11-11-11 Set

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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

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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

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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

Quality and Technique

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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

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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

A Few Favorites

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Dan Harrigan
1976 Olympic Bronze Medalist- 200 Back
Former Coach, Penn State University

Dan counts the great Dick Jochums as his mentor.  Here are a few of Dan’s favorite sets:
10 x 100 free (yds)on 1:15 count strokes for each lap. Each 25 take one less stroke.
This will tend to make you kick more toward the end of each hundred.

10 x 200m back swim/kick by 100s on 2:45 (or an interval that gives you little time to rest, maybe 5 to 10 seconds.)

15 x 100 free on descending intervals (meters):

first five on 1:15

next five on 1:10

last five on 1:05

Kickin’ with Wiken #2

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Erik Wiken
Head Coach, Heartland Aquatics

This post is the second in a series of posts from Coach Wiken’s Senior/National Team Group.  Look for more to come soon.

No Board/in Streamline on back, 1 stroke max into wall
3 x through:
    4 x 100 @ 2:00   
       75Flutter/25 Dolphin, 50/50, 25/75, 0/100
    4 x 25 @ :45 Fly Swim
    ½ Way – 15M ↓H20 kick into sprint swim
    1 x 50 @ 1:00 Easy FR Swim

1650/36 minutes



Kickin’ with Wiken #1

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Erik Wiken
Head Coach, Heartland Aquatics

This post is the first in a series of posts from Coach Wiken’s Senior/National Team Group.  Look for more to come soon.

With Board or in Streamline (1 stroke max into wall)
4 x 100 @ 2:00 FR Strong Kick
4 x 25 @ :45 FR All Out Kick
3 x 100 @ 1:55 FR Strong Kick
4 x 25 @ :45 FR All Out Kick
2 x 100 @ 1:50 FR Strong Kick
4 x 25 @ :45 FR All Out Kick
1 x 100 @ 1:45 FR Strong Kick
4 x 25 @ :45 FR All Out Kick
1 x 100 @ — Easy Moderate FR Swim
1500/35 minutes

Flyin’ at Heartland

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Workout notes:
 -Only had 90 minutes on this particular day so things were a bit more condensed than normal. Was fortunate enough to have a couple of college guys back to train with my best 14 & under flyer. The goal was for her to do the set without breaking stroke and preparing for a great 200 fly without doing a TON of fly.
-The Short fins set was the speed work for the day, with the mindset of finishing a 100 fly really fast (fins were there to ensure holding stroke after the main set, aside from generating max speed). The underwaters were a hypoxic recovery and a mental challenge to use a whole body kick after the 100s on both rounds.
 – This was a good workout for the guys and an awesome challenge she rose up to on that day (not a typical daily workout, we were going into winter break, I believe there was no full day of school afterwards so she could recover fully). She channeled this memory about a month later into a PR in the 200 fly by about 5 seconds. 
Warm-up:
5:00FR Swim @ 1:00 Rest
8 x 25 @ :30 IM Order by 2s, fast in the deep end
(IMO by 2s: 1-2:Fly 3-4:BK …. Essentially Odds: EZ/FAST Evens: FAST/EZ)
2 x Wall Series (SEE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG POST)

Main Set: 

2x through…
1 x 250 @ 3:20
1 x 200 @ 2:40
1 x 150 @ 2:00
1 x 100 @ 1:20
1 x 50 @ 1:00
1st Rd: finish each swim with 25 fly (example: 250 = 225FR 25Fly…. 50 = 25FR 25Fly)
2nd Rd: finish each swim with 50 fly

1 x 50 @ 1:40 Easy Swim

Repeat all of that again.

+ 1:00 Rest to put on short fins..

2x
3 x 100 @ 1:40 50FR/50Fly
-Negative Split
4 x 25 @ :45 Underwater dolphin kick

Warm-down:
200FR 100IM Drill 
Wall Series: “Stolen” from Tom Beck at GOAL, modified to current form. Finish each warm-up with this mini set:
The following 7 steps are one time through, we finish each warm-up session twice through…
1. Streamline for distance* (goal; reach mid pool & beyond without propulsion)
2. From 1st red float back to start wall, submerge for underwater accelerator dolphin to wall, last few yards should be sprint. (swim back out to about 10 yards out)
3. FR race pace turn
4. 2 Reverse tucks from a horizontal & stationary position (working on quick knees & shoulders on open turn)
5. Fly or BR open race pace turn
6. Back race pace turn**
7. Accelerator at surface into choice race finish 
*The second round the streamline for distance is from the blocks. No kick, just gliding.
**The second round we substitute the BK turn on the 2nd round with a BK/BR crossover turn.

