What a Difference a Month Makes.

I wanted to congratulate the Open Water and Squad swimmers this month.
Training In Lanzarote July 2013 
The New Swim Squad has now been running for 7 weeks at the Lancaster 315 Pool.

On week 1 we tested the squads Critical Swim Speed. (CSS). Check out what this means at: http://www.swimsmooth.com/training.html. This basically gives you an indication of the pace you can sustain every 100m for your 1500m swim. It is also useful to help monitor progress and reduction in swim times.

An example: If your CSS is 1 min 30 secs per 100m, this will give you a time of 22 mins and 50 secs for your 1500m swim.

Identifying What hold you back in the water. 

We retested 2 weeks ago and all the squad members had reduced their CSS time. Some reducing it as much as 7 minutes, with most members seeing a 2 to 5 minute improvement for their CSS. This is above average and a remarkable achievement. Most of the squad have just started training regularly and using a structured programme. - Highlighting the importance of consistency and focus within your training.

 So how did they do this you may ask! Well in the squad we work on 3 main areas within the training week. Focusing on a CSS Set, a Technique Session and an Open Water Skills Session. The squad trains 3 times a week with one session lead by Active Blu and the other two they train independently.

The squad is showing such good results due to a number of reasons:

Consistent Weekly Training.
Using their CSS for their Endurance session.
Working on the 3 focused sessions: Endurance, technique and Open Water Skills.
Combining technique and Fitness.
Creating Motivation from being part of a group.

So well done to all the members, your hard work and training is paying off.
To get involved Check out:  http://www.activeblu.co.uk/swim-smooth-active-blu-swim-squad/

Happy Swimming.

Emma

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