The Submarine Set

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(you’ll spend a lot of time underwater)
Louis Cavadini

Widths underwater continuous, take a breath at walls with an open turn, then go back under. We did these in two groups, so the group that just went could catch their breath. We had lane lines in so it worked better to help prevent kids coming up in the middle of the pool:
1:00 widths underwater
2:00 widths underwater
3:00 widths underwater
4:00 widths underwater
100 EZ
10:00 widths underwater!
*The 10 minute widths under got a bit boring, might want to break it
up a bit. This set made for a great Monday morning leg workout.

Physio Ball Flutter Kicks

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Ryan Woodruff

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Here’s another abdominal exercise that we do, often for 2 sets of :30 each. Keep the ball on your lower shins, and control it using the tops of your feet. Kick from the hip with the knees straight and the hips slightly elevated for best results.

Physio Ball Roll-Overs

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Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org

Here’s an example of a terrific core exercise we do. The swimmer in the foreground is demonstrating the best technique. We typically do a set of 10 of these, rolling the swimmer on the physio ball from the chin to the knees and back each time.

The Modified 15-minute Kick Test Set

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

You may remember the 15-minute Kick Test Set.
Here’s a new wrinkle that I came up with last week: Instead of stopping after each distance and having the swimmers state their distance, and swim a 100 easy (which is good, but just takes a LONG time), simply make it a broken 15-minute kick stopping in place at the same intervals (1:00, 2:10, 4:30, 4:20, 2:05, :55). Take a minute rest treading water in between intervals. Swimmers keep track of their TOTAL distance rather than the distance kicked in each segment

+’s of doing it this way: Less time to complete the set, easier to calculate the swimmer’s total distance kicked.

-‘s of doing it this way: You no longer have the motivational “double-up” the distance and “double-down” during the set, as swimmers no longer are counting their yardage precisely in each set.

Revised Mountain Climbers

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Dani Caldwell, SUSA Stingrays

Another one we recently did to stir things up at High School practice (created by Coach Brandon Darrington) — “Revised Mountain Climbers” — we did serpentine 25’s (swim down in lane 3, back in lane 4, down in lane 5, back in lane 6, etc.) until lane 8.  At the end of lane 7, they had to get out and do a dive-start on their 8th 25.  One of the coaches timed each swimmer from the dive (we ran around a lot!), and the swimmer had to guess to the hundredth their time.  If they guessed correctly to within 0.05 seconds, they got to warm down and be done with practice.  If not, they had to start the serpentine all over again.  The second round we let them guess to the nearest 0.10.  The third round to the nearest 0.20, etc.  It was surprising that even some of my best swimmers weren’t guessing as accurately as I thought they would, and that some of the less-seasoned swimmers were guessing correctly.  It was fun for most of the kids — I don’t think those who had to repeat 7-8 times were having as much fun!
 

Hope that’s of use somehow!

The I.M. Bruise & Cruise

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Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org

The repeat 400 IMs are the bruise – they’ll put the fatigue in you. The 100s descend to P400IM are the cruise – go fast! Look back at your lifetime best 400IM to get your splits before you start.

1 x 400 IM @ best time + 1:20
3 x 100 Fly descend to P400IM @ 2:00
2 x 400 IM @ best time +1:10
3 x 100 Back descend to P400IM @ 2:00
3 x 400 IM @ best time +1:00
3 x 100 Breast descend to P400IM @ 2:00
3 x 400 IM @ best time +:50
3 x 100 Free descend to P400IM @ 2:00

Dizzy 50s

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Dani Caldwell, SUSA Stingrays
St. George, Utah

Something we like to do with our newer swimmers (and sometimes the older ones, too, for fun and fundamentals) is what we call “Dizzy 50’s:”

 

We only do about 6-10 x 50 FR (depending on level and ability of swimmer) with a Streamline pushoff (7-kicks or 10 yards), then a few strokes, a somersault in the middle, continue to the far wall, do two consecutive flips, push off on the 2nd flip, SL to 5 yards, stroke, somersault in the middle again, then far wall.  We really emphasize turning in Head-Hips-Heels fashion and not lifting the head into the turn.  Make sure there is enough space so they don’t run into each other when they get “dizzy!”

