See Tom Yetter’s blog for a useful post on training age groupers using 25s fly.
How to Train Using 25s Fly
TweetWorkout from Ous Mellouli
 Oussama Mellouli (@OusMellouli)2/25/12 1:20 PM 4 all u distance crazies out there – Hour of Power: (800 – 2X400 – 4X200) X 2. 1st round on 1:15, 2nd on 1:10/100. LCM |
Stroke tempo charts
Here is an interesting chart from FINISinc, detailing stroke tempos of elite athletes.
The tempo ranges seem a bit narrow to me, and I question where exactly the data came from. Still, this could be very useful information.
Pick Your Kick Distance
Ryan Woodruff
SCY
30 x (50 or 75 or 100 yards kick)
#1-10 @ 1:30
1:00 rest
#11-20 @1:20
1:00 rest
#21-30 @1:10
The goal of course is to cover the most distance possible. For added motivation, we split up into teams and devised a points system; team with the most total points wins.
Successfully complete 100 yards = +2 points
Successfully complete 75 yards = +1 point
Only completed 50 yards= -1 point
Mid Season Long Course IM Workout
Ryan Woodruff
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com
LCM
Warmup – 1200m, 20:00
400 smooth swim @ 6:00
4 x 150 50 kick/50drill/50 swim @ 2:30
4 x 50 25 fast/25 easy @ 1:00
Main Set – 5500m, 1:08:00
Hold stroke 100s steady & strong. Descend 200s, 400s, and 600 IMs.
1 x 100 FLY @ 1:30
200 IM @ 3:00
1 x 100 BK @ 1:30
200 IM @ 3:00
1 x 100 BR @ 1:40
200 IM @ 3:00
:30 rest
2 x 100 FLY @ 1:30
400 IM @ 6:20
2 X 100 BK @ 1:30
400 IM @ 6:20
2 x 100 BR @ 1:40
400 IM @ 6:20
:30 rest
3 x 100 FLY @ 1:30
600 IM @ 9:40
3 x 100 BK @ 1:30
600 IM @ 9:40
3 x 100 BR @ 1:40
600 IM @ 9:40
100 easy @ 3:00
Kick/Speed Set
4 x 100 @ 3:00 ALL CHOICE
#1 – FROM START, 25m FAST SWIM/75m KICK
#2 – FROM START, 50m FAST SWIM/50m KICK
#3 – FROM START, 75m FAST SWIM/25m KICK
#4 – FROM START, 100m ALL OUT SWIM
WARM DOWN
Endurance with Speed Set
Jack Roney
YOTA Swimming (Raleigh, NC)
A great set to work some aerobic endurance while keeping the R&S (Racing and Speed) a significant factor.
8×75 on :50 (Adjust Interval so that swimmer averages no more than :05 sec rest – “:00-:05 sec. rest”)
4×25 (1-Easy / 3-ALL OUT) on 1:00
6×150 on 1:40 (Adjusted Interval – :05-:10 sec. rest)
6×25 (2x — 1-Easy / 2-ALL OUT) on 1:00
4×300 on 3:20 (Adjusted Interval – :10-:15 sec. rest)
8×25 (4x — 1-Easy / 1-ALL OUT) on 1:00
The 75s/150s/300s are created to represent a group of swimmers training at a sustained 1:06 Base Interval. This 1:06 was projected to give the swimmers between :00 and :05 sec. rest on the 75s — :05-:10 sec. rest on the 150s – and :10-:15 sec. rest on the 300s.
After the 75s / 150s / 300s the swimmers did an easy 25 on 1:00 – then went into 3 / 2 / or 1 FAST 25 depending on where in the set they were. As the set advanced on, the amount of FAST 25s decreases, to where they are alternating Easy/FAST for the last set of 25s on 1:00 (Essentially — 4×25 FAST on 2:00)
The swimmers did a decent warm-up and prep. set beforehand. My aim was to make sure they were not tired before the set, but also were not rested and full of energy before we began. This way they would demonstrate great technique/quality swimming while making sure their body is working hard!
One lane kick set
Coach Erik Wiken
Situation:I have our highest age groupers, but there is a range in kicking ability from the newest of the group (1:50, All out FR kick with board) to most experienced (1:20, the same). We also have a transition period where we are limited in space for a short period of time (15 Minutes), there are four different groups in the water, every day. Yesterday we did this with 11 in one lane (pool is 12.5 yards of shallow water). If your pool is all shallow, you can comfortably fit 20 age groupers in one lane. Granted, the next lane might prove to be a bit small for the duration of the kick set..
