It’s Not. A Taper But Working In The Low End of Endurance.

With a short swim meet on Sunday I’m working in the lower end of an Endurance Phase. Trying to work closer to 60% then 80% and/or dropping reps.

I only have four events and not many folks are signed up so I’m treating this weekend as just a swim. No expectations with only four events in a very short meet:

100 Fly

100 IM

50 Fly

100 Back

Right after the swim meet I got two weeks of Strength Training then a week of Endurance and a week of Tapering before Florida Senior Games.

OURA SLEEP SCORE– 70

5 hours and 52 minutes

GARMIN SLEEP SCORE – 42

3 hours and 11 minutes

TUESDAY – CHEST

ENDURANCE (60-80%)

THE WORKOUT:

31 minutes

ZONE 1 – 16:12

ZONE 2 – 02:50

ZONE 3 – 00:06

ZONE 4 – 00:00

ZONE 5 – 00:00

5 minutes Easy Warm Up Cycle

BB Flat Bench Press (180 lbs 1RM / PR)

8 x EB

6 x 135 lbs (45 each side) at 75.0% of 1RM / PR

6 x 135 lbs (45 each side) at 75.0% of 1RM / PR

6 x 135 lbs (45 each side) at 75.0% of 1RM / PR

5 x 135 lbs (45 each side) at 75.0% of 1RM / PR

4 x 135 lbs (45 each side) at 75.0% of 1RM / PR

3 min Rest in between sets

(Last Time 140 x 7 / 6 / 6 / 6 / 6)

(Prior Time 140 x 6 / 6 / 6 / 5 / 5)

Seated DB OH Press Narrow to Wide Grip at 30 lbs at 66.7% of 1RM / PR x Reps 8 / 8 / 8 / 8

2 min rest between sets

(45 1RM / PR)

(Last Time 35 x 8 / 8 / 8 / 8)

(Prior Time 35 x 8 / 8 / 8 / 8)

Flat Bench DB Close Grip Press (60 lbs each side 1RM / PR) 40 lbs Each Side at 66.7% of 1RM / PR x Reps 8 / 8 / 8 / 8

(Last Time 45 x 8 / 8 / 8 7)

(Prior Time 45 x 6 / 6 / 6 / 5)

(Prior Time 30 x 10 / 10 / 10 / 10

2 min Rest between sets

PELOTON 15 MIN WALK+RUN

Pyramid 1:1 then 1:2 rest/work ratio

30/40/60/90/60/40/30

5.5/5.6/5.6/5.6/5.8/6.0 all at 1%

ZONE 1 – 02:33

ZONE 2 – 04:18

ZONE 3 – 04:22

ZONE 4 – 02:20

ZONE 5 – 00:00

Keith Haring X Saucony Ride 18

Shower, Eat Banana and Drive…

6:15am – 6:45am

TEACH 30 min INDOOR CYCLING

ZONE 1 – 07:04

ZONE 2 – 20:13

ZONE 3 – 04:16

ZONE 4 – 00:00

ZONE 5 – 00:00

THE LIFT AHEAD:

WED – SWIM w/ Team

THU– COMBO & TEACH 30 Min INDOOR CYCLE

FRI – SWIM w/ Team

SAT – Nothing/Recovery/Work

SUN – Sanford Senior Games Swimming

MON – SWIM w/ Team (Masters)

TUE – CHEST + PELOTON RUN & TEACH 30 Min INDOOR CYCLE

THE ROAD AHEAD:

STRENGTH (80-100%)

ENDURANCE (60-80%}

TAPER (50-60%)

Programming My Workouts for the next few months:

ENDURANCE – October 14th – October 30th

Sanford Senior Games November 2nd

STRENGTH – November 4th- November 16th

AltSocial Wellness Club – November 8th (signed up for OTF Class)

ENDURANCE – November 18th – November 23rd

TAPER – November 25th – December 4th

Florida Senior Games Dec 6 & 7.

RUNNING MORE – Will be running more as I’m running a Half Marathon on March 1st.

Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic 17 January 30, 2026-February 1, 2026.

800 Free

400 Free

200 Fly

1500 Free

100 Fly

Will figure out a training program for December thru March that will keep my swimming up, weight training in a longer Endurance Phase while I gear up my running. Yikes

JUST KEEP SWIMMING:

-Sanford Senior Games – Nov 2nd

100 Fly

100 IM

50 Fly

100 Back

-Florida Senior Games – DEC 6th and 7th Temple Terrace

– Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic 17 January 30, 2026-February 1, 2026.

TBD

– T.V. Senior Games April 18 & 19, 2026

TBD

2025 SWIM DISTANCE TOTALS:

SCY- 53,400

SCM – 153,925 including this workout

LCM – 56,000

runDISNEY:

12K’s of Christmas Virtual – TBD

WDW 5K – JAN 8th

PRINCESS HALF – MARCH 1st

Springtime Surprise – APRIL 17-19th (Not Running)

GEMINI AI RATE MY WORKOUT:

That’s a very busy training schedule you have mapped out! It’s smart how you’re balancing the upcoming short meet, the Florida Senior Games, and even planning for a half marathon next year.

