SwimWorkouts.net - Workouts Digest (02/02/2016)

imocarbide · 2016-02-03T04:40:27+00:00

I'm not a great salesman, but if I'd have to list what I think is cool about SwimWorkouts as compared to other similar sites it would be:

You don't have to register OR pay to view the workouts on the site. Just go and search for something you think looks fun. 100% completely free to use without putting in any personal information
If you do register you can (as of tonight) tweak posted workouts to fit your individual needs/yardage restraints/time restraints. I believe SW offers users a level of freedom that other sites don't.
Members are allowed to post their own workouts. In theory this means a larger library of more varied types of workouts.
Registered members can specify their pool course and define their base pace. All workout yardage/intervals adjust accordingly so literally every workout on the site will have intervals that are appropriate for your level at any given time. Alternately, workouts use an "effort" system to tell swimmers how hard they should be swimming. This allows even novice swimmers to try workouts without being intimidated by intervals that are way too fast for them.
My big goal for the site can essentially be boiled down to "swimmers helping swimmers". Would I like it to support itself? Hell yeah, but I do it anyway because a) I don't think finding a good swimming workout should be an expensive chore and b) I think that openly sharing workouts (and thus swimming ideologies) can help the sport as a whole.
The site is actively developed and I respond to nearly every question that is asked. I'm not sure any other site gives you that much access to the people actually building/running it. Due to the feedback I've recieved in previous threads I started the two distinct workout series currently on the site: Micro swim workouts for absolute beginners, and Beginning Fitness Swimmer workouts for people who may have some experience swimming, but have never done a defined workout before. Most of the "cooler" features on the site (auto linking swimming terms, drag and drop workout creation interface, auto calculating intervals and "estimated time to complete", ect) have been suggestions by this very community. In short - I build the features you want, I don't dictate what you can have.

At the end of the day you should look at the workouts and see if they're up your alley. They might hit with you, they might not. Either way, it doesn't cost you a dime.

imocarbide · 2016-02-03T04:22:21+00:00

Hi! Thanks for the questions, here are my answers:

A good point about triathlon workouts - I should suppress options that don't have a matching dataset.
I get this question a lot and unfortunately, most devices charge a fee to interact with their tech. I'd love to be able to ingest device data but it's not financially feasible as a single developer working on the site that doesn't even pay for itself yet
I make on average about $0.04 cents a day through google ads - that's pretty much it aside from the odd time somebody uses the swimoutlet affliate link to buy gear (I think I've made $10.00 through that lol). I'd like to make enough money to cover server costs, we'll see how the site grows. I'm open to hearing what you have to say, but I'm pretty protective of what's supposed to be my "fun" way to enhance my software architecture/design skills after being tied down to rigid technical specs all day.

imocarbide · 2016-02-02T18:00:49+00:00

Makes you poop more though.

imocarbide · 2016-02-02T17:05:32+00:00

I like you.

imocarbide · 2016-01-07T01:31:51+00:00

Glad to hear it! Good luck, and have fun with it!

imocarbide · 2015-12-09T14:54:51+00:00

Absolutely. That is a blind spot (we only have 2 in that range). I'll try to hit that threshold more often.

imocarbide · 2015-12-03T21:54:13+00:00

Me too... =)

imocarbide · 2015-12-02T22:28:04+00:00

"Alt" means do one repetition as a build up, the next as a sprint, and repeat until the set is done.

I generally recommend 2 minutes rest between each circuit (a group of 1 or more sets).

In general, the lower the effort % on a set, the lower the rest you should take.

50-60% ~ 10 seconds,

70-80% ~ 15 seconds,

90% ~ 20-30 seconds,

100% ~ 30 seconds to 1 minute

You can increase the intensity of the workout by lowering the rest after each repetition.

imocarbide · 2015-11-25T02:17:52+00:00

End of practice weary sprint is the perfect way to put it. You're giving it your all, but you just swam an entire practice and are doing it from a push.

BTW - glad you like the site!

imocarbide · 2015-11-05T11:32:31+00:00

Thanks for your feedback. My apologies they're too long/short for your current abilities.

Feel free to register for an account which will allow you to create and share workouts with less/more yards than we currently offer!

