How can I get maximum benefit from mixed sets



P

Pat

Guest
What I have in mind is to do side stroke, back stroke, front crawl, and breast stroke. Would it be
better to do, say, 1/4 mile of side stroke before changing to breast stroke? Or some other
arrangement?

Can some of you coaches out there give some advice on this?

When I do 4 laps of side stroke, my left leg gets fatigued where the femur joins to the pelvis area.
Should I stop then and go to a different stroke or continue to do 4 more laps in order to "tough it
out" and get to the 1/4 mile distance? Or maybe I should do one lap of each stroke in rotation?

thanks,

Pat in TX
 
D

Donald Graft

Guest
"Pat" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> What I have in mind is to do side stroke, back stroke, front crawl, and breast stroke. Would it be
> better to do, say, 1/4 mile of side stroke before changing to breast stroke? Or some other
> arrangement?
>
> Can some of you coaches out there give some advice on this?
>
> When I do 4 laps of side stroke, my left leg gets fatigued where the femur joins to the pelvis
> area. Should I stop then and go to a different stroke or continue to do 4 more laps in order to
> "tough it out" and get to the 1/4 mile distance? Or maybe I should do one lap of each stroke in
> rotation?

It depends on what your goals are. I guess that they are not to optimize your competitive
potential, because you would not be doing sidestroke if you were. Given that, I wouldn't tough it
out, especially if it causes you discomfort. Perhaps you could do it as if it were an individual
medley; you could change strokes in rotation as you suggest. Maybe 50 yards/meters of each would be
good for you.

Don
 
P

Pat

Guest
> It depends on what your goals are. I guess that they are not to optimize
your
> competitive potential, because you would not be doing sidestroke if you were. Given that, I
> wouldn't tough it out, especially if it causes you
discomfort.
> Perhaps you could do it as if it were an individual medley; you could
change
> strokes in rotation as you suggest. Maybe 50 yards/meters of each would be good for you.
>
> Don

Sometimes, when I do these mixed drills, I am trying to recover from cycling or my newest effort of
learning to skate with inline skates. The hematoma on my right femur is now gone and I can get back
to the skates, but in the meantime, I have been trying to work most of the major muscle groups of my
body, keep up my breathing, and help the hematoma resolve. The side stroke helps with the quads and
hamstrings a lot.

Pat in TX
 
M

M. W. Smith

Guest
On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 11:17:57 -0600, Pat <[email protected]> wrote:

> What I have in mind is to do side stroke, back stroke, front crawl, and breast stroke. Would it be
> better to do, say, 1/4 mile of side stroke before changing to breast stroke? Or some other
> arrangement?
>
> Can some of you coaches out there give some advice on this?
>
> When I do 4 laps of side stroke, my left leg gets fatigued where the femur joins to the pelvis
> area. Should I stop then and go to a different stroke or continue to do 4 more laps in order to
> "tough it out" and get to the
> 1/4 mile distance? Or maybe I should do one lap of each stroke in rotation?

To me, that fatigue (pain?) indicates a muscle imbalance and/or tightening probably due to your
cycling. I would do some weight lifting with light weights. do some squats and use some of the
machines that exercise the pelvic area. It is curious you don't have the same problem in
breaststorke though.

martin

--
If you are a US citizen, please use your constitutional right to vote, because we badly need a new
president.
 
P

Pat

Guest
> To me, that fatigue (pain?) indicates a muscle imbalance and/or tightening probably due to your
> cycling. I would do some weight lifting with light weights. do some squats and use some of the
> machines that exercise the pelvic area. It is curious you don't have the same problem in
> breaststorke though.
>
> martin

I think this particular pain at this time is due to my efforts at inline skating. I fell on that
side once and the other side twice. Also, I have an old soccer injury (about 5 years ago)--a torn
hamstring at the same site or nearly so. So, maybe scar tissue is part of the problem.

Pat in TX
 
M

M. W. Smith

Guest
On Sat, 14 Feb 2004 16:12:46 -0600, Pat <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>> To me, that fatigue (pain?) indicates a muscle imbalance and/or tightening probably due to your
>> cycling. I would do some weight lifting with light weights. do some squats and use some of the
>> machines that exercise the pelvic area. It is curious you don't have the same problem in
>> breaststorke though.
>>
>> martin
>
> I think this particular pain at this time is due to my efforts at inline skating. I fell on that
> side once and the other side twice. Also, I have an old soccer injury (about 5 years ago)--a torn
> hamstring at the same site or nearly so. So, maybe scar tissue is part of the problem.

Then both sidestroke and breaststroke could aggravate the problem, because they both ask for an
explosive use of the hip joint. I don't mean don't do those strokes, but warm up carefully, ease
into them, and maybe do those strokes at a lower effort level in general, use them for strengthening
the injured area, rather than as part of your aerobic training, at least until the problem goes
away. It could take a long time to fix. Stretching the are is also very important, after you are
warmed up, and again after the session.

martin

--
If you are a US citizen, please use your constitutional right to vote, because we badly need a new
president.
 
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