Month: December 2012

Today’s Breaststroke Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff

We performed the set below with our sectional-level breaststroke group.  There are essentially two parts to the set.  The first part (above the dotted line) stresses technique with a LONG stroke and gradually builds to an up-tempo stroke at the end of the 100s.  During this first part, “TT” stands for the Finis Tempo Trainer Pro which we use on a regular basis.  Using mode 1, we have it set at 4.00, meaning the swimmer initiates a stroke once every 4 seconds.  This is usually an uncomfortably long time to glide for our swimmers (a good thing!).  We bring the TT down to 3.00 for the 2 x 150 and then to 2.00 on the 100s and have the swimmers shoot for 2 strokes during the 2.00 seconds in the last 10-15 yards of each 100.  This combination of technique and tempo sets them up well for the second part of the set.

In the second part (below the dotted line), we are essentially challenging our swimmers in two ways on two sets of 6 x 100s.  The first set challenges the efficiency of their underwater pullouts and breath-holding ability.  The second set of 6 x 100 just challenges their endurance and the integrity of their stroke.  The goal is simply to make all of the intervals and maintain stroke technique.

1 x 300 done as 75 br/25 free B5 @:20 rest  with TT set @4.00
2 x 150 done as 50 br/25 free B5 @:20 rest with TT set @3.00
3 x 100  50 br with TT@2.00/50 br build to 2 cycles per beep (1 per 1.00)
—————————–
6 x 100 @1:30
   2 with 1 pullout descend
   2 with 2 pullouts descend and not slower than first two
   2 with 3 pullouts descend and not slower than first four
200 easy backstroke @4:00
6 x 100 breaststroke swim
   2@1:25
   2@1:20
   2@1:15 Make it!

 

Get In Yo Face Race Pace

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Ryan Woodruff

After an extended warmup, we performed the following set to work on maintaining our race pace under fatigue.  We are quite skilled at repeating race-pace swimming for repeat 50s.  Throwing in the 100 fast swim (where we asked swimmers to approach P200) more closely mimicked actual race-like fatigue.  We saw some excellent results, particularly on the third round.

SCY

4 x 50 at P200 @1:00
1 x 100 all out @1:40
300 easy
 
2 x 50 at P200 @1:00
1 x 100 all out @1:40
2 x 50 at P200 @1:00
300 easy
 
1 x 100 all out @1:40
4 x 50 at P200 @1:00
300 easy
 

12 Fascinating Things I Read in 2012

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff

Not a workout, but some resources especially for coaches that I came across this year…

1. Former Texas A & M Football Coach Mike Sherman’s Letter To Texas High School Football Coaches by Chris Brown This is an incredible piece of writing that makes me think about why I coach.

2. The Surfer’s Guide to Taking Risks by Srinivas Rao Some great advice in the context of a beautiful sport.

3. Quantum Thinking When Coaching Swimmers by Jonty Skinner, Beijing Blog. Skinner might be on the frontier (fringe?) of modern thought on swim training and I find his ideas curiously stimulating.

4. The Toughest Coach There Ever Was by Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated A must-read for coaches in any sport.

5. The Greatest Assistant Coaching Article Ever Written by Wayne Goldsmith. This boldly titled article delivers on its promise.  I wish I had read this 10 years ago.

6. High Volume or High Velocity by Paul Yetter, Developing The Champion Within Blog. Yetter answers one of swimming’s longest-standing debates with the best answer I have heard yet.

7. Did You See The Gorilla? An Interview with Psychologist Daniel Simons by David DiSalvo: The psychology behind this is fascinating.

8. The Fifty-Nine Story Crisis: A Lesson in Professional Behavior: A powerful lesson on admitting your mistakes.

9. Standing Near Greatness by Ashley Harrell: Find out what it is like to be Tim Tebow’s teammate and Urban Meyer’s doormat.

10. Marathon Man Kip Litton is a Fraud by Mark Singer: You won’t believe the lengths this guy went to…

11. You are Not Lazy, and Still You Are an Idler by Abraham Lincoln from Letters-of-Note blog: Strong words of advice from our nation’s greatest President.

