How many years of continuous improvement in swimming?

Radioactive Man said:

Anyone know how many years of improving times an adult swimmer (> 25) who starts swimming as an
adult can expect before they reach their peak, assuming a fairly consistent and effective
training? I know that kids who start swimming young typically peak in their twenties, but what of
those of us who didn't start until we were adults?

I started when I was a kid, then stopped swimming until my late 20s, then continued through my
mid-40s with a very intense training period from 37 to 42. My peak was at about age 40. I think
genetics will play a big roll here, though. Your personal result may vary.

martin

--
Martin Smith email: [email hidden] Vollsveien 9 tel. : +47 6783 1188
P.O. Box 482 mob. : +47 932 48 303 1327 Lysaker, Norway

You could conceivably expect improvement continuously for far longer if you are willing to define
"improvement" more globally. I'm not getting faster at 52, but I'm still improving at a steady rate
in my economy and control - i.e. ability to feel fluent at a range of stroke counts and rates. In
the past two weeks I've swum a faster 200 Free at 11spl and at 12 spl than I ever have in my life.
To me that's improvement. Terry

"Radioactive Man" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone know how many years of improving times an adult swimmer (> 25) who starts swimming as an
adult can expect before they reach their peak, assuming a fairly consistent and effective
training? I know that kids who start swimming young typically peak in their twenties, but what of
those of us who didn't start until we were adults?

I started swimming in college then continued thru grad school (which gave me about six years to
eventually build up to a mile/day, plus biking 10 miles/day and aerobics/step aerobics six
days/week.

Then I got a job in the real world, and left behind those cushy campus benefits. 🙁 No swimming pool
within 60 miles of where I worked. 🙁 🙁

Then, five years later at age 29 (five years ago), I relocated to a town that has two YMCA's (Yay! I
can swim again!!). My technique has improved quite a bit over the last five years, I've gone to
alternate-side breathing, etc. and dropped my 33-minute mile down to about 30 minutes on a good day.
No good areas to ride bike around here though.... 🙁

YMMV

I started swimming in my late 20s, I'm 56 now. I have been swimming basically the same distance per
week the entire time. My fastest times were when I was in my late 30s, after about 10 years of
continuous improvement. Since them times have slowly declined. However, I recently started trying to
improve my backstroke by doing backstroke and backstroke drills for about 1000m of each workout and
my times are declining.

So, there is probably always room for improvement regardless of age.

--beeky

Radioactive Man said:

Anyone know how many years of improving times an adult swimmer (> 25) who starts swimming as an
adult can expect before they reach their peak, assuming a fairly consistent and effective
training? I know that kids who start swimming young typically peak in their twenties, but what of
those of us who didn't start until we were adults?

I started swimming when I was 32. I could swim but had no competitive experience. Took a series of
lessons for 2 years and then joined a Masters group when I was 34. My distance times got
continuously better until I was about 52, although my sprint times fell of much earlier. Now at 57 I
just try to get as close as I can to my best times.

I still find my stroke can be improved in free and back but doubt that my times will get better. I
think I can go faster in breastroke (my Achilles heel) and fly as I never concentrated on these and
my stroke is poor.

As I get older my goals change but I still set them and amazingly enough often succeed.

Gerry

"Radioactive Man" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone know how many years of improving times an adult swimmer (> 25) who starts swimming as an
adult can expect before they reach their peak, assuming a fairly consistent and effective
training? I know that kids who start swimming young typically peak in their twenties, but what of
those of us who didn't start until we were adults?

Radioactive Man <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Anyone know how many years of improving times an adult swimmer (> 25) who starts swimming as an
adult can expect before they reach their peak, assuming a fairly consistent and effective
training? I know that kids who start swimming young typically peak in their twenties, but what of
those of us who didn't start until we were adults?

