The Burpee Avoidance Set

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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

We did this set this week when most of our swimmers were done competing for the season. A handful of swimmers still have Y Nationals ahead, and I wanted to keep everyone focused on hitting their race paces.

8 x 50 at P200 (with incentive)
#1-4 @ 1:00
#5-6 @ :50
#7-8 @ :40

For every 50 made successfully at P200, we took one rep off a planned set of 100 burpees in the dryland session that would follow.  With 13 swimmers in the pool (thus 104 total 50s), it was possible that we would have zero burpees to do.  The :50 and :40 intervals proved to be quite tough and we ended up doing 42 burpees.

 

The "Add One" Breaststroke Set

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Delano Ducheck
Summerland Orca Swim Club
orcaswimclub.net
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For Age Groupers, 11-14 

5×200  add one Br  continuous Fly @ 
Swimmers start with Pullout + 1 Breaststroke cycle. Continue 25m length fly. 
 As the set implies “Add One” Breaststroke cycle  each length until swimmer completes entire length with breaststroke only.  ie. Length #2 = pullout + 2 Br cycles, Length #3 pullout +3 Br cycles  Length #4 = Pullout + 4 Br cycles etc.
They’ll learn to maximize pullouts and breaststroke cycles to avoid the fly

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Late Season Full Practice

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA
 

This is a full practice.  Started of with some kicking and IM followed by some moderately challenging freestyle.  A small prep set leads into the main set which works around 200 race pace
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Kicking and IM Set
12 x 100
odds kick @ 2:00, 1:50, 1:40, 1:30, 1:30, 1:30
even swim IM @ 1:30, descend 1-3 and 4-6

Aerobic Freestyle Set
300 free @ 4:00 Goal: Beat 1/3 of your best 1,000 free time
5 x 100 free @ 1:20 descend to P500
600 free @ 8:00 Goal: Beat 2/3 of your best 1,000 free time
5 x 100 free @ 1:20 descend to P500
900 free @ 12:00 Goal: Beat your best 1,000 free time
5 x 100 free @ 1:20 descend to P500
300 EZ Backstroke swim

Prep Set for Pace 50s
12 x 25 @ :40
# 1 – sprint UW kicks and 1st 2 cycles
#2 – ”     ” and 1st 4 cycles
#3 –  ” ” and 1st 6 cycles
#4 – easy, minimum cycle count

Race Pace Set
30 x 50 @ 1:00
     1 at P200 +4
     1 at P200 +2
     1 at P200
     2 at P200 +4
     2 at P200 +2
     2 at P200
     3 at P200 +4
     3 at P200 +2
     3 at P200
     2 at P200 +4
     2 at P200 +2
     2 at P200
     1 at P200 +4
     1 at P200 +2
     1 at P200
     3 at P-1

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D-day

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA
 

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UT Open Water Preparation with Coach Tyler Fenwick

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From Instagram @utcoachfenwick ・・・ Tennessee Open Water practice this morning! Prepping for Nationals at one of our favorite venues in two weeks! #Tennessee #GoVols #MiromarLakes 

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Power Hour 25s

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA
 

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AFAP = As Fast As Possible

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA
 

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Sooner IM Set

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

As in “the sooner we are done, the better.”

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BIG Broken Swims

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Ryan Woodruff

Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA
We got some excellent efforts out of our kids with this one.
3 rounds:

Broken 400 IM or Broken 500 free
                +                                                 @ ~16:00
Easy 500 Free

400s were broken 25-50-75-100-75-50-25 with :10 seconds rest between swims
500s were broken 25-50-75-100-100-75-50-25 with :10 seconds rest between swims

Mile Pacers

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA
 

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Editor’s Note: The Swimming Wizard’s goal is to publish at least one set, practice, or idea EVERY DAY for all of 2016! To keep it interesting, we need your help! Click here to help us achieve that goal by submitting one of your sets!

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Mystery I.M. Transitions

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA
 
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Swimmers do fly continuously at first (for an unknown distance). When coach blows whistle, swimmers accelerate to the next wall (still butterfly) and then perform a 50 back at 200 IM race pace. Upon completing that 50, swimmers swim smooth breast until completing the 300. Concept could be used for any IM transition.  I like working this fly-back transition because it is the one that is physically hardest to make. The coach can decide whether swimmers will do anywhere from 25 to 225 yards of fly.

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Racing and Pacing

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

We did this set recently on a day where I was looking for some fast-ish swimming without an extremely high stress value.  It seemed to do the trick.

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Editor’s Note: The Swimming Wizard’s goal is to publish at least one set, practice, or idea EVERY DAY for all of 2016! To keep it interesting, we need your help! Click here to help us achieve that goal by submitting one of your sets!

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Fly Me To the Moon

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

Editor’s Note: The Swimming Wizard’s goal is to publish at least one set, practice, or idea EVERY DAY for all of 2016! To keep it interesting, we need your help! Click here to help us achieve that goal by submitting one of your sets!

SCM. This fly set seems long at first glance, but the concept is to swim fly in relatively short chunks to get a fair amount of rest and keep stroke integrity high.



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No Biggie

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

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Editor’s Note: The Swimming Wizard’s goal is to publish at least one set, practice, or idea EVERY DAY for all of 2016! To keep it interesting, we need your help! Click here to help us achieve that goal by submitting one of your sets!

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Stroke Set with Brian Clark, Chico Aquajets

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Brian Clark
Chico Aquajets

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3x the following:
100 Free             1:20      1:40         2:00      
75 back              1:10      1:20         1:30       
75 fly                  1:20      1:30         1:40      
50 Breast            50         1:00        1:10       
first time through and first column is swim, 2nd is drill/swim on 100 and 50, swim/drill/swim on 75’s, 3rd time is kick.

