Army I.M. Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff
Tim Loeffler
Assistant Coach
West Point
Here is a workout our 400 IMers are doing today at Army. A nice way to get them back into serious IM training and to have them push each other on the descends. We call it “welcome back 400IM”
5×100 Free (120) – 50R 50L
5×100 Kick (150) – one of each plus one IM
5×100 Free IM (130) – descend 1-5
5×100 Pull (120) – descend 1-5
8×25 single arm free (40)
8×50 (55)
odds: Free Swim-Fly Drill 3R 3L 2Full or 2R 2L 2Full – evens: Free Swim-Fly Kick on Back Fast
Main Set
3×50 (45) Free-Fly x 25; work the fly, descend the 50s
3×100 (125) add on a 50 Back; work the back; descend the 100s
3×200 (255) add on a 100 Breast; work the breast; descend the 200s
3×400 (525) add on a 200 Free; work the free; descend the 400s
***Descend to FAST
300 {25 DBL arm Back + 25 Free + 25 Scull}
Finish Set A:
5×300 Pull (330) – last one fast + 6×100 Free IM (130)

Finish Set B:
5×150 FINS or Swim Free (205) + 6×100 Free IM (130)

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Active Recovery with UW-Milwaukee Head Coach Kyle Clements

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Kyle Clements
Head Coach, UW-Milwaukee

I noticed that there are not a lot of Active Rest(active recovery) sets (on the Swimming Wizard) and wanted to share what I am doing today with my swimmer as we prepare for the NCAA meet in a couple of weeks. We typically do an Active rest set every Tuesday during season and find that it is a great bridge between our aerobic Monday and our lactic acid Wednesday.

For our Active rest sets the rules are pretty simple.
#1 there are no intervals the swimmer comes in and gets their time and then leaves on the next zero (1 to 10 sec rest between each swim)
#2 the Active rest swim(ar) is typically easy free and can be as slow as the swimmer wants as long as he/she is always moving forward and not touching the bottom and hanging on the wall.

Our Ncaa participant is about 10 days from starting her taper so we are still 100% go. she is also a breatstroker hence all the breaststroke work.


—————–
March 5th 2014
Active Rest
Warm-Up
300 Free
300 NF
300 Kick
Drill Set
200 Skull (mix up front and back)
4×50 Fist Drill @50 (2 Free/2 Br)
4×75 Fist Drill/Swim/Build – (2 Free @110/2 Br @115)
Kick Set
5×150 @ 245
#1 50ez-100pink
#2 50pink-50ez-50red
#3 100red-50ez
#4 50fast-50ez-50fast
#5 50ez-100fast
Main (Active Rest)
5x(100+50+100) Details underneath set
1min rest
4x(50red+75ar+50ba) IMO
1min rest
3x{75(ez/med/fast)+50ar+75(25ez+50fast)}FREESTYLE
1min rest
2x(50red+25ar+50ba)BREAST
1min rest
1x(25 sprint fr+50ar+25 sprint br)
*5x(100+50+100)
Rd1 = 100 neg split white/red +50ar+100 neg split white/red           FREE
Rd2 = 100 active rest+ 50 red+ 100 active rest                                  BREAST
Rd3 = 100 neg split pink/blue +50ar+100 neg split pink/blue            FREE
Rd4 = 100 active rest+ 50 blue+ 100 active rest                                BREAST
Rd5 = 100 best avg + 50 ar + 100 best avg                                        FREE

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Masters Swim Workout

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Submitted by reader Greg Friedlander

20 minute warm up (1000 yards crawl-timed not counting laps, but it’s about the same thing, add or subtract a couple of minutes as required)
5x(200im, 100kick, 100crawl,100kick)
200 yard warm down
I do the 100’s with flippers just to get through it quicker.

 

Note that each of the 5 sets is 500 yards so you can trip down to 3000, 25000, etc just by cutting out a set. (add back in the warm down for extra 200))

 

19.5 Ways to Get Better Even When Practice Is Cancelled

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff


You have worked hard this season and don’t want your well-earned improvement to go to waste.  What can you do to get  better even though the pool is closed? 

1. Swim in front of a mirror.  Just stand there and swim slowly toward the ceiling. Pay attention to how your stroke looks.  Don’t forget to take an imaginary breath.
2. Take a nap. A little extra rest would do you some good.
3. Watch swimming videos on YouTube.  Type in Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, or 2008 men’s 4×100 freestyle relay.  Beware of goosebumps.
4. Stretch.  From your head to your toes.
5. Drink some water.  Getting hydrated will help you at your next practice.
6. Write down your goals or take a second look at goals you have already set.  Are you on track? Do you have long-term and short-term goals?
7. Do some ab work.  Think of your favorite ab exercises.  Don’t do those.  Do the exercises that you struggle with.
8. Do some push-ups.  Start with the most you can do in 30 seconds.  Take a minute rest. Repeat several times.
9. Meditate. Just find a quiet place to sit, relax, and breathe deeply.
10. Visualize yourself performing well.  Play a movie of it in your mind with as many specific details as possible.
11. Memorize your best times.  For an extra challenge, do it all the way to the hundredth of a second for both SCY and LCM.
12. Figure out splits for your goal times, especially IMs.  Write them down in a place where you can find them later.
13. Make up a new team cheer.  Silly or serious is perfectly okay.
14. Come up with a mantra or positive affirmation to repeat to yourself behind the blocks. Example: “I am strong and fast, ready to have a blast.” Rhyming is encouraged.
15. Make a team poster for the next meet.
16. Find your national rank in your best event on www.usaswimming.org.  Make a goal to move up a certain number of spots.
17. Stretch again, this time focusing on your ankles.  Sit on your knees with the tops of your feet against the floor.
18. Do yoga.  Google “basic yoga poses” for examples.
19. Call or text a teammate and remind them about this list.
19.5 Bake your coach some cookies.  Because cookies make coaches happy.