The purpose of this set was to get our swimmers to kick in a neutral body position using the snorkel without worrying about boards, turns slowing us down, missing intervals and getting in some wall work too. The time periods are such that there is no time to screw around and I would recommend keeping things short, any increase would be in the hard flutter over time.
(25 minutes) 5 Times through the following cycle all with snorkel, me with my whistle:
(1:20 for each round, 3 rounds per cycle + 50 swim = 5:00 per cycle)
20 seconds moderate flutter (for kick technique focus, ie “gaining knowledge”)
20 seconds hard flutter (“application of knowledge”)
20 seconds streamline jumps (Snorkel off! What age grouper doesn’t like streamline jumps?)
20 seconds rest (put your snorkel back on)
1 x 50 Moderate Swim @ 1:00 (Snorkel optional. all swim an entire 50, same direction, back to their spot on the wall)
go! Go! GO!
Greg Johnson
Head Age Group Coach
Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club
Just a tough, straightforward set (intervals based on freestyle for senior swimmers). We adjusted for the age groupers by giving them 6 rounds (odd rounds free, even IM). Got them breathing pretty hard.8 x (no rest between rounds)4 x 25 @ 202 x 50 @ 401 x 100 @ 1:15
Variety Kick Set
Ryan Woodruff
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com
The following kick set is good for overall lower body fitness while giving the athletes a specific goal to shoot for on the :50 kick for distance. Their individual goal distances were determined using the 15-minute kick test set.
SCY
200 kick @ 3:40
20 blastoffs @ :40
:50 kick for distance @1:30
200 kick @ 3:40
20 blastoffs @ :40
2 x :50 kick for distance @1:30
200 kick @ 3:40
20 blastoffs:40
3 x :50 kick for distance @1:30
200 kick @ 3:40
20 blastoffs:40
4 x :50 kick for distance @1:30
Age Group Set from Gwinnett Aquatics
Lucas Ferreira
Gwinnett Aquatics
Gwinnett Aquatics
Here’s a set we did with our top Age Groupers (11-14) that worked really well:
(SCM)
4 rounds:
5×100 FR – 1:20 / 1:30 / 1:40
10×25 RACE – 0:40
– IM order per round, dive on Odds
Two things were important to make this set as good as it was for us:
1) The 100s were right at the kids’ cruise interval (they had to work decently hard to get 2-3sec of rest only, nearly much playing wall tag the whole way). I would adjust those intervals likewise for a different group of kids or if we were swimming SCY.
2) Each kid had goal times for the 25s. Those were about 1sec faster than what they need to hold to make their goal 100s of each stroke this season, so they had to work pretty hard to make them.
It was a great way to get plenty of hard aerobic work, with a lot of fast swimming in the middle!
Mucho Kicking For Distance
Ryan Woodruff
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com
The set below uses timed kicks for maximum distance. Mixing in some kick-heavy drill, this set lasts approximately one hour. In total, this is 35 minutes of kicking at high intensity. We gave our swimmers specific distances to shoot for during each timed kick, dividing them up into two teams. The numbers at the very bottom represent the running points total from the team competition.
Speed set for taper time
Jack D. Roney
Assistant Senior Coach/YOTA Masters
Assistant Senior Coach/YOTA Masters
Here is a set that I have found extremely beneficial as a great “Approaching Taper” speed set. It allows the swimmers to focus on quality of stroke while still trying to put in some speed as the athletes approach a taper meet.
500 Free on 5:30
16×25 (1-Smooth / 3-FAST) on :40
400 Free on 5:30
12×25 (1- Smooth / 2-FAST) on :40
300 Free on 5:30
8×25 (1-Smooth / 1-FAST) on :40
200 Free on 5:30
4×25 (ALL FAST) on :40
100 Free on 5:30
1×50 (For Time — SPRINT)
**NOTES: The 500/400/300/200/100 should be all focus on technique. A bit more speed may have to be put into the first 500 depending on the level of swimmer you are coaching, but the 400/300/200/100 should become much “easier” to make the interval. Therefore, attention to detail in EVERY aspect remains high. Perfection swimming is the goal in all non-“FAST” swims.