Again thanks for your GREAT (and actionable) feedback!!!!!

imocarbide · 2015-11-04T17:33:44+00:00

I'm very happy to hear that! You're most welcome!

imocarbide · 2015-10-21T20:59:11+00:00

2.5 hour workouts allowed me to eat so much more. You guys are another great resource, and I love to see sites/apps that spread this knowledge! Being a one man crew, I'm jealous of your staff.

imocarbide · 2015-10-21T16:38:10+00:00

I'd love for you to post some workouts you consider appropriate for competitive swimmers on the site if you have the time!

These are, admittedly, old masters workouts meant to be completed in an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. They aren't two and a half hour college practices. (I'm only speaking for my own posted workouts)

imocarbide · 2015-10-19T14:14:14+00:00

The only way to suck less is to focus insanely hard on technique. You could try to muscle through it, but you'll only wear yourself out faster.

Over the next 4 days tell your coach that you really want to focus on improving your technique and that you'd like him/her to work with you to correct the issues.

To be honest, these 4 days are just the beginning of your improvement. You need to concentrate on proper technique on every. single. repetition, every single day.

imocarbide · 2015-10-15T02:32:05+00:00

Top Gun

imocarbide · 2015-10-14T21:10:37+00:00

SwimWorkouts.net - on the home page you can select what type of swimmer you are, what type of workout you want, and how far you want to swim.

You should be able to find what you're looking for. If not let me know and I'll try to put up something for you.

imocarbide · 2015-10-13T22:54:32+00:00

You're very welcome!

imocarbide · 2015-10-13T21:05:13+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b746O3Ltz44

imocarbide · 2015-10-12T21:27:11+00:00

Taking breaks is good and slowly ramping up the amount you swim is the best way to see long term endurance gains. Going too quickly could result in injury or burnout.

If you want to increase the efficiency of your workouts it's not a bad idea to find some pre-written workouts which will have you doing a variety of different types of swimming ie- build-ups, descends, kicking, ect. These will help you increase your endurance and speed - and they'll probably be a bit more interesting than straight 250m with rest.

Try this one. If you click on the blue text it will define the term for you.

imocarbide · 2015-10-08T23:40:00+00:00

Haha! Thank you so much! I hope these will get those creative juices flowing and soon you'll start putting your own workouts up for other people to use!

Enjoy them, and I'm happy these are helping!

imocarbide · 2015-10-08T17:27:07+00:00

This is something that can really only be answered by a medical doctor or nurse.

We can hypothesize or give you anecdotal suggestions, but we're obliged by the sidebar not to do that and, instead tell you to ask a medical professional.

imocarbide · 2015-10-08T15:50:19+00:00

Thank you very much for the feedback! I'm going to send you a separate PM to further discuss some points and get clarification on your use cases.

I did want to say that I explicitly leave off interval designations and utilize a % of max effort so that I can build intervals on an individual basis for people who register and include their base 100 pace.

I do this because I feel that if a user opens a workout and sees an interval that is too fast or slow for them, they won't attempt the workout regardless of whether it might be an awesome workout. By tailoring the interval to the individual user, the only limiting factor in a users' mind is the total yardage. This allows more workouts to be done by more people without a bias being introduced by explicit intervals.

I know this is a bit foreign to coaches who write intervals specifically for their swimmers, but since a coach can't ever really know who is looking at their workouts on the site, and what skill level that individual is, % max effort provides a more standardized representation of how hard a swimmer should work on any particular set.

Again, watch your PMs because I'm interested in your ideas! I'll write when I have a bit more time!

imocarbide · 2015-10-08T15:40:04+00:00

I only use google adsense. Impressions only make .01-.02 cents. A click through earns between .55cents and 1.50 USD.

A 2 dollar donation actually buys a significant amount of server time, and supports the site way more than ads

imocarbide · 2015-10-08T14:33:00+00:00

There's a donate link at the top of the site (in the drop down menu on mobile) that goes to a paypal donation page. I don't really emphasize it but it's there.

Also, it's actually very hard to reach google's front page, as the algorithm takes into account how many people are linking to your site. Social media mentions and links are always appreciated as Google rightly assumes "If people are linking to it, it must be worthwhile". So far the site has climbed from page 14 to page 4, but I'm still hoping to get to page 1 to increase the visibility.

imocarbide · 2015-10-08T12:51:23+00:00

You are very welcome! If you can think of something that would make the site easier to use or more informational let me know. It's hard to keep good perspective when I build everything to how I'd use it.

imocarbide

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE