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Part 1: Performance is directly related to the ability of the body to use its energy systems.

Have you thought about in-performance recovery while planning your workout? This is extremely important to incorporate by emphasizing race pace work, proper rest intervals and mechanics especially the recovery phase of each stroke. Recovery occurs very rapidly within the time frame of the recovery part of a freestyle stroke or with a :05-:10 second rest interval during a set. The training must be high quality simulating the intensity needed in a race. You must train your body mentally and physically to adapt to the demands you intend to ask. Training an old-fashioned lactate set of 6 x 100 from the block all out will not help your swimmer prepare for the quality of work (demands on energy systems) needed for a 100 sprint in a meet. “Maximal lactate capacities are not taxed in swimming races and so need not to be trained with many lactate sets for maximal lactate tolerance capabilities. The stimulation of the alactacid energy system with more appropriate and beneficial race pace training is likely to be more than enough and would not demand overload training”. How does this affect yardage?  How much yardage is enough?  How long is a good practice?  I think we might need to really rethink these questions.

I encourage all, as I am doing, to really research and understand energy systems and apply it to your daily training. “The within stroke recovery phenomenon is another contributing factor that facilitates continuous high level efforts in a localized body area throughout a swimming race”.  Understanding the recovery phase of each stroke is extremely important to teach. Each swimmer must understand this concept. A lot of swimmers work the recovery phase of the stroke too hard which will not help in-performance recovery.  Teaching proper mechanics of underwater efficiency and workload are essential.

Your training program must include a lot of high quality work with shorter rest intervals of recovery. The higher quality and shorter interval format mimics races thus preparing your body to handle the demand required on the energy systems. The energy requirements of a single race are vastly different than the requirements of an extended practice session.  The alactacid system is the main source of energy needed for individual races. Maximal work and recovery are quick and understanding how this works will help each of us plan practices better.

If you expect swimmers to swim certain distances underwater in races then this must be trained at the same intensity needed in a meet. All underwater and surface requirements must be incorporated into all practices. Your athlete’s bodies must train all race specific requirements so that all energy delivery differences become fully trained and suitable for races. If you haven’t trained mentally and physically then you can’t expect it when needed.

Resting is not the largest part of tapering but creating the demand needed from the energy systems to recover during performances.  Race demand qualities during practices and especially during taper have to be maintained. I hope this article has spurred your desire to do your own research and rethink the planning of your practices. Race Pace and recovery are integral parts of the Faster Swimming 23 and 14 week programs. The taper process is a 7 week program creating the demand needed on your body’s energy systems to create the desired results during champs!

 

This article is created from the readings of:  Swimming Science Bulletin Number 39Produced, edited and copyrighted by Professor Emeritus Brent S. Rushall, San Diego State UniversitySwimming Energy Training in the 21st Century: The Justification For Radical ChangesBrent S. Rushall, Ph.D.,R.Psy

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INTRO: Proving Traditional Practice Techniques with Science Know What You’re Doing and Why. An Ongoing Discussion

There is a lot to consider when planning workouts for your swimmers and we are going to address many of the issues listed in this newsletter in the weeks to follow. Pool space, practice time constraints and length of the training season make it very difficult to incorporate all the following aspects that are needed to add to your daily, weekly and seasonal plan. It will call on all of us to rethink how we coach each of our swimmers.

What is the appropriate yardage amount needed daily and during each phase of a season?

Why are coaches so worried about yardage numbers?

Why do coaches feel there is one formula for success for the whole team?

How do you know when you have reached enough yardage/work for each swimmer to succeed?

Are there really aerobic and anaerobic phases of swimming?

Do we train fast twitch and slow twitch muscles differently during the season or do they work and recover together all the time?

Do we train males and females differently?

How important is recovery in swimming and what exactly does that entail?

Is recovery time different for each stroke, upper body and lower body swimming?

Does recovery happen all the time and how important is recovery?

When is it time to stop training your swimmers each day?

How does dryland and weight training affect the demands of swimming and how do you incorporate this into your training?

Do we totally understand all the energy systems used during each set, repeat or practice?

Is the energy system functioning sport specific?

What percentage of kicking is needed during each practice and each part of the season?