As you get more rest, the FAST 25s should be as described (100% intensity) but with obvious focus on technique.
I made the athletes hop out of the water after the 300/200/100 and stretch for several minutes before the next set of 25s began.
Quality during the weeks leading up to a meet was the main focus when I was being coached, and is by-far the most important aspect in my workouts AS a coach for my athletes as we approach our taper meet.
Kick/Swim Set
Coach Erik Wiken
5X Through…
4 x 50 @ 1:00 #1 Stroke Kick, Descend 1-4, #4 is Sprint
1 x 100 @ 2:30 50 Kick Oriented Drill 50Sprint Swim
Rationale:
-The idea was to make the kick the primary focus of your swimming.
-Kick oriented drill was put after the 50s to focus on body position and kick technique in a taxed state and then have the kick be fresh in your mind and the focus in the fast swimming.
-Intervals vary depending on ability:
+50s were to get about 15 seconds on the 1st 50 and about 25 on the 4th for this particular group.
+Longer rest during the 100 to account for rest between rounds to make sure focus stays on kick, not just survival.
#1 Stroke Kick position had two options:
1. Streamline (Fly/Bk/BR @ Back, FR @ stomach with snorkel)
2. Kick in positions that also get an athlete to focus on the body.
Example:
Fly – Side Kick (bottom arm extended, no hula hands!)
BK – “Roller Coaster”
BR – Heel Check (arms down @ you back, heels to hands then big toes finish out of water)
FR – I prefer on stomach arms extended and hands at the beginning of the catch phase (kick in posture) or hands at sides, rotating. Rotating may make the interval tougher and may need to be adjusted depending on athlete.
Today’s Kick Set
Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach, Parkland Aquatic Club
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com
This set uses performances from our 15-minute Kick Test Set to set goal distances for each swimmer. Total distance from that set divided by 10 gives the goal for each 1:30 segment below.
4 x 1:30 kick for distance @ 2:00
200 easy swim
3 x 3:00 kick for distance @ 4:00
200 easy swim
2 x 4:30 kick for distance @ 6:00
200 easy swim
1000 yard Medley Relay Set
Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Parkland Aquatic Club
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com
This set works well with up to six swimmers (two relay teams) in a lane. Divide your group into groups of two or three- try to make even teams to give everyone a good race. Have them race a 1000 (or whatever distance you choose) medley relay. If your teams have three people each, swimmers swim the strokes in regular medley relay order. If you have only two swimmers, leave out one of the strokes. This ensures that swimmers don’t swim the same strokes repeatedly. Swimmers complete a single 50 at a time…swimmer 1 does a 50 back, swimmer 2 does a 50 breast, etc. Use the starting blocks for some extra work climbing out of the pool every time, or just stay in the water and go from a push.
Exam Week at Carthage
Greg Earhart
Head Coach
Carthage College
Last week was finals week so we open up the pool and the guys train around their exam schedule. I generally make the practices simpler (i.e. less thinking and stress) and give them a couple of options – more aerobic or challenging – depending on their own personal stress level.
I tried to inject a little fun into last week’s and I’ve attached what I came up with.
Fly Set for Groups
Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Parkland Aquatic Club
This set is effective for doing butterfly with a group of varying levels of ability. Simply divide your group into A, B, and C levels of ability and you should be able to keep them on the same intervals. Here are the distances with instructions below.
200
2 x 25
100
200
4 x25
100
200
6 x 25
100
200
8 x 25
100
200s always on 3:20
“A” instructions: 5 through 8 cycles fly off each wall x2
“B” Instructions: 5 cycles off every wall sprint fly then ez free
“C” Instructions: 3 cycles off every wall sprint fly
25s always on :30 are all sprint fly no B last 10 yards
100s kick @ 2:30, 25 on back hands at side, 25 right side, 25 left side, 25 front, hands at side
Vertical I.M. Transitions
Ryan Woodruff
Ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com
This set is designed to help mimic the crucial transitions in IM sets. In my opinion, much of the difficulty in IM transitions is due to fatigue in the legs. The vertical kicking mimics the fatigue from one stroke and then we swim fast!
3x:
2:00 vertical dolphin kick (hands out of the water) straight into…
1 x 100 fast backstroke (50 splits must be within 1 sec of each other)
1 x 100 easy swim
Repeat additional times doing vertical flutter kick (for backstroke) followed by breaststroke swimming. For the br-fr transition, do vertical kicking with a weight followed by freestyle swimming. Intersperse these sets with longer IM sets for maximum effect.
