Freestyle Tech/Aerobic/Sprint Set

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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

We spent some time today trying to hone in on well-aligned long-axis rotation in freestyle.

Definitions of terms:

20-1-20-3-20-5 = 20 kicks on side, 1 stroke, 20 kicks, 3 strokes, 20 kicks, 5 strokes and repeat.

FPA = Fastest Possible Average

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Boom 200s plus Moderate Active Recovery

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

SCY. The goal here was to swim the fastest possible 200 time (broken by 4x50s). In between the four 50s, we did some medium-intensity active recovery. The swimmer was responsible for doing the active recovery on the specific interval (i.e. on the first round of swimmer zones to the wall at the :28, leaves on the next 50 at the :08).

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Underwater Kicking Squeeze Set

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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

We had a small amount of time left after our main set today and we had to squeeze into three lanes.  We got it a little good work in on our underwater dolphin kicks with this simple set.

12 x 50 @ 1:00

#1 – Kick 10m fast off each wall

#2 – Kick 10m fast off the 1st wall, 15m off the second wall

#3 – 25 swim, 25 max underwater kick for speed and distance

We wore fins for the first 9 and then no fins for the last 3.

 

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Broken 400 Kick For Time

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

This kick set worked well with the wide range of kicking speeds in our group. Swimmers aim for the fastest total 400 time (25+50+75+100+75+50+25=400), always doing a 50 easy on a :50 interval. 6 easy 50s means there is a total of 5:00 “active recovery” in the total set. Coach can start the watch and just subtract 5:00 from the total time at the end of the second 25. We had swimmers pick one kick (stroke) for the first round and then they can change for the 2nd round.

This set was originally published here April 25, 2018

Baseline Kicking Set for Early Season

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

Used this set to get a some baseline data on everyone’s kicking speed early in the season. Looking forward to using this info to better organize our kick sets and make appropriately challenging goals for each individual.

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Speed Checkpoints

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Josh Sinclair

I did this set with my age 9-13 boys on Saturday.  There season is effectively finished, with their major champs swum, so I was looking for ways to keep them motivated and keep them in the water till our squad break over Easter…
This set worked really well..
Warm Up
DPS = distance per stroke
Base drill = any freestyle drill that targets streamline eg catch-up
MPT+6 = mid pool turn + 6 dolphin kicks
Stroke drill = any freestyle drill that targets length and catch eg 2La 2 Ra
20×25 designed to get their heart rate up.  Fly HVO (15m fast no breath) was to focus on fast starts, also believe that fly is great way for young swimmers to feel and find their anchor and not slip on the 1st strokes out of their breakout.  Cat n Mouse is a game we play where the swimmers scull in one line across the pool, at some point before the 15m mark into the wall, the nominated “mouse” must sprint to the wall and try and beat the “cats”.  They must go before the 15m mark so the closer they get to the mark the more the cats are ready.  This obviously focuses on finishing, and it is also interesting to see the different tactics of the mouse on when to take off for the wall
Main Set 

target was PB+1, and worked off about a 4min cycle.

The 15m was 1/4 PB +0.5 or better to progress…
The 25m was 1/2 PB +0.5 or better to progress…
The 35m was 3/4 PB + 0.5 or better to progress…
The 50m was PB+1 to progress to warm down.
sinclair190411
Conclusion
Set really had the boys motivated and excited from the moment I explained it.  1st 15m checkpoint on average took about 3 attempts, which gave me the opportunity to teach and correct dive and breakout techniques and boys were a lot more receptive.. because of the incentive.  The 25m and 35m check points were all achieved on average in 2 attempts, and the 50m on average 4 attempts, which allowed me to talk about the value of holding their length and rating up into the wall..
Information overload maybe, so apologies if that’s the case, figure the more information provided, the greater opportunity for specific feedback..
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