Burning Both Ends of the Candle

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First time I ran this, kids had never heard of the phrase before and didn’t understand why I would call this set that name. After 20 x 25s, they knew why…
 
1. Partner Up:
-You will need 1 Buoy & 1 Kickboard per tandem, both with center-mount snorkel (HIGHLY recommended)
2. 20 x 25 @ 1:00 (interval & # of repeats according to ability)
(want to make it longer?, suggest breaking @ 1/2 or 1/3s with a 50 easy on same interval)
One person does a 25 sprint scull (hands out in front of snorkel), head in line
 
The other person does a 25 sprint FR tombstone kick**, head in line
Rotate equipment after each 25
**Tombstone Kick: Stand board on end, grab a 1/2 way and stick bottom half in the water. Board stays vertical.  (We also do tombstone kick sets where the last repeat (usually 25s) we “bury it”, board is vertical and totally submerged.)

Two Grand Tempo

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Brent Nichols
I wanted to share a workout using the Temp Trainer.  Following Coach Ryan Woodruff’s idea on how to determine “sweet spot”, http://swimmingwizard.blogspot.com/2010/05/find-your-sweet-spot.html, I came up with this set to help me work on speed without losing control.
300 Warm up consisting of:
25 Fist swim
25 open hand
25 1 finger
25 open hand
25 2 finger
25 open hand
25 3 finger
25 open hand
100 easy swim for stroke count
All three sets using TT at 1.05:
Set #1 400
4 x 25 + 3 x 50 + 2 x 75 + 1 x 100 1.05
20 second rests
Recovery swim
100
Set #2 400
4 x 25 + 3 x 50 + 2 x 75 + 1 x 100@1.05
15 second rests
Recovery swim
100
Set #3 400
4 x 25 + 3 x 50 + 2 x 75 + 1 x 100@1.05
10 second rests
Recovery swim
100
Warm down 300 yards easy swim
2100 total yards

The Hurricane

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Ryan Woodruff
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com

“More days to come
New places to go
I’ve got to leave
It’s time for a show

Here I am, rock you like a hurricane”

-The Scorpions, “Rock You Like a Hurricane”

WARMUP Churn the waters– 20 MINUTES NON-STOP OF:

200 SMOOTH FREE
10 STREAMLINE BLASTOFFS OFF THE BOTTOM
100 KICK W/BOARD
100 SMOOTH NO FREE
10 STREAMLINE BLASTOFFS
50 KICK FAST W/ BOARD

MAIN SET – THE HURRICANE
The intensity builds and builds until you reach the “Eye-M” in the middle. The intensity hits strong again shortly thereafter.

Descend the 1st four 500s, Pull is optional on all 100s
500 FREE STRONG @ 5:40
4 X 100 EZ @ 1:15
500 FREE STRONG @ 5:40
3 X 100 EZ @ 1:15
500 FREE STRONG @ 5:40
2 X 100 EZ @ 1:15
500 FREE STRONG @ 5:40
1 X 100 EZ @ 1:15

800 REVERSE “Eye-M” 50 KICK/100 DRILL/50 SWIM

500 FREE STEADY B3 @ 5:40
4 X 100 F.P.A. @ 1:10
500 FREE STEADY B3 @ 5:40
3 X 100 F.P.A. @ 1:10
500 FREE STEADY B3 @ 5:40
2 X 100 F.P.A. @ 1:10
500 FREE STEADY B3 @ 5:40
1 X 100 F.P.A. @ 1:10

WARM DOWN SET
? X 25 @ :30 CHOICE, DESCEND CYCLE COUNT 1-4 AND REPEAT

The "N" Set

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Dani Caldwell
SUSA Stingrays

This was a great set for determining the “mental state” of my senior swimmers.  I also did a shorter, easier version with my age-groupers later in the day.  I did it as an evening practice for my seniors, which gave them extra motivation to push themselves!
 
Goal yardage (depending on the ability of the swimmers and duration of the workout):  6500 yards
 
Rules:
1.  You have 15 minutes do get in as many repeats as possible.  Count your repeats. (Coach records them)
2.  You MUST take the specified rest.
3.  You determine how much effort you put in.
4.  Once you reach your goal yardage, you warm down 300 yards and you are done.
Sets:
1.  15 minutes — straight swim
2.  15 minutes — n x 100 FR kick with fins and snorkel @5 seconds rest
3.  15 minutes — n x 200 FR pull (no buoy) @20 seconds rest
4.  15 minutes — n x 100 stroke (no FR, all the same stroke) @ 10 seconds rest
5.  15 minutes — n x 50 FR with snorkel (work on turns) @ 10 seconds rest
6.  15 minutes — n x 25 underwaters with fins @10 seconds rest
7.  15 minutes — n x 75 FR @5 seconds rest

A Dayton Christmas Part 2

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Gary Galbreath
Dayton Raiders