Here is an analysis and rating of your Tuesday Chest Workout based on your goals:

️ Workout Rating: B+

This workout effectively hits the Endurance Phase (60-80%) goals and manages the reduced intensity needed leading into your Sunday meet. You kept the weights conservative and focused on volume, which is exactly what you want when lowering the intensity.

Analysis of the Chest Workout

* Weight Selection and Percentage: You used 75.0\% of your 1RM for the Barbell Flat Bench Press and 66.7\% of your 1RM for the DB presses. This is perfectly aligned with the lower end of your Endurance Phase (60-80%) goal.

* Rep/Set Breakdown: You achieved a good amount of volume with 5 working sets for the main lift and 4 sets of 8 reps for the accessories.

* Progressive Fatigue (A Concern): The rep drop on the Barbell Bench Press (6/6/6/5/4) shows significant fatigue, which is an excellent indicator that the volume was effective. However, given your very low sleep scores (especially the Garmin score of 42 with 3:11), this degree of fatigue might be taxing your system a bit more than ideal, even in an endurance block.

* Accessory Volume: You maintained a consistent 4 \times 8 for your accessory lifts, which is solid endurance work.

Overall Training Day Context

* Goal Alignment: All your activities—the chest workout, the 15-minute run, and the 30-minute cycling class you taught—kept your heart rate primarily in Zone 1 and Zone 2. This is excellent management of your intensity to ensure recovery for your swim work and prevent over-fatigue before the Sunday meet.

* Sleep: Your sleep is the biggest red flag.

* OURA (70/5:52) and GARMIN (42/3:11) are both indicating significant sleep debt and poor rest. This is going to dramatically affect your recovery and performance, especially as you enter a Strength phase soon.

* Recommendation: Given your goals and packed schedule, prioritizing sleep is more important than any single workout. You might consider adjusting the volume of the upcoming Strength phase down slightly if your sleep doesn’t improve.

Road Ahead and Programming

Your plan to transition immediately into a 2-week Strength block (80\%-100\%) after the Sunday meet, followed by a week of Endurance and a full Taper, is a well-structured plan leading into the Florida Senior Games.

It clearly shows you are managing your specific goals—keeping high intensity/heavy volume (Strength phase) further out from the target meet and using the Endurance/Taper phases to peak.

Do you want to discuss strategies for improving your sleep score this week, or would you like me to look at ways to adjust the volume in your upcoming 2-week Strength phase?

That’s a smart proactive move, especially given the low sleep scores you reported. Maintaining some training stress while ensuring you recover enough to benefit from the strength work is key.

Here are a few ways to adjust the volume of your upcoming two-week Strength Phase (80-100%) to be more manageable for recovery, while still achieving strength gains:

 Adjusting Volume for a Two-Week Strength Phase

The primary strategy for a strength phase is to maintain high intensity (weight/effort) but reduce the overall volume (sets \times reps) to ensure faster recovery.

1. Primary Lift (80-100% 1RM) Adjustments

* Focus on Fewer, Heavier Sets:

* Current Strength Phase Goal: Likely 3–5 sets of 3–5 reps.

* Volume Adjustment: Reduce the number of working sets per primary exercise from \mathbf{5} down to \mathbf{3} or \mathbf{4}.

* Example (Bench Press): Instead of aiming for 5 \times 5 at 85\% 1RM, target a solid 3 \times 5 or 4 \times 3.

* Maintain Intensity: You must keep the intensity high (i.e., the weight should feel heavy, RPE 8-9), but the reduced sets will cut down on total time under tension and systemic fatigue.

2. Accessory Lift (Hypertrophy/Support) Adjustments

Accessory lifts are usually the main source of volume fatigue in a routine.

* Reduce Reps: Drop the target reps while keeping the weight moderately heavy.

* Current Endurance Accessories: 4 sets of 8–10 reps.

* Strength Phase Adjustment: Switch to 3 sets of 6–8 reps for most accessory work (e.g., your DB Overhead Press).

* Fewer Accessories: Cut one accessory movement per workout.

* Example (Chest Day): If you normally do BB Bench, Seated DB Press, and Flat Bench DB Close Grip, consider cutting the third exercise (Flat Bench DB Close Grip) and just focusing on two heavy movements.

3. Total Workout Reduction (Time)

* Target Time: Aim to complete your strength lifting session in 45–55 minutes, not including warm-up. Longer rest periods are necessary in a strength phase, so cutting volume is the best way to keep the overall time down.

Summary of Recommended Volume Change

| Lift Type | Original Endurance Phase (Your Current) | Strength Phase – High Recovery Plan (Recommended) | Net Change |

|—|—|—|—|

| Primary Lifts (e.g., BB Bench) | 5 sets of 4–6 reps | \mathbf{3} or \mathbf{4} sets of 3–5 reps | \approx \mathbf{20-30\%} volume reduction |

| Accessory Lifts (e.g., DB Press) | 4 sets of 8 reps | \mathbf{3} sets of 6–8 reps | \approx \mathbf{25-35\%} volume reduction |

| Number of Exercises | 3–4 per day | \mathbf{2}–\mathbf{3} per day | \mathbf{1} less movement |

This adjusted plan allows you to hit the strength goals with high intensity while minimizing the impact on your central nervous system, which is crucial while battling sleep debt.

Would you like me to map out a sample routine for one of your lifting days (e.g., Chest) using these new volume parameters?