We all understand that hard work equals success but it is time to be more specific. Training has to be Race Pace specific and must simulate the exact demands physically and mentally as in competition. Recovery must happen all the time during practices and we need to understand it better and express this to our swimmers. The amount of recovery and kicking during practices will lower yardage and a reason why a lot of coaches don’t spend time incorporating these important parts of training.

What does taper mean to you? Why is resting a swimmer scary? If we understand the science behind it then our minds should be at ease. A lot of coaches treat taper as a short part at the end of a long season of hard work. Developing strength, speed and power should be developed all season long and emphasized during taper. What really happens during a taper or should we approach tapering differently?We understand the basic concepts of work and recovery equals growth in speed and power but do we really understand the exact science behind it?

All the above mentioned issues are physical so what are the mental factors in training? It is a lot more than just pumping up your swimmers and motivating emotionally. There are a lot of physiological and neuromuscular patterns to consider. We all understand muscle memory so how about the mental aspect of repeats and how it works in regards to workload and recovery demands.

It is time to step up our reasons and understanding why we incorporate sets in our training. We need to really understand workload needed for specific race pace work, the interval or send offs needed to maintain work, recovery needed for repeats within a set and between sets, etc..

These are the topics we’ll tackle of the next several months. I encourage all of you to participate in this process each week with feedback and experience. I do know that I will learn more about our great sport.

Thanks for your interest in Fasterswimming.com

Brad

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Open Water Swim Training – Day #20

In order to best prepare you for an open water swim you obviously need to compete in a few open water swims in advance to the BIG SWIM. You will need to be able to maintain your body heat, hydration and energy needs so don’t just swim a lot in the pool without researching your swim well. Remember to take into consideration water temperature, currents, potential storms or intense heat or cold temps for the day.

If the majority of your training is in the pool then you need to train as the previous workouts are written. You can’t train at one speed because that won’t be a reality in an open swim. Your legs need to be strong and your kicking abilities are more important than you can imagine. The variable speed training and tarzan swimming incorporated in the workouts are key to changing your swimming direction, finding out where you are in the water compared to your competition and navigating your course. The continuous heart rate changes in these practices will prepare you body for different energy needs in your race.

You need to understand pacing for your race and how to conserve your energy when needed. Race pace is a huge and essential part of the Faster Swimming programs. The beginning of the race is crazy until the field thins out and you can establish your pace then you need to be able to kick it in for the finish and Faster Swimming will prepare you.

You will need to rest for the big swim so understanding cycles of training will help prepare you for your competition.

This is the fourth installation of the 15th practice session for our Open Water Swim Training example.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll post at regular intervals various days of the training.  The entire training session can be found in our 23 Week Training Session, which can be found here.

Day #20   Mid Distance and Open Water

Warm up:  12 x 50   25 kick / 25 swim  @ 75%

1-6 quick starts, 7-12 no grab starts

25 easy

Set #1  swim set

            32 x 25   descend 1-8 and repeat :05rest

2 x 200 with 6 fly kicks off each wall VS by 25   80% – 85%  :10rest

24 x 25 descend 1-6 and repeat :05rest

3 x 200 with 8 fly kicks off each wall   :15rest

VS by 25  80% – 85% with inc stk cnt by 50

16 x 25 @ 500 RP on :30

400 with 6 fly kicks off each wall VS by 50  80% – 85% with inc stk cnt by 100

1:00rest

8 x 25  @ 200 RP on :35

6 x 75 recovery on 1:10

Set #2  kick set  :10rest

            12 x 75  1-4 build within each 75, VS by 25  70% – 80% – 90%

5-8 VS by 25  80% – 100% – 80%

9-12 @ 95%

6 x 50   1-3 VS by 25  75% – 95%

4-6 @ 95%

25 easy

Set #3  

            6 x 50 no grab starts  25 tarzan sprint / 25  5 up tarzan 2 down easy

25 easy

Set #4  freestyle paddle swim set

            2(8 x 200)  1st set all on 2:15 +/-

100 easy after 1st set

2nd set 1 on 2:20

2 on 2:10

1 on 2:20

2 on 2:05

1 on 2:20

1 sub 1:55

4 x 100 recovery on 1:35

Total yardage = 10,125

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Open Water Swim Training – Day #15

This is the fourth installation of the 15th practice session for our Open Water Swim Training example.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll post at regular intervals various days of the training.  The entire training session can be found in our 23 Week Training Session, which can be found here.