SCM

Pulling/Kicking
====================
3 x 300 on 4:30 Swim, IM k/d/s, scull/swim x25
8 x 100 on 1:30 uh2o turns
====================
4x
{1 x 75 on 1:20 1:25 Kick, 1st 25 fast
{1 x 75 on 1:25 1:30 Kick- last 50 fast
{1 x 75 on 1:30 Kick- entire 75 fast
{1 x 100 on 2:00 Kick for Time
====================
2x
{3 x 200 on 2:30 2:40 2:50 Paddles with hard kick
{3 x 150 on 2:00 2:10 2:20 pad/buoy desc 50’s
{3 x 100 on 1:15 1:20 1:25 Buoy only. Make
{2 x 50 on 1:00 Backstroke
====================
5 x 100 on 1:30 No Equipment.Choice Best Ave
1 x 500 on 8:00 Swim 12.5 uh2o off each wall
5 x 100 on 1:30 Equipment. Choice Best Ave
1 x 100 on 2:00 ez 1:00
7,500 Meters

A Dayton Christmas Part 1

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Gary Galbreath
Dayton Raiders

SCY
200 Swim, 200 kick, 200 Pull, 200 Swim @ 13:00                          13
15 x 100                                                                       
       5 @ 1:20/1:25
       5 @ 1:15/1:20
       5 @ 1:10/1:15
———1 Min———-                          2300
Main Set
3 x                                                                            
6 x 25 Fly @ 20/25 (200 Pace)
1 x 50 @ 45
6 x 25 Back @ 20/25 (200 Pace or 400 IM Pace)
1 x 50 @ 45
6 x 25 Breast @ 25/30 (200 Pace or 400 IM Pace)
1 x 50 @ 45
6 x 25 Free @ 20/25 (200 Pace or 400 IM Pace)
1 x 50 @ 45                    2400/4700
——–1 Min——–
Main Set II
4 x                     Descend 1-4                                            
1 x 100 IM @ 1:25/1:30
1 x 100 IM @ 1:20/1:25
1 x 100 IM @ 1:15/1:20
1 x 100 IM @ 1;10/1:15
                                   1600/6300
——–1 min——–
Kick Set
20 x 50                                                                        
       Odd @ 50
       Even @ 45
                                   1000/7300
——–1 Min——
Pull Set
10 x 75 @ 55/1:00                                                              
                                   750/8050

The Myers Sprint Set

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Dustin Myers

1 x 50  @  1:00;  cruise kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel

2 x 25  @  0:30;  build to sprint kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel
4 x 25  @  0:40;  build to sprint – free
2 x 25  @  0:30;  build to sprint kick – secondary stroke
4 x 25  @  0:40;  build to sprint – secondary stroke
1:00 rest
1 x 50  @  1:00;  cruise kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel
2 x 25  @  0:40;  sprint kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel
4 x 25  @  0:50;  sprint – free
2 x 25  @  0:40;  sprint kick – secondary stroke
4 x 25  @  0:50;  sprint – secondary stroke
1:00 rest
1 x 50  @  1:30;  cruise kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel and parachute
2 x 25  @  0:50;  sprint kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel and parachute
4 x 25  @  1:00;  sprint – free w/ parachute
2 x 25  @  0:50;  sprint kick – secondary stroke w/ parachute
4 x 25  @  1:00;  sprint – secondary stroke w/ parachute
1:00 rest
2 x 25  @  1:30;  sprint – free w/ bucket
2 x 25  @  1:30;  sprint – secondary stroke w/ bucket
2 x 25  @  1:30;  sprint – free w/ bucket and fins (paddles optional)
2 x 25  @  1:30;  sprint – secondary stroke w/ bucket and fins (paddles optional)

Medley and Free Sets for Success

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Great mixed Medley/Fs sets that work well with all swimmers (times adjusted accordingly)
1600 IM as
50 Fs, 50 Fly
100 Fs, 100 Bk
150 Fs, 150 Brst
200 Fs, 200 IM
150 Fs, 150 Fly
100 Fs, 100 Bk
50 Fs, 50 Brst
Focus on good technique, especially towards end of set
20 x 100 Fs as
8 @ 1.20
6 @ 1.15
4 @ 1.10
2 @ 1.05
Work distance per stroke, turns & finishes
8 x 150 as (twice through)
# 1 – All Fs
# 2 – All Kick
# 3 – IM (Leave out Form stroke)
# 4 – All Form
20 x 50 Fs Jump Outs as
10 @ 50
6 @ 45
4 @ 40
Individual Pressure Swims;
Pick swimmer for ‘Pressure swim’ and give him/her 10/15 minutes to prepare. Leave poolside whilst others continue with session. Bring ‘competitior’ out and get all other swimmers out of pool to support him/her. Swimmers then has to race and be within 1% of best time. If they make the time, all swimmers swim down and leave early. If the swimmer fails, they ALL do 1000m Max for time. Great for teamwork/team building.