Underwater Power Set
Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Parkland Aquatic Club
One of the pools that we train at is 6 lanes (about 12 yards wide), perfect for practicing some FAST underwater dolphin kicking. We did this set just the other day. On repeats of multiple widths, they could take one breath at each turn.
12 x 1 width @ :20
50 ez swim
6 x 2 widths @ :40
50 ez swim
4 x 3 widths @ 1:00
50 ez swim
1 x 12 widths as fast as possible
Speed to Burn
Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Parkland Aquatic Club
Try this one for a good race-pace set.
6 x 50 @ 1:00 at P200
200 easy swim @ 4:00
4 x 50 @ 1:00 at P200
2 x 25 @ :30 at P100
200 easy swim @ 4:00
2 x 50 @ 1:00 at P200
4 x 25 @ :30 at P100
200 easy swim @ 4:00
6 x 25 @ :30 at P100
200 easy swim @ 4:00
Freestyle Set After the Main Set
Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Parkland Aquatic Club
After a big freestyle set (6,000) for our main set today, we used the follow-up set below. Swimmers had the option to continue to swim at anaerobic pace or swim aerobically and focus on details. Color paces are based on a T30 test and Jon Urbanchek’s training tables.
SCY
6 x 100 Free @1:30
Swimmers have the option of swimming at these paces or swimming at White pace for all of them and doing 6 or more dolphin kicks off every wall.
#1 – White
#2 – Pink
#3 – Red
#4 – White
#5 – Red
#6 – Blue
Beat It (The Michael Jackson Set)
Gary Galbreath
Dayton Raiders Swim Club
A Tempo Trainer Set- Try to Beat the Beep
We set the Tempo Trainers so it beep at the 1/2 length and at the wall pace!
The Goal is to beat the beep to the wall. Forces swimmers to get to the wall.
Rest 2 beeps go on the 3rd BEEP on all Rounds
The 25’s are set at 100 Pace, The 50’s are set at a .25 faster than
200 Speed and the 75 .25 slower than 200 Pace.
Beat the Beep
10 x 25 Tempo Trainer Go on 3Rd Beep FLAT OUT FAST!
2 x 400 Pull @ 6:00 #1 Smooth, #2 Each 100 Faster
10 x 50 Tempo Trainer Go on 3rd Beep KEEP THE SPEED!
2 x 300 @ 4:30 #1 Smooth, #2 Each 100 Faster
10 x 75 Go on 3rd Beep SHOW HOW TOUGH YOU ARE
2 x 200 Pull @ 3:00 #1 Smooth, #2 Fast
Another 11/11/11 Set
11-11-11 Set
Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Parkland Aquatic Club
Can you have a once-in-a-lifetime set to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime day?
11 x 100 free @ 1:11
Possible instructions:
– Kick out 11m off every wall
– Breathe every 11
– Get 11 seconds of rest each time
– Take 11 strokes or fewer each length
– Use 11 dolphin kicks off every wall
– Take 11 breaths total in each 100
– Descend by 11 seconds from #1 to #11
– Be within 11 seconds of your best time on every swim
– Come up with 11 different technical things to work on and focus on one for each 100
– 11 strokes – 11 kicks – 11 strokes drill
– Start the set at the 11:11 on your pace clock
– Perform the set with 11 people in your lane
– Tell your coach 11 reasons why you liked the set!!!
Kick Set from Gwinnett
Lucas Ferreira
Head Age Group Coach
Gwinnett Aquatics
lucas@gwinnettaquatics.com
Here’s a set we had our top Age Group (11-14) do:
Notes: We train SCM, so the intervals were appropriate for that. For SCY, intervals should be about 10sec faster per 100. ‘The’ main set would be the 12×100 kick, but I coach by the motto ‘every set is a main set’. Thus I have included the lead up to the set, since that was all thought of ways to make sure they would be ready to go.
6×100 @ 2:00 w/ wall kick
75 FR B3 / 25 Rev. IMO, double UW!
– Key thing here is to make sure they are going twice as far (for us, double pull-outs on Br, 6 to 8 kicks on Fl and Bk)! I also asked them to keep their heads down most of the time for the wall kick, and build it until their send-off.