Watch the workout progression as we add yardage and change up the sets.

Day #15  Mid distance and Open Water

 

Warm up:

6 x50 all quick starts 25 kick / 25 swim heart rate above 20

6 x50 no grab starts 25 kick / 25 Tarzan sprint heart rate above 25

25 easy

Set #1  swim set  :15rest

            3 x 350  VS by 50 80% – 85%, inc stk cnt

3 x300  @ 90%

3 x 200  1st one @ 85% then descend

3 x 100 on1:20  sub 1:05 – 1:10 +/-

6 x 75 choice recovery swim on 1:10

Set #2  freestyle kick set  :15rest

            4 x 125 @ 80%

4 x75  VS by 25  80% – 100% – 80%

8 x50  VS by 25, 1-4  100% – 70%, 5-8  70% – 100%

100 easy

 

Set #3  swim set – VS by 50 with inc stk cnt  80% -90%

            2 x 100  on 1:20

2 x100  on 1:20

2 x100  on 1:30

2 x 100  on 1:10

100 easy

2 x 100  on 1:15

2 x 100  on 1:15

2 x 100  on 1:25

2 x100  on 1:05

100easy

100 on1:10

100 on1:10

100 on1:20

100 on1:00

100 easy

400 paddleswim for time

100easy

Set #4  kick set

            8 x 50  @ 90%   :10rest

100 easy

Set #5  complete this swim set three times

              50  @ 500 RP on 1:00

150 build to previous 50 RP by the last 50 with inc stk cnt  on 2:30

200 hold the 50 RP thru the whole swim with same stk cnt on 3:15

4 x 50 @200 RP on 1:15

 

100 easyon 2:00 into next time thru

Set #6  Tarzan set

              4 x 75  on 1:15 – 1:30

25   5 up Tarzan sprint / 2 downeasy

25  Tarzan sprint 6 strokes breakout then easy to wall

25  easy

Total yardage =10,025

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Open Water Swim Training – Day #10

This is the third installation of the 10th practice session for our Open Water Swim Training example.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll post at regular intervals various days of the training.  The entire training session can be found in our 23 Week Training Session, which can be found here.

Watch the workout progression as we add yardage and change up the sets.

Day #10      Mid distance and Open water

Warm up:  swim set

                 start into 400  @ 70%

3 x200 VS by 50  70% – 75% inc stk cnt by50  :10rest

4 x150 @ 75%  :10rest

5 x 100  negative split with open turn to getsplits  (:15rest between 100’s)

1st 50 @ 75%, 2nd 50 @ 500 RP

6 x50  VS by 25  75% – 85% :10rest

25easy

 

Set #1      kick set – complete this set twice  :15 rest

                 200 @ 75%

6 x75  VS  25 @ 80%, 50 @ 100%

50easy kick

2 x50 sprint kick

50easy swim after each time

 

Set #2       freestyle paddle swim set

                 7 x 100 on 1:25 @ :05 over500 RP  inc stk cnt by 50

into

2 x200 on 2:15 hold above pace

50easy

4 x100 on 1:20  @ 500 RP  inc stk cnt each 25

into

3 x200 on +/- 2:10  should be difficult @90%

50easy

3 x100 on 1:35  just make send off  inc stk cnt each 25

into

4 x200 FIP   +/- 2:05  @ 500 RP

6 x75 on 1:10 recovery just make send off

 

Set #3       kick set

                 12 x 50  @ 85% :10 rest

50easy

Total yardage = 8,525

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Open Water Swim Training – Day #5

This is the second post of the 5th practice session for our Open Water Swim Training example.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll post at regular intervals various days of the training.  The entire training session can be found in our 23 Week Training Session, which can be found here.

Watch the workout progression as we add yardage and change up the sets.

