Sam Davy, Swarthmore College
Fly Into Back or Free
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
The purpose of this set was to generate some fatigue with fast fly swims and then:
- For IMers, hold backstroke pace
- For sprinters, hold 200 free pace
- For distance swimmers, hold 500 pace
Our swimmers found it quite challenging. We had around a 50% success rate.
Legs & Lungs on Fire
Ryan Woodruff Lynchburg YMCA
This set was a pretty aggressive combination of underwater and surface kicking. We did an extra time through the last part for good measure.
The Hand-Me-Down Set
This set (or something very similar) was given to me by Jon Jolley, Head Coach of the Hickory YMCA, who used it with his star pupil Ross Dant. Jon says it was given to him by Eddie Reese, legendary Texas and US Olympic coach. We gave it a spin, and it was definitely a good one.
The idea is for the red set to be at a relatively tight interval. The blue is essentially active recovery on the same interval. Do a good job descending, and it’s pretty demanding.
Age Group Open Water Nationals Set
Stations: Timed Underwater Kicks and Freestyle Technique
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
We used these two stations to measure our underwater kicking ability, keeping half of the group busy with some freestyle technique work in the meantime.
Broken 100 within a 400 IM
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Chutes and IM with Coach Westerberg
Gordy Westerberg
This went REALLY well recently:
IMers 6 rounds
50 chute
75 Pace
25 EZ
Rd 1 25 fly/50 Bk
Rd 2 75 Bk
Rd 3 25 Bk/50 Brst
Rd 4 75 Brst
Rd 5 25 Brst/50 free
Rd 6 75 Free
Odds are at 400 IM pace
Evens are at 200 pace
50 with chute is just for feel (not fast) and is the same stroke as they are about to do on the 75
This was after ~4600
The Jellylegs Set, Part Trois
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Fartleks for Breakfast
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
We occasionally use “fartleks” (non-stop swims with changing instructions or speeds) to get in some aerobic swimming with good technique and no interval pressure.
No Joke IM Set
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
We have one male swimmer who is a sub-4:00 400 IMer who had some pretty good results with this one recently.
Fun Kick Set with the Mason Makos
Coach Mike Cook, Mason Makos
A fun kick set we did at the end of practice recently. The kids must have liked it because they asked to do it again this morning.
Underwater Kicking Power & Lightning Speed Set
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
We did this set at the end of a long practice that included dryland that was heavy on the legs and a long kick set. The goal was to work some underwater power and then get some “lightning speed” underwater kicks at the end of each round. It worked well, with a few of our swimmers setting personal bests & team records at the 25m underwater kicking distance.
For the part written in green, one athlete wore the belt/cord and a partner stood on the deck and held the cord to provide the resistance.
Fast is Fun with Coach Brad Robbins
Brad Robbins
We saw some killer speed with this one today.
Had a girl breaststroke push a 30.8 on the last 50, a boy flyer push a 23.9, and a couple milers pushing 24s for free!
Very fun to watch!
Back & Breast with Transitions
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
FPA = Fastest Possible Average
Gut-Check IM Set
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Set For Kicks
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
12 & Under Workout with the Makos
Mike Cook, Mason Makos
Our 12 & unders this past Friday as they start preparing for J.O.s.
Buckets Schmuckets
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
We use 1-gallon buckets as a means of creating some drag for power training. Here is a set we did just before taper to work on our power using these buckets.
Breast/Free Combo Set
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Preparing for J.Os with the Mason Makos
Mike Cook, Mason Makos
Backstroke technique set with race specific tempo
Matthieu Leroy, France
This set can be adapted for any stroke.
Backstroke or Breaststroke
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Boom Goes the Distance Set
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
B3 = breathe every 3 strokes
4 DR = 4-dolphin rule (at least 4 kicks off every wall
Buckets, Cords, and Speed
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
This set combined a little power/resisted swimming, resisted underwater kicking, and some flat-out speed.
The 8 x 8 underwater kicks were done with a stretch cord anchored to a starting block.
IM Set + 40 x 50
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Low-key Aerobic Freestyle Set
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Feel-Good Descend-to-Race-Pace Set
Ryan Woodruff
The purpose of this set was to help our distance freestylers refine their sense of pace and feel pretty good doing it.
Taper Workout with Buckets
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
We did this workout after a 1600m warmup partially through our taper. Some “near-race-pace” swimming followed by a short buckets set just to keep the power in our strokes while we are coming down.
Quality 75s Kick and Then Hammer the Underwaters
Ryan Woodruff
The Swimming Wizard 