12. Rich Thompson’s Pact With Baseball by Johnette Howard, ESPN.com: An inspiring story of faith, persistence, and dreams come true.

And one last memorable tidbit, from the “Faces In the Crowd: Coaches’ Edition” in Sports Illustrated:

 

Distance Kicking Test Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff
 

SCY

We performed the following kick set last night in order to test our kicking ability and fitness coming off a recent taper meet.  It is essentially three broken 1,000s with some easy swim and drill mixed in between.

In the first 1,000, swimmers could use a board if they liked or could kick in any of our standard body positions. Typically when given this option, many of our swimmers prefer to kick on their backs.  For the second 1,000, no boards were allowed and swimmers had to wear a snorkel, meaning that they had to kick either face down or on their side (which we do for free and fly kick).  The third 1,000 used Streamline Sticks at the 12.5 yard mark and emphasized underwater dolphin kicking (in any body position) and the swimmers could choose the body position to continue kicking in once they surfaced.  We recorded total times for each 1,000 and will use this information to develop kicking intervals for the next few months of training.

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Streamline Sticks

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Ryan Woodruff
 
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Streamline Sticks are easily among the best pieces of training equipment I have seen in my 13 years of club coaching.  We use them weekly to develop the habits and skills to produce consistent underwater dolphin kicking.  They force swimmers to kick a set distance off the wall and allow for circle swimming within the lane.  Send me an email at swimmingwizard@gmail.com or just leave your e-mail in the comments below if you are interested in getting your hands on a Streamline Stick and maybe I’ll make a few for Swimming Wizard readers.

UPDATE: The Swimming Wizard has been overwhelmed with responses about these streamline sticks.  I am planning to post a video soon that explains how they may be constructed.  Thanks! – Ryan

Distance Swimmers’ Delight: The Followup

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Ryan Woodruff
 
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Last week I posted the Distance Swimmer’s Delight workout on this blog.  It was one of our most viewed workouts ever.  This past weekend, several of the swimmers who completed that set competed in a meet.  I thought it would be interesting to compare the results from the practice with results from the meet.

                           Broken Mile   Meet     Broken 1000       Meet      Broken 500    Meet
Swimmer 1            15:47            15:55             9:50                9:26             4:31           4:36
Swimmer 2            16:14            16:29            10:04               9:42             4:41           4:45

I should also mention that all of the times at the meet for these two swimmers were best times except Swimmer 2’s mile (missed best by .03)

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Swim Workout of the Day: Lionville Riptide

Posted on by rdwoodruff
Alex Baxter
Head Coach- Lionville Riptide Swim Team

Love the site. I have been using it for ideas recently so I thought I’d share a set that came about from ideas here. This is a 1:45 practice for our Junior and Senior Group

SCY
Sunday, December 16, 2012
W/U-
                4×100 hold stroke count :15R
                6×50 4 kick 2 swim :10R
                4×50 S/D :10R
                12×25 build burst ez fast :30
1200
Gear- pick your poison (fins, snorkels, paddles, all)
2xthru-change up the gear after round 1
                2×50 at 200 pace 1:15
                2×75 moderate 1:15
                2×100 within 2 seconds of pace from 50’s 1:45
                2×75 moderate 1:15
                Extra :30R to switch gear
1200/2400
Aero-
2×75 1:15/1:20   1- fl/ba/br, 2-ba/br/fr
4×100 free 1:20/1:25 (hold 1:15/1:20 minimum)
2×75 1-50fl/25ba 2-25fl/50ba
4×100 free 1:25/1:30 (hold 1:12/1:18 minimum)
2×75 1:15/1:20   1- 50ba/25br, 25ba/50br
4×100 free 1:30/1:35 (hold 1:08/1:15 minimum)
2×75 1:15/1:20   1- fl/ba/br, 2-ba/br/fr
4×100 free 1:35/1:40 (hold 1:05/1:12minimum)
2200/4600
Gear- use variety you have yet to use
1×600 50 fast/150 build back to fast :30R
6×50 1-2 DPS, 3-6 breathe control (breathe 3/3 max) :10R
900/5500
W/D-
1×200 cruise
200/5700


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How To Finish Like a Champ

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff

The finish is among the least frequently practiced skills in our sport, in my observation. This drill serves as a mini-progression to help swimmers adjust to the presence of the wall appropriately during a finish, thus practicing for that gold medal moment.