Day #5    mid distance and open water

 

Warm up: alternate no grab starts with quick starts by 50

 

                  8 x 50 coaches send off all from start

1-4  5 Tarzan sprint break outstrokes then easy to wall repeat each 25

5-8  25 Tarzan / 25   3 up Tarzan 4 down easy

25 easy

Set #1       kick set

 

                 3 x 300  kick

#1 VS by 150  75% – 80%

#2 VS by 100  80% – 85% – 80%

#3 VS by 50  90% – 100%

50easy

Set #2      complete this swim set three times eachtransition

 

                2 x 200 on 2:50  VS by 25 80% – 85% with inc stk cnt

25 @90% on :25 into 25 @ 80%                              total 50 on 1:00

2 x 25@ 90% on :25 into 50 @ 85% inc stk cnt     total 100 on 1:45

50  @ 90% on :45 into 50 @ 85% incstk cnt           total 100 on 1:45

2 x50  @ 90% on :45 into 100  @ 90%                    total 200 on 2:45

inc stk cnt each 25

100 @ 90% on 1:20 into 100 @ 90%      into 50 easy

second time add :05-:10 to total swim sendoffs and increase effort by 5%

 

               third time thru add another :05 to send offs and sprint! 

Set #3    

               4 x 200  :10rest

25 kick @ 85% / 25 swim with ½ way fly kick off each wall @ 70%

Set #4     freestyle set paddles if desired –continuous on send offs

                remember to descend pace per100 thru set based on ability

               500 @ 5:50 speed +/-1:10pace per 100 on 6:30

6 x100  odds make send off, evens @ +/- 1:08pace per 100 on 1:25

1:30rest

500 @ 5:30 speed, +/- 1:06 pace per 100 on 6:00

4 x 1001-2 just make send off, 3-4 @ +/- 1:04 pace per 100 on 1:20

100easy on 2:00

500 @ 5:10 speed @ +/- 1:02 pace per 100 on 6:00

4 x 100recovery swim on 1:35

 

Total yardage = 8,475

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Open Water Swim Training – Day #1

This is the first practice session for our Open Water Swim Training example.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll post at regular intervals various days of the training.  The entire training session can be found in our 23 Week Training Session, which can be found here.

Watch the workout progression as we add yardage and change up the sets.

Day #1         mid distance and open water 

Warm up:

                 400 swim  :10rest @ 70%

25easy if started from block

Set #1

                6 x 300  swim descend with send off

1-2 on 4:30  25 kick / 50 swim

3-4 on 4:15  25 kick / 50 swim

5     on 4:00  swim

6     swim sub 3:45  inc stk cnt each 25 of each stroke

1:00rest

3(3 x100)  pattern below is to be completedeach set and descend with send off

1  kick odd 25’s and swim even 25’s @ 80%

2  reverse from number 1 @ 80%

3  swim @ 90%

the above 9 x 100 are continuous withsend off

set #1on 1:40, set #2 on 1:35, #3 on 1:30

:30restfrom last set

2 x 100swim on 1:30 @ 400 IM race pace

:30restfrom send off

2 x 100 swim on 1:15 @ 400 IM race pace

:30restfrom send off

100swim @ 100% timed from push

50 easy

Set #2  paddle freestyle swim set except the50’s  – set to be completed 3 times

             3 x 200  negative split with open turn at 100,  2nd 100 @ 500 race pace  on 2:25

2 x175  1st 100 @ 80%, 2nd75 @ 85% with inc stk cnt

1st time thru on 2:20, 2nd time thru on 2:15, 3rdtime thru on 2:05

2 x100  @ 500 race pace with inc stk cnt

1st time on 1:15, 2nd time on 1:10, 3rdtime on 1:00

50 easy kick on 1:30

2 x 75swim make send off on 1-2 times thru, 3rd as indicated

1st time on :55, 2ndtime :50, 3rd time on 1:15 sub :45

:30restfrom send off

100 on1:30 sub 1:00 +/- @ 500 race pace

50 easykick on 1:30 all three times

Set #3

            3 x 100 on 2:00 VS Tarzan by 50  80% – 90% (+/-18 stks, +/-22 stks by 50)

4 x 25 on:35  Tarzan 3 sprint stks then 1 downfree easy – repeat

100 easy

Total yardage = 8,525

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Open Water Swim Training – Focus & Requirements

Its summer time in the northern hemisphere, and that means outdoor swimming.  For the next few weeks, we’re going to discuss training for open water training.  The list below represents both initial instructions and keyword phrases used in the 6 week period of the 23 Week Training Manual which focus on 10,000 yard workouts, in preparation for a seasonal training period for high school as well as open water swim training.