4:00 wall kick (30 EZ / 30 FAST / 35/25 / 40/20 / 45/15) – Goal was to make sure their legs were ready up to hit the set right.
Finally… Kicking FAST:
12×100 Kick @ 2:20
75 FAST (alt FR/IMO, no FR) / 25 EZ Fr
– Goal for the 75 was to beat their best 100 LCM time for that stroke (if training SCY, I would use best SCY times).
– We had the kids write their 75 times down on acrylic boards with wax pencils (that always helps keeping them honest on the effort). Had a couple kids hit their goals on all 12, everyone hit it on at least 6 (the BR was actually very easy).
A Great Halloween Set
We found this one on the USMS website from Coach Mike Collins at NOVA Masters.
Special “Evil” Practice – Come if you dare!
Warm-up:
ae – 200 Free + 100 Back + 100 Breast
i – 150 Free + 75 Back + 75 Breast
r – 100 Free + 50 Back + 50 Breast
1 x 400/300 Evil Free Swim
No wall turns. Turn at the “T” WITHOUT touching the bottom.
Every 4th length Fly w/ Breast kick.
7 x 50’s of Progressive Pain (w/ Fins)
25 FAST Fly + 25 Free
Do pullouts at the turn as follows:
#1- 2 pullouts #2 – 4 pullouts
#3 – 6 pullouts #4 – 8 pullouts
Then back down 6-4-2 to make 7 50’s
Interval increases by 5 with more pullouts and decreases by 5 as they are
taken out
Zombies in the Grave Kicking – 6/4 x 50’s @ :20 RI (w/ Fins)
25 kick on back with arms straight up in the air shoulder width
apart – Kick like HELL!
2nd 25 of each 50 is Backstroke Swim
Swim – 6 x 100 Insane IM’s & Sanity Free @ :20 RI
Odd 100’s – Insane IM’s. Use different kick for each stroke
Fly w/ Flutter kick
Back w/ dolphin kick
Breast w/ flutter kick
Free w/ Breast kick
Even 100’s – Normal swim to return sanity
Suffocating Pull of Death – 3 x (3 x 50’s Pulling)
1st round: 5-4-3 breaths per 50. Beginners start at 6-5-4
2nd round: 4-3-2 breaths per 50
3rd round: 3-2-1 breaths per 50
Intervals :50-1:00-1:10, 1:00-1:10-1:20, 1:10-1:20-1:30
4/3 x Screamer 50’s @ 1:30 or 2:00
25 easy+25 fast
Let out a blood curdling Scream or witch’s cackle at the turn
Leave after the person in front of you screams
Halloween Swim Set #1
With Halloween right around the corner, it’s time to break out the creativity to encourage your swimmers to come to practice before they trick or treat.
A Halloween Set for Age Groupers (a re-post from last year)
Urbanchek’s Training Paces Available for Download
Jon Urbanchek is among the very best swim coaches of the last few decades. We have now added a link on the “Tools for Coaches” page where you can download the Microsoft Excel document that you can use to customize training paces for your group.
Quality and Technique
Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach, Parkland Aquatic Club
SCY
We performed this set to get in some high-quality yardage while also spending some time on specific technical elements of our freestyle
20 x 400
odd fastest possible average @ 5:00
even easy @ 6:00
Follow these specific instructions on the easy swims:
#1 and #11 – Breathe every 3 strokes
#3 and #13 – Kick at least 4+ dolphin kicks off every wall
#5 and #15- Open turns with great streamlines
#7 and #17- 25 breathing right/25 breathing left
#9 and #19- Finish every 25 with a perfect touch
For an I.M. option: Do the fast swims IM @ 6:00 and go a 300 (instead of 400) easy @ 5:00.
Kickin’ with Wiken #5
Erik Wiken
Head Coach, Heartland Aquatics
This post is the fifth in a series of posts from Coach Wiken’s Senior/National Team Group. Look for more to come soon.
7 x 100 @ 2:10 IM Cycle
-Kick, build each 50 to strong kick
1 x 200 @ 4:50 IM
-Kick for Time, in SL (1 stroke/turn)
3 x 100 @ 2:10 IM Transitions
-Kick, build each 50 to strong kick
1 x 200 @ 4:30 IM
-Kick for Time, in SL (1stroke/turn)
1400 yards, 31 minutes
The Swimming Wizard 