To be more specific: Kids who start swimming young typically peak in their late 20s (the same age at
which Popov set the world record in 50m freestyle). But they don't fall off all that quickly
afterward. U.S. Master's Swimming keeps track of record times for each swimming event in each of
their 5-year age groups, and the record times for the 30-35 age group are typically better than
those for the 19-24 age group. Even the 35-39 age group typically sees better record times than the
19-24 age group.

The short answer to your question is that nobody knows. There are too many confounding variables.
For example, is the gradual increase in USMS record times from the 25-29 age group to the 40-44 age
group due to an age-related decline in ability, or is it due to decreased training time resulting
from such factors as marriage, raising children, increased job responsibilities, helping to care for
aging parents, etc.?

Adults who are training as competitive swimmers are certainly going to have a less encouraging
experience than children who are undergoing the same training, since the children, in addition to
performance improvements brought about by their training, also see performance improvements related
to increases in physical maturity and stature. But, of course, that also means that the improvements
the kids see are somewhat deceptive.

Another problem adults frequently face is a lack of available training. I remember once remarking
that if my local YMCA trained their kids the way they train their adults, the kids would BE adults
before they knew enough to compete in their first race!

Be aware that it's typically easier to imporve distance times than it is to improve sprint
times, since it's usually easier to improve stamina than it is to develop a more efficient and
powerful stroke.

I think the reason that so many of us get concerned about this issue is because most of us have very
good days, when everything seems to click and we set a new personal best time in something, but
things don't "click" like that every day. So even though we may be making fairly continuous
improvements, those improvements don't give us a new personal best time until we have another day
when everything "clicks". And, in between the "click" days, we may wonder whether we are improving
at all and whether we're ever going to set another personal best time.

Bob

Another of my heroes is Andy Miller, who trains at both the pool where my kids swim and the pool
where I swim. I often swim in an adjacent lane and have the opportunity to marvel at him.

Andy is, I think, pushing 43. He may be the oldest person ever to make a USA Swimming National team,
qualifying to swim the 25K Open Water at FINA World Championships this summer in Barcelona. He's a
fireman/paramedic who is swimming faster than ever.

Maybe the most inspirational story of aging gracefully, however, is Australia's Murray Rose, who won
the Olympic GOLD MEDAL in the 1500 free in Melbourne in 1956 at age 17, and who, at age 52, was able
to beat his Olympic Gold medal time of 35 years previously!

Larry Weisenthal

Certitude is poison; curiosity is life

<<Maybe the most inspirational story of aging gracefully, however, is Australia's Murray Rose, who
won the Olympic GOLD MEDAL in the 1500 free in Melbourne in 1956 at age 17, and who, at age 52, was
able to beat his Olympic Gold medal time of 35 years previously!>>

And didn't Graham Johnston an olympian for S. Africa in 1952 swim a 1500 at age 65 within one second
of his 1952 effort?

vince

(ELVINCENTO) said:

<<Maybe the most inspirational story of aging gracefully, however, is Australia's Murray Rose, who
won the Olympic GOLD MEDAL in the 1500 free in Melbourne

in

Quoted message said:

1956 at age 17, and who, at age 52, was able to beat his Olympic Gold

medal

Quoted message said:

time of 35 years previously!>>

And didn't Graham Johnston an olympian for S. Africa in 1952 swim a 1500

at age

Quoted message said:

65 within one second of his 1952 effort?

And Don Bland of Great Britain who knocked 1 minute off his 1948 (aged 18) Olympic time at age 65
--
Brian D

One reason that they were able to do those times is that in the 1950's, few swimmers workout more
than 5,000 yards because there were no goggles and yardage was low. Also, they are the exceptions to
the rule. They are a few others but many master swimmers range from about 5 seconds to 15 seconds
off of their 100 yard swims by the time they reached 45. I should know did a 1:34.58 at age 45 in
the 100 yard breastroke and the last year of community college when I was 20 years old I swimming
between 1:17 and 120 in meets in the 100 yard breastoke. I took off several years and lost my
timing. Each person is different with age and freestyle holds up in speed better than the other
three stokes.