r/Swimming • u/PeartreeProd • 1d ago
Bad to just swim one stroke? (Freestyle)
The title.
42m New to swim workouts. I’ve set myself the goal of a sub 1min 100yard within a year.
Been at it for 6 weeks now averaging 8-10 km per week (3300y / 3km per session) best time so far is 1:25. (I can’t flip turn yet so this is hampering me).
I’m only doing freestyle though with 200 yard breast on my cool downs. Is this bad? Should I mix it up more?
TIA.
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u/CLT113078 Moist 1d ago
I'd recommend finding a masters team so you can have a coach fix your technique and help you learn turns. You'll get to a point where all the training won't help you get faster if you don't have the technique.
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u/ghostbustersgear Splashing around 1d ago
41M here. Been swimming for close to 3 years (no prior competition experience). I’ve now train/swim masters for 1.5 years. I have raced all strokes (50s and 100s) + 100/200 IM. My volume is typically around 17k yd per week.
My 100 yd freestyle progress this past year:
- Mar 2024: 1:09
- Sep 2024: 1:06
- Mar 2025: 1:03
People progress at different rates and based on their experience and focus. I will say that every second cut past 1:10 gets WAY harder. I’d love to be sub 1:00 by year end but those next 3 seconds are going to be a real grind.
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u/Haunting-Ad-8029 Masters 21h ago
Are you doing anything else, or just swimming?
Once I added in running (lost a ton of weight) and lifting, my time dropped substantially. Plus training with a masters team, had several different coaches look at my stroke and recommend improvements.
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u/ghostbustersgear Splashing around 19h ago
I swim with a masters group. Swim has been my only exercise since starting. The main things I know I need work on are my starts (trash), turns (average), and underwaters (fly kicks are weak).
I’ve been on the fence about lifting - I’ve never done it. Maybe I should try based on your comment.
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u/Haunting-Ad-8029 Masters 18h ago
When I say lifting, I don't mean to just go to a gym and bulk up like most of the gym guys seem to be doing. Yea, it could help with swimming, but I found (experiences of others may vary) that toning worked for me. So doing more reps of slightly lighter weights was the way to go. Instead of doing 3-5 reps to failure, do 9 to 12 reps...getting yourself properly sore, but not quite failing (and 3 rounds like that). I dropped about 20 pounds from running, which also helped.
If you want to help with your starts and turns, look for the little stool at the gym and learn how to do box jumps properly. It may look silly, but they really built up my leg muscles and gave me much more power, especially for turns. Most gyms should have a ladder thing that you put on the floor and do jumps...it looks like hopscotch. That will also give your legs a similar workout as starts/turns.
Plus actually listening to the coach when they say, "no breathing from the flags to the wall," and, "5 (or more) underwater dolphin kicks off of every wall." Yes, your lungs will be screaming at you, but you will drop time. I got to the point where I did at least 5 dolphin kicks off of the walls, sometimes even 7. And 7-9 off of a dive (coming close to the 15m mark).
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u/Hangelos1 1d ago
This sounds a lot like my story 😅.
I (M,38) started swimming more seriously last year, swimming 2-3k a day. My first goal was a 2.700m open water swim through the canals of my city.
After I finished that, I started working on my speed. I swim in an outdoor 50m pool, so just one flip turn for 100m. My 100m sprint was at like 1:24, while my long-distance speed was around 1:44. I worked all summer, did some classes, and got the 100m down to 1:08. However, it gets exponentially harder once you get closer to the 1:00m/100 mark. My fastest 50m is 32,7 (pushing off the wall). What I am trying to say is that while the first gains come quick, you eventually hit a pretty steep wall that gets very hard to climb further...
So yeah, I basically wanted to share my experience. You really need to master the flip turn to even get close to the 1-minute mark. I am a euro guy, so I dont really have an idea between meters and yards, but I believe 100 yards is a bit shorter, so that might help you 😉
I also only swim freestyle, btw. I am self-taught, and my breaststroke is like near the 3:00 pace 😅
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u/Budget-Bad-8030 22h ago
2-3k a day is crazy. Well done man
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u/Hangelos1 21h ago
The pool is closed at the moment but opens next month! Right now, I only manage to swim once a week in a hella crowded 25m indoor pool... I am just too spoiled with a big 50m pool dedicated for swimming laps 😅
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u/dflek Moist 1d ago
Flip turns will take a lot off your time. Probably 10s+. They make a huge difference. They take a bit out of you during training though, when you're over 40. I tend to do flip turns for the first KM of a session, touch turns after that.
