often, so there is no set rule.  If a swimmer has a break for 4 weeks, I would recommend having a swim in week 3 and then a couple of swims in week 4 to gradually get back into it and make sure they dont lose too much feel of the water.

On top of this, there may be times when your child is sick during the year and it is important that they recover fully from any sickness so that their immune system can cope with the training that they are doing.  This may mean missing a few sessions and then gradually getting themselves back into training over a one week period.

If you haven’t already, I would suggest buying Swimming for Parents as this book will answer many questions you will currently have and will have in the future about your daughters swimming and her progression in the sport.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hello,

Our daughter is 12 1/2 years and currently trains with her swim team 16 hours a week; approximately 4 hours of that is land training.

She enjoys swimming and to-date has not complained about the 4:40am wake-up, or late night swims. Her school grades are good. She has had no injuries.

We fully support the team and her coach, but my husband and I are concerned that she is training to much for a 12 years old with a growing changing body.

We would be very grateful to hear your thoughts.

With kind regards,

SH

ANSWER:

Hi SH,

There are many 12 year old girls around the world who are training 6 x 1 1/2 to 2 hour swimming sesions per week and completing  at least 2 x 1 hour of land traing each week, so what your daughter is doing is not unusual.

Having said that, it is at the higher end of training loads for 12 year old girls and while I believe this is absolutely fine, you just need to monitor her health, injuries and enjoyment levels over time and look for any signs that she may not be coping.  It sounds though, like she loves the sport and is a very accomplished swimmer.

I know for families who have grown up outside swimming, training this often seems like it is alot, and while it is, it is not unusual either in many good programs around the world.

I have actually written a book called www.SwimmingForParents.com that you may be interested in as it answers questions like this one, and many others.

Regards

Gary

Hi. I am a 60 year old man who wants to train to swim 1.76 miles in 7 months.

I have been swimming 3 times a week for a few weeks now. I am swimming 1/2 mile each time using the breast stroke and the crawl.

I swim nonstop until I have reached my limit.

Should I be continue at this pace or should I be training a different way. ? Should I rest between or not.?
Any help would be appreciated.

Swimming at least 3 times a week is a great start to achieve your goal of swimming 1.76 miles in 7 months time.

I am assuming you are swimming your ½ mile each time in the pool. If you are then I would suggest gradually increasing the distance you swim up to 1 mile at least 2 days a week in the next 3 months and then up to 1.5 miles at least once a week in the final 3 months.

This can be done as a continuous swim however it would also be a good idea to do some of your sessions doing 100’s eg 15 x 100 with 10 sec rest between each one and trying to go a little bit faster than you would if you were doing a continuous swim.

Remember to increase the distance you swim each day very gradually.

Regards

Gary

www.TheSwimmingExpert.com

My son is 12 years old and swims competitively. He currently trains 6 days (evening)a week (5000 – 6000 per session). In addition he land trains twice a week , and trains with the Water Polo team twice a week. Therefore he currently has 10 workout sessions a week.

The Swim coach has added two 5.00 am sessions for the age group and has encouraged us that my son should attend.

My belief is that he is currrently doing a significant amount of training and that at this age the 2 new sessions may be too much.

Your question is a difficult one to answer as a lot depends on your sons swimming background (which sounds substantial if he has worked up to 6 sessions per week of 5-6km) and his development.

If you have concerns in regards to the additional sessions, it would be worth sitting down with your son’s coach, asking him to take you through the plan he has for your son over the long term and also sharing with the coach the other commitments your son has (water polo) and also how you feel about the additional sessions.

Your concerns are legitimate, particularly with the additional sport outside of swimming, so please discuss your concerns with your sons coach.

Regards

Gary

www.TheSwimmingExpert.com