21-Cycle Swims

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Dani Caldwell
SUSA Stingrays, St. George, Utah


21-Cycle Swims
SCY
Short set we do with HS kids…
8 x 21 stroke cycles — stop when you reach 21 cycles, begin from that point on the next one
Rules:  you must continue stroking or streamlining off the wall — no side-glide or other forms of “cheating”
Some of our older boys were getting to 125 yards the other morning!  It was interesting how “into it” they got — they turned it into quite a competition.

A Halloween Set during Adaptation Week (for age groupers)

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Clare Labowitch
Head Coach Darwin Swimming Club
Northern Territory, Australia
5k Pre-Halloween Excursion to the Dark Side (10-15 sec RI throughout)
Warm Up
4 x 100 two headed monsters (a variation of top and tail, this has two swimmers stroking with a kicker hanging on to each of their feet)
8 x 50 ghost slider + stealth free (max uw s/l on side, keep upper body very still, lead with one arm other by side,smooth breakout into no splash free with high elbow recovery)
6 x 50 scare tactics (with fins – 25 uw dolphin 25 max sprint)
Pre-Set
600 vampire chase 2 swimmers begin 20m in front of three other swimmers with fins who work as a pursuit team to catch them – once caught roles are rotated. The third swimmer in the line is the catcher which forces the swimmers to work together)
6 x 50 scramble home relay(swimmers s/l under floating mat then swim to and climb over, best they can, a fitness ball to get to the end).
Main
2[6 x 200 medley mashups (change around medley order/distances and even leave out a stroke for each repeat)
    4 x 50 carrying the weight (dolphin kick on back holding up medicine ball)
Cool down
4 x 50 zombie crawl (25 on back swimming feet forwards; 25 swim freestyle backwards)

Aerobic Speed

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Gary Galbreath
Dayton Raiders

We did this set during what I called Aerobic speed week. This was done Short Course Meters.

We gave all swimmers aggressive times to hold.  All said it was the hardest set of the summer.
400/350 Pull @ 5:15
4 x 50 Drill @ 50
——-30——–
1 x 100 Dive Fast @ 2:00
400/350 Pull @ 5:15
4 x 50 Drill @ 50
——-30——–
2 x 100 Dive Fast @ 2:00
400/350 Pull @ 5:15
4 x 50 Drill @ 50
——-30——–
3 x 100 Dive Fast @ 2:00
400/350 Pull @ 5:15
4 x 50 Drill @ 50
——-30——–
4 x 100 Dive Fast @ 2:00
500 Warm-Down (50 Kick-50 Swim)

I.M. a Hokie

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Braden Holloway
Associate Head Coach, Virginia Tech

Aerobic Base IM set for 400 IMers.
Done in SC Yards

350 IM @ 4:45 (50/125/125/50)
3 x 100 FR @ 1:15
400 IM @ 5:30 (75/125/125/75)
400 FR @ 5:00
450 IM @ 6:15 (100/125/125/100)
5 x 100 @ 1:10
500 IM @ 6:45 (100/150/150/100)
600 FR @ 7:00
550 IM @ 7:30 (125/150/150/125)
7 x 100 FR @ 1:05 PULL
600 IM @ 8:15 (125/175/175/125)
800 FR @ 9:00 PULL
Hold entire set 5-6 beats below max heart rate
Total: 6150 yards

The Dayton Raider Mountain

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Gary Galbreath
Dayton Raiders Swim Club

Here’s a set we did Saturday morning. Just as a reminder it’s base building time! We did it SC meters. Everyone was on the same cycle. The Kick part was the chance to catch up if the were struggling with the Times. It’s just a good Aerobic set. Total 8800 meters

25 Kick@ 30
4 x 50 @ 45 Descend 1-4
            Free
75 Kick@ 1:30
4 x 100 @ 1:30 Descend 1-4
            25 Stroke/50 Free/25 Stroke
125 Kick @ 2:30
4 x 150 @ 2:05 Descend 1-4
            Free
175 Kick@ 3:30
4 x 200 @ 3:00 Descend 1-4
            BackStroke
225 Kick @ 4:30
4 x 250 @ 3:15 Descend 1-4
            Free
275 kick@ 5:30
4 x 300 @ 4:30 Descend 1-4
            100 IM/100No Free/100 Free
325 Kick @ 6:30
4 x 350 @ 4:25 Descend 1-4
            Free
375 Kick@ 7:30
4 x 400 IM @ 6:30
            #1 4 x 100 IM
            #2 100IM/200 IM/100IM
            #3 2 x 200 IM
            #4 Reverse 400 IM
                        8800 meters