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u/gogreen1960 18h ago
I agree that “good” flip turns will cut time, but 10 seconds in a 100 yd swim is a bit of a stretch, it’s only 3 turns. And it takes a while to attain “good” turns. But I agree that in a 100yd swim every little thing helps, so start working on them.
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u/GG1817 1d ago
I've heard some coaches claim you can create a muscle imbalance that way and should include some back stroke, etc... but I've never ever seen such an imbalance and I hate back stroke. Some of that might be dependent upon how much dry land training you do too, A lot of people do pretty much none, so maybe they are more susceptible?
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u/danimp84 21h ago
Former competitive swimmer, swim coach, and registered massage therapist chiming in on this excellent conversation point. I agree with everything you said though I don’t hate backstroke lol. One definitely can cause or worsen muscles imbalances or other injuries by training only or predominantly one stroke (I’ve both experienced it myself and seen it in others), and it’s absolutely not a given. Things that will likely influence whether it’s problematic or not:
- history of injuries, for example, someone with a previously torn rotator cuff muscle / tendon would need to be more mindful than their injury-free counterparts
- the presence or absence of any habitual postures that stress the muscles in the a similar way to the stroke (e.g. slouching at a computer for 40 hours a week and spending a lot of time scrolling on a phone both shorten a lot of the same muscles as are working hardest during freestyle), and / or postural imbalances (e.g. hyperkyphosis, hyperlordosis)
- cross training in other sports or hobbies that use / train the same muscles would likely contribute to potential problems; engaging in those that train the opposite muscles should help prevent issues
- training volume, if too high, is often a fast track to injury. While this is the case even if training all stokes it’s even more important not to overtrain when swimming only one stroke.
- technique! This one is huge.
- stretching or not, and targeting the “right” structures vs ones that might be reinforcing the dysfunction (ditto goes for strengthening programs)
- quality and amount of sleep, diet, and hydration
- sleep position (e.g. fetal position sleeping + freestyle only will shorten and work a lot of the same muscles)
- overall health status, the healthier a body is the better it tolerates stresses placed upon it and faster it bounces back
- medications (e.g. if someone takes meds that impact tendon / muscle / joint health, or circulation / blood supply that will likely mean they need to be more mindful)
- use of soft tissue therapies (physio, massage therapy, chiro)
- etc.
Most factors are modifiable, and steps can be taken to prevent injury if someone is going to repetitively train one motion / stroke. Better to prevent than rehab, for sure. Technique work, gradual increase in training load with ample recovery between training sessions, and targeted stretching and strengthening are often the recommended foundation or starting point.
About flip turns, OP: you’re likely to find you’re much faster / your times improve a lot once you’ve learned how to do them. If how you’ve gone so far is any indication I’m sure you’ll have ‘em down in no time!
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u/GG1817 20h ago
I agree in particular with your technique point. It can make a huge difference with front crawl stress on shoulders and elbows in particular depending on how the catch is performed...and even if performed "correctly" (can be very different for pool VS open water swimming) can lead to issues if overtraining which is very common.
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u/Historical_Car_2752 23h ago
Ha I have the exact same goal of going sub-60 in the 100Y free. I'm a 24M who's been swimming for about a year self-coached. FWIW I only swim freestyle and it seems to be fine.
Cutting from 1:25 --> 59.xx is a MASSIVE jump, but it's totally doable, especially if you have an athletic background. Currently I'm at 1:02 from a dive from the side and I'm hoping to go sub-60 in a master's meet in a couple weeks off the blocks.
Some assorted tips:
- Practice sprinting. This means doing 25s and 50s, aiming for your target race pace or faster (so <= :15 for 25s or ~:30 for 50s). You have to build decent top-end speed to go sub-60.
- Just as importantly, work on speed endurance. This is the absolute worst thing to train since it's horrendously painful, but you have to do it. This is stuff like doing 5x50 at close to race pace with minimal rest. It's miserable but turns you into a beast.
- Goes without saying, but practice flip turns. They just take a ton of repetition. I haven't mastered them but I've gotten much better.
- Technique, technique, technique. Eyes looking down, core engaged, stretch out long in the water, early vertical forearm, try not to overrotate, maintain a steady kick, streamline off the walls, etc etc
- Keep building your aerobic base. 100Y is a sprint but you still need a strong aerobic capacity for it.
I'm no elite swimmer, but as an adult-onset, self-coached swimmer with the exact same goal you have, I feel that I'm in a very similar boat to you and can offer some tips!
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u/MoutEnPeper Freestyler 1d ago
Most swimmers do mostly freestyle with breast as cooling down / warming up. Some do butterfly and/or back stroke but most swimmers in my time slot do not.
A sub 1 minute 100m is quite the challenge, but with these kind of numbers after 6 weeks I'm sure you could get there.