We did this as a set of 16 x 50, 6 done like phase 1, 6 in phase 2, and the final 4 in phase 3. Here’s the progression.

Phase 1
At the conclusion of the 50, the swimmer takes his last stroke at the backstroke flags and then positions his body for the finish, kicking strong all the way to an extended touch.


Phase 2
Same idea as the first phase, just move everything closer to the wall. Take the last stroke halfway between the flags and the wall. Make sure the swimmer is paying close attention to the spacing with the wall.

Phase 3
Now do an all-out finish, touching with the body at maximum length. The swimmer should touch with the fingertips. With the wall-judging ability honed in phases 1 and 2, the swimmer should be able to time his finish very precisely.

Try this progression for any stroke. You never know when your finish will make the difference between gold and silver!

Thank you to Heath Hudgins (the swimmer in the videos) for being a willing example.

Distance Swimmer’s Delight

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Ryan Woodruff

We did the following set after about 3,000 yards of warmup, breathing pattern, and technique work.  The efforts were excellent, with swimmers totaling times that were 20-30 seconds faster than their best mile, 10-20 seconds faster than their best 1,000 and 5-10 seconds faster than their best 500.  Enjoy!

Part 1: Broken Mile (all swims finish with a turn or “foot-touch”)
25 @:10 rest
50 @:10 rest
75 @:10 rest
100 @:10 rest
125 @:20 rest
150 @:20 rest
175 @:20 rest
200 @:20 rest
175 @:20 rest
150 @:20 rest
125 @:20 rest
100 @:10 rest
75 @:10 rest
50 @:10 rest
25 @:30 rest
Dive 50 to a hand touch
Take overall time and subtract 4:00 to get total swimming time for the broken 1,650 free

500 easy swim @ 8:00

Broken 1,000 free (all swims finish with a turn or “foot-touch”)
50 @:10 rest
100 @:10 rest
150 @:10 rest
200 @:20 rest
200 @:20 rest
150 @:20 rest
100 @:30 rest
Dive 50 to a hand touch
Take overall time and subtract 2:00 to get total swimming time for the broken 1,000

500 easy swim @ 8:00

Broken 500 free
Dive 25 @:10 rest
50 @:10 rest
75 @:10 rest
100 @:10 rest
100 @:20 rest
75 @:20 rest
50 @:20 rest
25
Take overall time and subtract 1:30 to get total swimming time for the broken 500

500 easy swim @ 8:00

See the follow-up to this set here.

 

Sprint Freestyle Set with Kicking and Breath Control

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Ryan Woodruff
 
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This set mixes kicking with some breath-control sprinting.  We are looking for the sprint 25s to be within about 1.0 seconds of 100 yard race pace.

4 rounds (Round 1 no equipment, round 2 paddles only, round 3 fins only, round 4 fins and paddles);


100 surfer kick (flutter kick, hands in front, head out of the water), sprint the turns @1:50 on rounds 1 and 2, 1:30 on rounds 3 and 4
4 x 25 sprint free 2 or fewer breaths @:20
100 surfer kick @1:50/1:30
3 x 25 sprint free 1 or fewer breaths @:25
100 surfer kick @1:50/1:30
2 x 25 sprint free NO BREATH @:30
300 archer drill (6-ct) #1,#2,#3 by 100 
(3300 yards~52 minutes)

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Mix-It-Up Monday with @ErinQuinn11

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Erin Quinn
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Mix-It-Up #Monday should have been titled #MoshPitMonday! Pool Jam-Packed with #Hawks Dreaming Big Working #Harder 🙂 

http://twitter.com/ErinQuinn11/status/273268027791929345