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13 Fascinating Things I Read (and one that I watched) in 2013

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff

One topic that has garnered much attention this year is safety in football.  Thomas Lake’s The Ghost of Speedy Cannon (1) provided a riveting tale probing a long-ago death on the field.  Though I have long enjoyed Rick Reilly’s writing, he can get under the skin of some readers.  His piece about the NFL Becoming a Guilty Pleasure (2) is hard to argue with.

I love reading about legendary coaches.  Perhaps none are more legendary in his sport than Dan Gable.  Wright Thompson’s incredible piece The Losses of Dan Gable (3) is even more poignant now that wrestling has won reinstatement into the Olympics.  The Book of a Coach (4) tells the story of Bill Walsh and the legacy of a coaching legend.  Soccer fan or not, if you are a coach you will find some wisdom in Eight Coaching Keys from Sir Alex Ferguson (5).

Unless you are still using dial-up internet service, you have probably heard of Seth Godin.  I highly recommend a few posts of his from this year: The Merchants of Average (6), Choosing To Be Formidable (7), and All Boats Leak (8). All three inspire me to be a better coach.

Just read this article: Two Enemies Discovering a Higher Call in Battle (9). It will renew your faith in humanity.

This article got me thinking about the technological frontiers of swimming: Mobile Athlete Monitoring – The Next Big Thing (10).  Coaches of all sports should be keeping up with Vern Gambetta and his Functional Path Training blog.  He hit the mark in Pay the Piper (11).

How Great Teachers See (12) made me ponder how I perceive my swimmers’ talents and how powerful that perception really might be.

On a personal level, a few things I came across this year made a difference in my life. Leo Babuata inspired me to aim for Living the Quiet Life (13) and Dr. Michael Greger’s powerful video Uprooting the Causes of Death convinced me to make my most profound personal change this year.

I hope you enjoyed the list.  Have a happy, healthy, and successful 2014!

 

Accepted or Rejected

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Phil Kraus

Head Coach

Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club


I call it Accepted or Rejected and we typically do it on a recovery day.  I purchased a decision coin on a swim trip several years ago.  They have all kinds but this one has “Accepted” written on one side and “Rejected” on the other.  It is just as easy to do a regular coin with the words printed on a sticker or just call “heads” accepted and “tails rejected.

You need several (say 20) 3 X 5 note cards.  You have 2 options either write a set on it yourself or hand it out to the swimmers and they write a set on it.  Once a set is written on the cards you shuffle them like a deck of cards (review cards for knucklehead submissions).

You then turn over a card and read the set.

The coin is flipped.  Again 2 options, the coach flips or the swimmers can flip.

If the coin lands as “Accepted” the group does the set as written.  If the coin lands as “Rejected” the set not done and a new card is turned.  Another option we have done is that and “Rejected” set leads to a 100 EZ swim.

I try to keep the sets small and no more than 10 minutes but some are very short. Here are a few…

*2 x 300 on 4:30 Every 3rd Length FAST NO Free
*8 x 50 on 1:00  – Odd 25 Underwater/25 Overwater,  Even Back
*500 Swim Choice on 7:00
*12 x 25 Nasal Set on :30   Nasal Set is one breath for each number in the set so 1st 25 is one breath etc 
*500 Social Kick with Fins
*8 x 25 on the :20  Get Outs – Get Outs are Muscle up (hands to feet out of water, no knees no butts on ladders) and dive in on Interval
*Pull 300 BP 7 on 4:30, 200 BP 9 on 2:50, 100 BP 11 on 1:20 – BP = Breathing Pattern
*1 Round Sharks and Minnows
*9 x 50 Breast on 1:00  3 sets of 3 #1 BR with Free Kick work Tempo, #2 BR with Fly Kick work Undulation, #3 Normal BR
*50 Underwater Goal NO BREATH
*8 x 75 K/D/S on 1:20
*400 IM for time

The possibilities are endless.  The kids really get into it especially when a easy one gets “Rejected”

Kick and Speed set for Age Groupers

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Greg Johnson

Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club
Here’s a sprint/pace set I tried for my top-level age groupers (10-13). My thought was to get them kicking fast, making their legs tired and breathing hard, and then challenge them to try to hold 2nd 50 goal 100 pace at the end.
2 x (round 1=prime stroke, Rd 2=Fr)
K 3 x 25 FAST @ :35
1 x 50 swim @ 1’00
K 3 x 25 FAST @ :30
2 X 50 SWIM @ 1’00 (both faster than #1)
K 3 x 25 FAST @ :25
3 x 50 swim @ 1:00 (all 3 faster than 2 &3 above at around 1/2 goal 100)