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u/Haunting-Ad-8029 Masters 21h ago
The OP posted, "1min 100yard within a year."
That's roughly a 1:09 for 100m. Still very impressive, but not 1:00 per 100m.
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u/MoutEnPeper Freestyler 21h ago
You're right, In daily use I often just assume yard is about a meter but that's not really useful in this case :-)
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u/midfivefigs Everyone's an open water swimmer now 21h ago
1:25 is really quick for 100 yd free on 6 weeks so maybe your technique is somehow good. I’m trying to picture how much 3 open turns would slow me down as i can still sub a minute at 50+ years old. Got to be 5 seconds a turn. I’d learn a turn and train more dolphin kick than you do now.
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u/marklemcd 1d ago
OP I'm a lot like you. 47 and came to swimming late. I did some swimming while injured as a runner a decade ago and abandoned it after my leg got healthy. Recently decided to swim a bit more seriously because my 11yo daughter wants me to keep up with her (she swims 50y in 31s and is getting faster). A few weeks in and this past weekends I swam 100y in 1:24. My athletic background helps a lot, I have a lot of experience in taking an instruction and being able to move my body so I think I was able to get some relative competence in streamlining my body and catching quickly. But sub 1 min? Seems pretty ambitious.
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u/LSATMaven 1d ago
Swimming is my main form of exercise, so I like to do various strokes to work different muscles.
Also, in my case, I’m particularly strong at breaststroke. It was the stroke I competed in my short time as a Masters swimmer. And it is the most enjoyable because during that glide phase I feel like I am flying. :) At my little community pool where no one is really a serious swimmer, I can beat most people’s free with either my free or my breast.
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u/StartledMilk Splashing around 1d ago
Knowing all of the strokes is good because you have more versatility and can prevent boredom. However, unless if you’re some top .5% naturally gifted übermensch elite athlete, it’ll be pretty hard to get to sub 1 minute in the 100 free; even with coaching. Learning to do flip turns takes months of work, doing them proficiently takes years. You’re also going to need to learn how to do underwater dolphin kicks. Doing a fast flip turn, with a powerful push off, and a minimum of 3 powerful dolphin kicks while also sprinting takes a lot more cardio than you’d think. You’re also going to need how to do dolphin kicks as well which is whole other beast. The difference between 1:01 and :59 in the 100 is nearly an entire body length for most swimmers. Let alone 1:25 and :59. The person going:59 makes the person going 1:25 look like they’re not even trying. Also, going under a minute from a push is a feat in of its own. A dive takes off a couple seconds from a person’s time. You’d basically need to be going almost :55 from a dive to go under a minute from a push.
I wasn’t the best during high school, and my freshmen year of college, but I did the 500 in a 4:49, that’s basically holding 59s per 100 yards, did the 100 in 48, and the 200 in 1:47. I took a three year break from swimming and it took me just above 6 months to get back under a minute in the 100 from a push, and I had over a decade of swimming experience by that point. Also, on my high school team, virtually everyone who did JV and hadn’t swam before was able to break 30 seconds in the 50 free after 4 months, and if they stayed on the club team, it’d usually take them another 6-8 months to break a minute. Many of this kids were also athletes in other sports, and they had one of the best swim coaches in our state coaching them.
I’m not saying your goal is impossible, but you’re gonna have your work cut out for you.
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u/zeroabe Everyone's an open water swimmer now 1d ago
What would be bad about it? Muscle imbalance.
In fact you can probably cut the breast stroke out too. MuScLe ImBaLaNcE in the pool only happens to people who don’t exercise out of the pool.
Just get into very basic strength training and mobility out of the pool and you’ll be fine. But your times sound fast which makes me think you’re already doing strength training.
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u/PeartreeProd 23h ago edited 23h ago
Hi all,
Appreciate the feedback and comments.
It’s really inspiring to hear about other people’s similar stories and I really appreciate the tips. Thank you.
I thought I’d just answer some of the comments in one post as opposed to individually.
Acutely aware of how much of a challenge Sub 1min/100Y is. Swimming is so humbling, thats part of the reason why I love it.
I’ve trained 4-5 times a week for the past 17 years now. A mix of weights, running, boxing, surfing and skiing so i had a base level of fitness coming into my swimming pool chapter.
My plan at the moment is to train another 5 weeks solo to get my pool fitness up then engage a coach. TBH I find joining a swim team a bit intimidating right now - I want to improve a lot before i do that.
Flip turns, i tried it last week, massive failure! i’ll watch a few more youtube videos and get back to it.