Here is the link to our 23 Week Training manual:

ASSUMPTIONS FOR OPEN WATER AND DISTANCE SWIMMING

1. The understanding of the physical demands to complete the20 workouts.

2. This is only a training aid for longer swimming.

3. Test yourself with a short open water swim previous to the 4 week enhancement.

 

SWIMMING FOCUS, REQUIREMENTS AND INDEX

1. Start with one fly kick off each wall for the first week and increase accordingly.

2. Incorporate no breathing into or off of turns and the last5 yards of the finish.

3. Emphasize correct spikes (streamline).

4. Emphasis on quality of workouts as written. Recover, sprint, variable speed as

indicated.

5. Percentage sign (%) means effort on set – 75% effort

6. RP stands for race pace

7. VS stands for variable speed

8. inc stk cnt stands for incremental stroke count

9. FIP stands for fastest interval(send off) possible

10. _ up Tarzan _down easy stands for  _ strokes up sprint Tarzan then _ strokes down

easy freestyle, the underscore is for variable patterns of strokes

11. Remember to adjust all send offs and rest intervals based on your ability

12. Try to achieve stroke count sets.

13. Racing and overspeed work, see outline and practice techniques.

14. Alternate upper and lower body with in sets or by sets.

15. Turns, starts(relay) and finish work.

16. Introduce paddle and other equipment in workouts.

17. Varied Tarzan work, see outline and practice techniques.

18. Complete variable speed work for swimming and kicking as close to percentages

indicated as possible.

19. Kicking and Race Race are specific during the season.

20. The percentage of kicking per day is indicated in weekly outlines.

21. Follow yardage within reason. Don’t get wrapped up in this as it is

only aguideline. I’d rather you attempt to achieve all the sets while maintaining

quality. Adjustyour yardage as needed.

The goal of 10,000 yard workouts are not for everyone but those that can physically and mentally handle the workload. If you need to,alternate upper and lower body thru the sets as your body tells you. Try to end every day with some speed work followed by a long enough warm down to feel better. You may split this up with doubles. Please adjust accordingly.

Quality is the main focus while completing sets as written. Please read your body and adjust the amount of sprinting and recovery you need. If a swimmer needs more recovery to achieve the goals of each set then the swimmer and or coach need to communicate to each other. Monitor your heart rate to help you decide if you are resting enough or too much. You’ll eventually be able to tell if you need more sprinting or recovery. We are now focusing on speed and power. Trust you have done enough and only you are the judge.

READ YOUR BODY AND REMEMBER TO ALWAYS PRIME YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM WITH RACE PACE, TARZAN AND VARIABLE SPEED WORK EVEN IF YOU HAVE A FULL RECOVERY DAY.

Please email me with any questions along the way. brad@fasterswimming.com

If you’re looking for open water swim meets, please visit USMS to find a meet closest to you.  Follow this link:

http://www.usms.org/comp/event_search.php?action=filter&AdvancedSearch=1&SortBy=U3RhcnREYXRl&MeetTitle=&SeriesTitle=&CourseLD=1&CourseOW=1&Championship=include&Recognized=1&NonUSMS=1&International=1&Clinic=1&bsmSelectbsmContainer0=

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Seasonal Planning

When writing your seasonal plan you must start with your taper. What dates are your championship meets, yes meets? You don’t train all season/year just for one meet. Tapering is up to a 7 week process that prepares an athlete for multiple meets, not a one or two week resting process after yardage overload and sprinting. We will discuss the training of energy systems and how that works with race pace sets throughout your season and of course the importance of recovery.

Tapering reinforces race pace(goal times), increases aerobic capacity, solidifies energy system demands needed for race pace swims and increases strength. This process also includes tapering your dryland and weightlifting programs. Since you are including these programs for their strength benefits you must continue them through your season and actually taper these workouts as well. You want your swimmers as strong as possible at the right time which makes it a huge mistake to stop strength programs weeks out. Your goal is maximum strength! Coaches must learn to taper these programs and not just discard in order to optimize your training.

