Gordy Westerberg
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

Breaststroke Not Much Rest-stroke
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

Harder-Than-It-Looks Backstroke Set
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
UD3 Drill = “Up-Down” 3 strokes. Swimmer lifts one arm out of the water, brings it back down to the hip, then lifts it again and takes three strokes onto the other side. Repeat.
Turn and Racing Technique Workout for Age Groupers
Mike Cook, Mason Makos
This is the workout we did for 12 and unders before the last qualifier heading into JO’s. A little bit of everything. Hope it helps -Coach Mike
WARM UP
12×75 (50 free/25 back) @1:20
All open turns emphasizing throwing our hips and legs into wall fast with good head position.
12×25 kick (25 easy choice/25 fast free)@35
Main set
12×35@1:15 (all choice) start at 10 meter. Execute perfect turn 4 fast strokes out of turn. Nothing good happens near the wall if we slow down
12×15 fast free no breath
(Alternate through these)
Kick set to emphasize short bursts at end of races with partners
Go to the 10 as a group. Now go to the 15. Now to the wall
Cycle through 12 times
Repeat the main cycle but with 4 main stroke and 2 free
Repeat kick cycle 6 times but go to the 15. Than go to wall. Last one the whole 25 fast
Main set 2 racing the 100. Do with fins
3x
2×100 free @2:00
1×25 easy kick on back
Strong first 25 and race that middle 50 and get home. Don’t be afraid of the race accept the challenge
4×25 from a dive walk around. One each stroke. All out with great finishes.No fins. (Backstroke big girl/boy finishes)
Sprint Freestyle with Coach Ashraf Salah
Ashraf Salah, Technical Director for Ahly Swimming Team, Egypt

Race Specific Sets for 50/100/200 & Distance Swimmers
Coach Mathieu Leroy, France

Power and Recovery Stations
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
We split the group into two in our five lanes. The half with the buckets used three lanes and the recovery/tennis ball half used the other two. With transitions between stations, this took about 55 minutes.

Mid-Sprint Free Pre-Set
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Our mid-distance kids did this set prior to some race pace work, just trying to work cross-body connections (from fin to paddle) and some technique.
