Quote Originally Posted by Syndirelah View Post
Hi Roxy!

I do most of my workouts on a timed interval--

so, 3 x 100 = swim 100 meters (or yards, depending on the pool) three times, leaving every 1:45. So, if I do a 100 in 1:35 (a minute thirty five secs), I'll get ten seconds rest before the next one. If I go slower, say 1:39, I get less rest and STILL leave every 1:45. (so the second hand will be on the :30 the second time, :15 the third time, etc).

It will vary with distance-- for example, 50's I'll do every :55 or :00 (minute).

Adding some interval structure to the work out is a great way to up the intensity and make some progress in your overall endurance--MUCH more so than just swimming laps. A lot of people will just try and increase the distance they swim overall...which is OK up to a point. If you're interested in starting something like that let me know, I can try to talk you through finding the base time for you-- (there might be sites that talk about it ont he US Masters Swimming web pages too).
I've recently started using proscribed rest intervals and it really ups the intensity and degree of difficulty I only wish I could do 100's on 1:45! I once managed 6x100 on 2:00, but can do 12 on 2:05. It's shown me that I can hold a faster pace longer than I thought and has improved my overall speed. 1:45, something to aspire to!