See Previous Submissions from Coach Caldwell:
Hypoxic from Utah – December 16, 2009

Mile Race Rehearsal

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Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org

3 x 400 descend 3-5 seconds each 400 to a strong effort on #3. Remember your times.
3 x 100 descend 1-2 seconds each 100 to a strong effort on #3. Start at least as fast as your pace from the 400s. Remember your times.
3 x 50 fastest possible average. Start at least as fast as half of your fastest 100 from above. Make sure your last one is your best one and ends with a great finish.

Add up your times
400+400+400+100+100+100+50+50+50 = 1,650 yards.

Lumber Kicks

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Ryan Woodruff
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com

We use these exercises to building kicking strength, teamwork, and critical thinking skills. Plus, they are a bunch of fun!

You probably should first know what inspired this workout:

We use regular 4″ x 4″ x 8′ pieces of lumber that you can pick up at your local hardware store (be sure to measure the width of your lanes to know how long a piece of lumber you can use) Depending upon the strength and ability of your swimmers, I recommend putting between 2 and 6 swimmers on an 8′ log.

Exercise #1:

More to come in another post!

The 12 Sets of Christmas

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Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org

“At Christmas, train hard with vigor and cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.”
– Anonymous swim coach

This workout takes approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes

1 X 900 WARMUP CHOICE – OPEN TURNS, 4+ D-KICKS EVERY WALL @ 13:00

2 X 25 @ :50 at P100

3 X 700 FREE PULL-300 B3/100 B7/300 B3 @ 8:10 8:30 8:50
(PADDLES, BUOY)

4 x 25 @ :50 at P100

5 x 500 IM @ 6:40 7:00 7:20
(#1- 200 FLY, #2-200 BACK, #3-200 BREAST, #4 – 200 FREE, #5 – STRAIGHT IM)
6 x 25 @ :50 at P100

7 x 300 FREE ODD — 100 6-3-6/100 CATCHUP/100 OVERKICK @ 3:50 4:05 4:20
EVEN — DESCEND @ 3:30 3:40 3:50

8 x 25 @ :50 at P100

9 x 100 @ PRIME 1-3 BY 5+ SECONDS FLY & BK @ 1:25, BREAST @ 1:30

10 X 25 @ :50 at P100

11 x 50 @ 1:00 CHOICE – FAST TURNS & PERFECT FINISHES

12 X 25 @ :50 at P100

10,050y

Workout Links for Christmas

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Some web resources for swimming workouts:

50 Swim Workouts – Self-described easy-to-moderate workouts
Swimming World Magazine – a good database of searchable workouts by ability, stroke, and duration
Four Focused Swim Workouts – from Active.com
Beginner Swim Workouts
U.S. Masters Swimming Discussion Forum-for USMS members only
USA Swimming – workouts from our national governing body

Shallow End Kick Set

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Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org

We did the blastoffs (streamline push off the bottom and explosive dolphin kick to the surface) in the 7-foot shallow end of our pool. Works beautifully for 5 to 6-foot-tall senior swimmers. Have swimmers strive for 4+ dolphin kicks during each blastoff. All kick is choice without a board. Use a board on the 300.

:25 blastoffs @ :30
75 fast kick + 25 ez swim @ 2:00
:25 blastoffs @ :30
125 fast kick + 25 ez swim @ 3:00
:25 blastoffs @ :30
175 fast kick + 25 ez swim @ 4:00

300 kick for time

"D"cember Freestyle Set

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Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org

2x:
Round 1 – Swim
Round 2 – Pull with , make all P1650-based swims 2 seconds faster

300 free @ 4:00 Beat 1/3 of your best 1,000 free time
5 x 100 free @ 1:20 Beat P1650 + 4
600 free @ 8:00 Beat 2/3 of your best 1,000 free time
5 x 100 free @ 1:20 Beat P1650 + 2
900 free @ 12:00 Beat your best 1,000 free time
5 x 100 free @ 1:20 Beat P1650
300 EZ Backstroke swim

25 x 50 Challenge Set

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Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org

Here’s a challenging set we did Thursday that a few swimmers said they enjoyed.