A lot of coaches think of the phase before taper as building aerobic capacity or the accumulation phase of training. This phase of swimming needs adjustment as it does not train athletes to swim fast or at their full potential. If you train at slower race pace then that is what you should expect for results.

Most coaches consider the phase before resting as sprinting and usually to exhaustion. Sprinting and recovery are key components but they must have a direct purpose to the events being trained. The emphasis of your seasonal plan needs should incorporate how to train and taper for the best results. The word “taper” means a lot of things to different coaches. Hopefully after reading the combinations of articles it will mean a lot to you. The two most common errors are the lack of detail given to kicking through the entire year and the quest for yardage by coaches.

There are good components listed above but there needs to be a lot more detail. Training sets at race pace, carefully thought out recovery, monitoring of heart rate changes, learning how to train the legs (kicking) through champs and of course strength training. Tapering combines the phases of building aerobic capacity and sprinting while adding energy system work and race pace sets to prep an athlete for champs. This article combines resources from past newsletters to help you plan your season carefully. Future articles will explain how to write each workout in detail.

Tapering is not just resting your body for the big event. It is fine-tuning it for optimal performance. Athletes must be able to practice at a high caliber to perform to expectations. Athletes must be their strongest, sharpest and most focused before taper meet(s). Athletes need to take responsibility for training, “I missed my taper” or “coach didn’t taper me correctly” are just excuses…

To taper correctly your athletes must have goals and the goals must drive training. You must understand recovery and muscle development of athletes and have the flexibility to individualize for a specific athlete and his/her events.

Understanding how athletes respond to different types of training based on slow, medium and fast twitch muscle fibers helps individualize training. Training slowly doesn’t help the athlete who has fast twitch predisposition and resting doesn’t produce optimal performance.

Taper is an in depth process that is a whole lot more than dropping yardage the last few weeks and adding sprints.  Most coaches use weight training to cross train and prevent injury then stop weights 2-4 weeks out from championships. The athletes must continue to lift throughout taper in order to achieve strength gains, which coincide with speed and power necessary to perform at meets. If you cross train during the season you must taper the crosstraining to optimize performance.

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Swimming Drills

We all have knowledge of swimming drills for each stroke as they have been handed down by coaches for many many years. I just ask coaches to please understand the reason you are coaching a specific drill to your swimmers and each swimmer to understand what they may be learning or unlearning from the drill. Think through it logically.

Drills definitely have a place in coaching. When swimmers are uncoordinated and growing it helps teach awareness to engage arms, legs, core, and breathing in specific orders.
Just a few questions to answer on your own:
1. Why are we teaching swimmers to do a thumb drag drill in freestyle?
2. Do you they actually drag their thumb on the water or up the side of their body while racing?
3. How does thumb drag use the core?
4. How does teaching a Catch-up drill teach proper rotation?
5. Do we really want swimmers to swim with a catch-up stroke?

Just make sure you teach drills at the right time in the swimmers’ development and understand why you are teaching the drill.

Warm up:

start into 600 choice swim @ 70%

4 x 125 choice stroke :15 rest
75 kick 10 fast kicks / 10 slow kicks
50 swim 10 fast strokes / 10 slow strokes

4 x 100 swim VS by 50 75% – 100% :15 rest
check heart rate twice and keep between 25 – 30
100 easy

Set #1

12 x 25 on :50
1,2,5,6,9,10 tarzan increase arm speed
3,4,7,8,11,12 partner racing free kick
50 easy kick on 1:30

2 x 100 on 2:00 5 up tarzan sprint 4 down easy
50 easy kick on 1:30
OVERSPEED
2 x 50 drag and pull continuous :20 rest
100 easy

Set #2 complete this set twice

2 x 150 free strong with PADDLES on 2:30
2nd time thru top stroke on 2:45
50 kick (25 @ 100% / 25 @ 75%), open turn to get time into
100 swim broken each 25 for :05 – :15, 1st and 3rd 25 @ 200 RP,
2nd and 4th @ 100 RP
100 easy

Total yardage = 3,200