4×200 Free/2:45        
1×100 Breast/1:50      
3×200 Free/2:45 pull and descend 1-3, mildly
2×100 Fly/1:40 (25 right/25 regular/25 left/25 regular, please)
2×200 Free/2:45, fast in and out of turns 
3×100 Free/1:25 
1×200 Free/2:45 negative split
4×100 back/1:35 descend 1-4
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Race Pace with Coach Jake Magnan of Green Mountain Aquatics

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Jake Magnan
Green Mountain Aquatics/Saint Michael’s College
Burlington, VT

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Editor’s Note: The Swimming Wizard’s goal is to publish at least one set, practice, or idea EVERY DAY for all of 2016! To keep it interesting, we need your help! Click here to help us achieve that goal by submitting one of your sets!

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Early Taper Set

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Ryan Woodruff
 
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Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

This set is meant to help swimmers build confidence with some race pace work that is not extremely taxing coupled with good technique practice.
2 rounds of:
(Fins paddles and snorkels for 1st round, no equip for 2nd rd)
3 x 100s @ :10 rest
       25 kick on right side/25 kick on left side/50 catchup and over kick
3 x 75 @:10 rest Smooth free with 4+, 6+, 8 + dolphin kicks each 25

Main Set (2 rounds)
3 x 50 at P200 free @ 1:00, :50, :40 (timed to a foot touch, strive to be 8 or fewer cycles each 25)
200 easy @3:00
3 x 25 at P100 free @ :50,:40,:30 (timed to a foot touch, really work underwaters)
100 easy @ 2:00
1 x 50 all out from a dive, timed to hand
1 x 600 easy, take your time, do some bk and free, include some drill. No interval.

20 x 50 @ 1:00 swimming golf
Descend golf score 1-4 and then change strokes

6x 50s warm down set ( first one is sprint by 1/3s on :30 rest. Last 5 easy).

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Aerobic Power and IM Transitions with Coach Mathieu Leroy

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Mathieu Leroy
Chartres, France

If you want to download this workout in PDF form, click here.

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Pace and Hold

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Ryan Woodruff
 
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

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The purpose of this set is to work some race pace for one of the strokes in IM while holding the technique of the other strokes together under fatigue.  The instructions for the 200s were to hold 80-85% effort.  We did this right after a moderately tough fly set, thus no fly in this set.

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HVO = High Velocity Overload

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

Editor’s Note: The Swimming Wizard’s goal is to publish at least one set, practice, or idea EVERY DAY for all of 2016! To keep it interesting, we need your help! Click here to help us achieve that goal by submitting one of your sets!

HVO = High Velocity Overload (concept from Bill Sweetenham), an all out 25y swim from a dive. Cone on return 25 set at 10m from wall. 

12 Books Every Swim Coach Should Read

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Ryan Woodruff

Reading books and articles from outside my areas of expertise have helped make me a better coach. Here are some of my favorite non-swimming books that I recommend you check out, in no particular order.

Note: All links in this article are Amazon affiliate links, meaning that clicking on the link for the book titles and purchasing the book will kick some loose change to the Swimming Wizard without costing you a penny extra.  Thank you for your support!

  1. Bowerman and the Men of Oregon by Kenny Moore. Bill Bowerman is to American distance running what Doc Counsilman is to American swimming; an innovator, a standard-setter, and a legend.  This book is written by a former runner of his and will inspire you to be a better coach.
  2. Make It Stick; The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel. Ultimately, as coaches we are teachers. This book will improve your understanding of how to make the material you are teaching “stick” so that your athletes can effectively put it into practice.
  3. The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle. This book examines how to become a master coach by maximizing the development of the innate abilities of those under your instruction.  It really made me think about how I coach
  4. Inside-Out Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives by Joe Ehrmann. If you have ever doubted your purpose as a coach or questioned why do this in the first place, Ehrmann will transform your coaching by explaining how you can transform the lives of your athletes.  I have read this book at least 4 times and plan to read it again.  Should be required reading for anyone going into youth coaching.
  5. When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss. There is perhaps no bigger legend in American coaching than Vince Lombardi.  This tome peels back the layers to examine the complex man behind that legend.
  6. Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover. An inspiring read from the personal trainer to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade. I am currently reading this book to my team, chapter by chapter. It will make you uncomfortable by challenging your notion of your capabilities . Read it to find out if you are a Cooler, a Closer or a Cleaner.
  7. Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. For all who coach young women, this book will open your eyes to what it is like to be young and female.  Especially recommended if you have a daughter of your own.
  8. The Hard Hat; 21 Ways to Be a Great Teammate by Jon Gordon. Great teammates don’t just impact you today; they impact you for the rest of your life. Also recommended by Jon Gordon:
  9. You Win in the Locker Room First – 7 C’s to Building a Winning Team and
  10. The Energy Bus – 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy
  11. Wooden by John Wooden.  Who better for the Swimming Wizard to recommend than the Wizard of Westwood?
  12. Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson.  I admired Jackson’s calmness on the sidelines through all of his success in the NBA. Great read for any coach who wants to be a better teacher, mentor, and person.

 

Butterfly Bonanza

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff

Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

I love our weekly Friday Fly Day sets.  Every week, the swimmers know to expect something that is going to make them better at everyone’s “favorite” stroke.

On the 200s, swimmers perform a set number of high-quality butterfly cycles and then swim freestyle to the next turn. The # of cycles progresses each 25 – i.e. our best flyers would do 5,6,7,8,5,6,7,8 cycles of fly on the successive 25s of the 200.

On the 25s, the focus is squarely on “finishing habits,” especially not breathing in the final 10m and hitting the wall on a full stroke.

The 100 serves as kicking practice with body awareness and giving the shoulders a rest from swimming fly.