25 x 50 yard

1 – EZ swim @ :40
1 – at P200 @ :40
1 – EZ swim @ :40
2 – at P200 @ :45
1 – EZ swim @ :40
3 – at P200 @ :50
1 – EZ swim @ :40
4 – at P200 @ :55
1 – EZ swim @ :45
5 – at P200 @ 1:00
1:00 rest
5 – Fastest possible average @ 1:00

All 50s at P200 are choice. IMers can do the 1 fly, the 2 fly/bk, the 3 fly/bk/br, the 4 fly/bk/br/fr, and the 5 fly/bk/br/fr + weak stroke.

To compete within the group, have the swimmers keep track of their running total under-P200 time.

Underwater Proficiency Test Set

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Rick Shipherd, La Mirada Armada

This set was mentioned in Coach Shipherd’s 2009 address at the ASCA World Clinic. He credited Coach Terry Stoddard for the idea.

16 x 25 Underwater Dolphin Kick @ :25

Kick the entire way underwater. If you miss the interval or fail to make it the entire length, rest for two repeats (1:00) and then continue until making a total of 16. Get your time on each and record your time on your slowest 25.

Hypoxic from Utah

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Dani Caldwell
St. George, Utah

 
Here is one of our favorite hypoxic workouts — it’s not much yardage, but it does the job and the kids like it.
 

4 x 25 FR @:45 – NO BREATHERS

4 x 75 FR @2:15, taking two breaths per length, at same locations each 25 (helps if you do kick counts and SL!)

4 x 25 CH @:45 – NO BREATHERS (No Backstroke, for obvious reasons)

4 x 75 CH @2:15, taking two breaths per length (3 for BR), at same locations

4 x 25 FR @:30 – NO BREATHERS

 
 

The Armada I.M. Set

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Rick Shipherd, La Mirada Armada

The following set is from Coach Shipherd’s presentation at the 2009 ASCA World Clinic. He described it as one of the favorite challenging test sets that his team does.

4x through:

1 x 400 I.M. broken, :20 rest at each 100 (subtract 1:00 to get your time

1 x 300 done as 25 free active recovery@:25/50 fast stroke IM order (subtract 1:40 to figure your time for this broken 200 I.M.)

1 x 100 I.M. fast from a dive

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 – #14

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Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org

#14 – Fun with Streamline Sticks

You’ll need four lanes to do this. Position one set of Streamline Sticks in each lane in such a way that the swimmers swim a “snake” pattern – down the pool in lane 1, back in lane 2, down in lane 3, back in lane 4.

Lane 1 – Streamline Sticks at 5 yds
Lane 2 – Streamline Sticks at near 15 m mark (about 7.5 yards from the wall)
Lane 3 – Streamline Sticks at 12.5 yards
Lane 4 – Streamline Sticks at 15 m

20 x 25 @ :30
Do freestyle, backstroke, or freestyle in groups of 4 x 25 at a time. Descend 1-4.
#1 – in lane 1
#2 – in lane 2
#3 – in lane 3
#4 – all out fast in lane 4

After #4, take an additional 30 seconds rest to migrate back to Lane 1.

Streamline Sticks

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Ryan Woodruff
Here’s a look at one of my favorite homemade training aids:

To make your own Streamline Sticks:
1. Cut a piece of 1″ PVC tubing to match the width of your lanes.
2. Thread a piece of 1/8″ diameter rope through the PVC, leaving about 1′ of rope hanging out either way.
3. Tie a 1-pound weight (SCUBA weights work well) to each end of the rope. These weights will drape over the lane lines to hold the Streamline Stick in place.
4. You are ready! Position them on the lane ropes (put a traffic cone on the pool bottom so that swimmers can judge the Stick’s location) and away you go!

Follow The Leader

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Andy Astfalck, Head Coach, International School Manila, Philippines
astfalcka@ismanila.org

A set I have started using recently and is great for getting the kids to work together as a team.

It’s called Follow the Leader.
A typical set would be 25X100 FR on 1:30.

I have a group of 4 boys who have similar send off times.
The idea of the set is to take turns leading, once you have lead you go to the back of the line. Just like cyclist take turns at the front.The swimmers leave 5 seconds apart which means they work hard for 4 efforts then get to rest then join the group at the back of the line. The reality is they are swimming on a send off of 1:25 for 4 repeats then when they go to the back of the line their send off will be 1:50, they really get into it and wouldn’t dream of stopping or getting out for the bathroom, they work hard so they don’t let down their team.