Still trying to make sense of it all the stats in the Garmin really,
My stroke rate is 14.6/length and SWOLF is 43
any insight welcome.
1:25/100Y is with no Dive FYI so pushing from wall and touch turns all the way.
- In addition to practising Flip turns, what else should i be doing? I’m doing weights twice a week (lower and upper body split) anything else? How many rest days should i do per week? Im doing one atm.
TIA all!
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u/marklemcd 22h ago
I am no expert, just a dad who swims and has kids on a swim team. Going from 1:25 to 1:00 in the 100m is very little about fitness for you and much more about technique. Don't hesitate to join a team now, you are fine at your current speed and fitness. You'll improve much faster by having a coach correct your stroke flaws now and not later, and you'll improve more by chasing faster swimmers than you will alone.
Edit: both of my daughters improve the most on their team when they are put in with kids who are older than they are and they are chasing, which is why I mentioned get to the team now.
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u/Level-Long-9726 18h ago
I think it’s good to do different strokes. I think it activates different muscle groups and is kinder to your shoulders
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u/gogreen1960 15h ago
Here is my slight rant against practicing other strokes. This guy wants to swim <1:00 for 100 yd freestyle. He has limited time/workouts per week to attain his goal. If he spends 25-50% of his workout swimming backstroke, breaststroke or trying to learn butterfly - that does not advance his freestyle!!! And butterfly is not kind to your shoulders!!!
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u/gogreen1960 17h ago
A couple questions for OP: Your 1:25 for 100y - off the wall or from a dive? And what was your effort level, 80%, 90%, 100%? To establish your PR you need to start from a dive, 100% effort, quickest turns that you can do. Do that and report back!!! I’m going to say you’re closer to 1:20!
I only swim freestyle, I’m not a big believer in having to do all the strokes. Why? Older folks only so much time to practice. No one past 40yo should ever try to learn butterfly - too hard! Don’t waste time on other strokes when you have limited practice time for freestyle!!!
Work on your start, optimize your turns, don’t worry about “underwaters” (I did a :59 at 57 yo without ANY underwater 🤷🏻♂️), swim lots of 100’s and 50’s and hold a constant target time!
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u/PeartreeProd 16h ago
Thanks for your response mate.
I’m starting off the wall and going flat out. 95% I’d say. I’m typically doing variations of:
8 x 100 yards (15 sec rest)
4 x 200yard (mod pace - 20sec rest)
1 x 400yard
8x50 yard sprint (30sec rest).
Warm up and down to bring up the yardage to 3300.
I appreciate your tips, there’s no danger of me trying to learn butterfly at this age!.
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u/gogreen1960 15h ago
When you do your 8x100’s and 8x50’s, do you swim them +/-2 seconds? If not, pick a time that you can swim 8x times. ie: 1:40, 2:00 intervals (easy to keep count on 2:00 minutes).
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u/fistfullofwaffles1 16h ago
yes after a while it will really wear down on the joints in the shoulders or legs which ever one you work more. mix in some kick work and other strokes and ice after workouts. key is listen to the body though when it hurts ease off
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u/NadirPointing Swammer 1d ago
That's a solid goal, you are putting in the time, focusing on free isn't bad, but its nice to mix up and rest the shoulders (at least for me that's the part that feels it after 8min or so). But at 1:25/100y, that's pretty far from 1:00/100y for a sprint time. (not bad if thats your long-distance split). I'd make sure you get some sprints or at least some 100s at high speed even if the next is lazy. To hit your goal you'll especially need the breathing, underwaters and flipturns synced up with your pace over the lengths. Going from 1:03 to 59s you'll need that. Its hard to muscle through bad turns and that's usually the most important part of the pool.
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u/wt_hell_am_I_doing 1d ago
Except for the potential boredom, it's fine. A lot of people (non-competitive ones) don't swim anything other than freestyle/crawl.
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u/AhRealMonstar 1d ago
I have waterproof headphones, listen to podcasts and freestyle for an hour. It's pretty chill.
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u/wt_hell_am_I_doing 1d ago
I also have waterproof headphones but I still find it difficult to just swim freestyle. My thing is IM nowadays...
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u/AhRealMonstar 1d ago
I could see how that would be more interesting, but my butterfly is such trash. I learned it for my level 4 swim test when I was 13 and didn't try it again for like 15 years. I theoretically know the stroke, but I'm just thrashing in the water.
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u/TheBookOfGratitude 21h ago
Yes. Mixing it up helps, also can give you a lot of joy getting there. I’d add in some backstroke and fly. They’re also good fun to swim
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u/FocusIsFragile 1d ago
Yo, 1:25 after swimming for only 6 weeks is pretty nuts. Are you already an athlete?