What is a good swimming training schedule?

Training schedule, to better myself in swimming?

• i train 4 times a week, twice in the morning and twice at night for an hour each session. i see all my friends moving up and getting better, i am not getting any better. my times are average not terrible and not great, but i never improve, which means my times are getting worse. i want to get better, so i was wondering what i had to do. i have access to a pool just down the road, maybe 30 seconds drive, 10 minutes walk down the road. i have access to a treadmill as well, i have a bike and am thinking of taking up karate. could someone give me a ruff idea of what days i should be doing what and for how long ? thanks i hope you no what i mean XD

• Answer:

  To increase your speed, you need one or more of a few things. muscle mass, technique improvement, and motivation. If you're part of a program, your coach should be able to isolate where your improvement is needed. If you have a coach and they aren't giving you that feedback, you should find another program. To a certain extent, you can improve your technique and build muscle at the same time by increasing your workouts. You can also isolate the stroke segments using pull floats/paddles and kickboards/fins. Either way, I can pretty much guarantee your stroke and your times will improve. You can also think about cross training - karate would be ok, but I think I would do cycling or running and also would think about some moderate weight lifting. Yoga would also be good. Motivation might be the hardest thing to improve on. You need to know that a. you can go faster and b. you are willing to keep working to improve. As far as four hours per week as a swimming workout, I don't think it's enough if you're serious. That's more than enough for a healthy body and fitness, but most serious swimmers probably do at least twice that amount.