I recently started swimming again. It's both rewarding and frustrating. I'm to the point now where "swim as far as I can without dying; rest, repeat" is no longer a good workout plan.

My last workout was 1700 yards, and I did most of it in chunks of 200 yards or more, but I could barely lift my arms by the end. I have good form, and I've been working out (outside the pool) for a long time, so it's now just a matter of getting my swimming muscles back in shape. Breathing is also an issue, but it's getting easier.

My stroke is backstroke, but the pool I go to doesn't have any flags; the lane markers don't even change color. There are no distinguishing marks on the ceiling or walls that I could use, either. It's annoying.

Front crawl and breaststroke are all right, but it's hard for me to get a good, well-rounded workout in with just those two. And butterfly is completely out of the question still.

So, ideas for a simple, <2000 yard workout for endurance and breathing? I'm trying to be very careful with my shoulders, too. I have never actually injured them, but I know it's a real possibility if I get too zealous.

Thanks!

try 20 75s divided by stroke im order 1 kick 3 drill 1 swim

Thank you! Apparently 75 is the magic number. Just enough to get a workout without being too much to get some yards in. I actually did a total of 2000 yards today. Best yet!

Here's a workout I do on down days:

Warm-Up:
200 Choice

Main Set: x2-3
2 x 100FR on 1:30
2 x 50FR on :45
4 x 75FR on 1:15
4 x 50FR on :45
1 x 200FR on 3:00

Cool-Down:
200 Choice

The main set can be done 2-3 times depending on your level. 2 times through is 2400 yards and 3 times through is 3400 yards. The pace should be around 80-90%. Hoped that helped.

I think I might have a suggestion that's a little less monotonous than the first and a bit more realistic than the second if you've been out of the pool a while. You already know your yardage ceiling is about 2000 yards, so try to wrap as many different things into the same group of sets. An example work out would double or even triple up drills with one another. I am a big proponent of hypoxic sets because they bring you to fast twitch muscle exhaustion faster, but they also improve your breathing and lung capacity exponentially. I would suggest giving something like this a try:
Warm-up: 200 swim, 100 kick, 100 pull, 2 minutes treading water. (nice and easy, just get things flowing)
Hypoxic/Drill set: 10 x 100, on 2:00 (or so). Alternate hypoxic and drill sets, i.e. hypoxic 100's breathing by 25 every 3 strokes, 5 strokes, 7, 9. Drill sets, your choice (catchup, fingertip drag, etc)
Leg exhaustion: 10 x 25 sprint free kick (on your side, alternating each side), :05 rest (this will also help you to regain your breathing control)
Distance: 300, :45 rest; 200, building throughout
Cooldown: 2 x 25 underwaters, 200 easy

It's all about efficiency and maximizing what you get out of your yardage. I knew plenty of guys who dominated at the ncaa level only averaging 3-5k per day because they swam smart, not hard. If you can maximize the utility of each set by involving as many parameters of difficulty as possible, you'll see real improvement, and pretty soon, you'll see that yardage ceiling get blown off the building.

Good luck!
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