I Think I’ve Fly’d and Gone to Heaven

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

10 x 25 Fly swim @ :30 Descend 1-4,5-7,8-9, 10 is fast

200 25 Fly drill/25 Free swim @ 3:00

10 x 50 Fly swim @ 1:00 Descend 1-4,5-7,8-9, 10 is fast

200 25 Fly drill/25 Free swim @ 3:00

10 x 75 Fly swim @ 1:30 Descend 1-4,5-7,8-9, 10 is fast

200 25 Fly drill/25 Free swim @ 3:00

10 x 75 Fly swim @ 1:20 Descend 1-4,5-7,8-9, 10 is fast

200 25 Fly drill/25 Free swim @ 3:00

10 x 50 Fly swim @ :50 Descend 1-4,5-7,8-9, 10 is fast

200 25 Fly drill/25 Free swim @ 3:00

10 x 25 Fly swim @ :20 Descend 1-4,5-7,8-9, 10 is fast

200 25 Fly drill/25 Free swim @ 3:00

The Blind Results Workout

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Ryan Woodruff
Lynchburg YMCA

This workout is very similar to The Blind Goal Workout but has a single important difference: the athletes may see their respective coach-determined goals, but they do not get to hear their results. The coach may tell the group how many points they have achieved, but may not say who achieved them or what times the swimmers swam.

Follow the same format as in the Blind Goal Workout. It will be interesting to see how your group’s motivation ebbs and flows throughout the set. Steer them to being positive and supportive, then just watch what they can do!

Triple Turn Drill

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

This post was originally published to swimtelligence.blogspot.com

This drill was recommended to me by Griff Helfrich, one of our assistant coaches. It is designed to help a swimmer set up and execute a breast or fly turn correctly with maximum rotational speed. I’ll call it Triple Turn drill.

The explanation is simple enough: when the swimmer approaches the wall, he or she executes three consecutive open turns. During the first two, the swimmer does everything but the push-off, then reloads the body for another turn. On the third one, the swimmer pushes off the wall as normal.

When executing the Triple Turn, the swimmer must pay attention to several technical elements – a strong knee drive, swift compact arm action, and driving the head straight back into an agressive streamline to depart the wall.

This drill could be performed in the middle of any breast, fly, or IM set, or could be done with the swimmer beginning from a prone kicking position and initiating the Triple Turn on command or on a whistle.

Here is a brief look at one of our swimmers, senior Bryce Mendes performing the Triple Turn during a breaststroke set.

Kick for Distance – Part 3

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

This set is a follow-up to the 15-minute Kick Test Set and the Kick for Distance – Part 2.

5x:
:20 pull-ups (do the maximum you can)
1:30 kick for distance. Measure distance to the nearest yard and record.

Use the athlete’s performance on the Kick for Distance – Part 2 to set a goal distance. Minimum performance goal should be to beat 1/2 of the average 3:00 distance. Feel free to substitute any other dryland exercise in place of the pushups to up the ante of the challenge.

Lemon I.M.s

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

Here’s a fun way to do some IM swims. I call them “Lemon I.M.s” because you are squeezing the strokes together.

For instance, a 200 IM could look like this:
175 fly, 8 back, 8 breast, 8 freestyle (for simplicity’s sake, we’ll equate 8 yards to 1/3 of a pool length). The swimmer simply changes strokes rapidly mid-pool.

Or a 200 IM could look like this:
8 fly, 8 back, 8 breast, 175 freestyle.

You get the idea… “Squeeze” two or three strokes together into a 25 or a 50, and leave one stroke out to swim the majority of the distance. It provides some variety for the swimmers, and those mid-pool transitions are really something to watch!

Kick for Distance – Part 2

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

This is a follow-up to the 15-minute Kick Test Set.

5x:
:30 vertical kick w/ a snorkel
1 x 100 drill @ 2:00
3:00 kick for distance @ 5:00. Measure and remember distance to the nearest yard.

Use the athlete’s results from the 15-minute Kick Test Set to set a baseline goal for the 3:00 kick for distance.

(15-minute distance)/5 = Goal time for 3:00 kick for distance.

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 #11

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

#11 – Dolphin Sprint Cycles

20 x 25 back, fly, or free @ :30

4x:
#1 – 4+ dolphin kicks and sprint 1 cycle
#2 – 6+ dolphin kicks and sprint 2 cycles
#3 – 8+ dolphin kicks and sprint 3 cycles
#4 – 6+ dolphin kicks and sprint 4 cycles
#5 – 4+ dolphin kicks and sprint 5 cycles

Click below to see previous posts from this series:
#10 – The Race Pace Spectrum
#9 – Hypoxic Freestyle Speed
#8 – Backstroke Tempo & Kick
#7 – Individual Medley Speed
#6 – Improving Breaststroke Tempo
#5 – Dryland Strength and Aquatic Speed
#4 – Developing Devastating Underwater Kicks
#3 – Improving Breaststroke Distance Per Cycle
#2 – Race-pace Swimming for the 500
#1 – Improving Attention to Underwater Kicks

I.M. What?

Posted on by rdwoodruff

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

Warmup
600 RIM 50 kick/drill/swim (RIM = Reverse I.M.)

100 IM @ 1:30
200 RIM @ 3:00
300 IM @ 4:30
200 RIM @ 3:00
100 IM @ 1:30
200 Breast, max speed holding race cycle count
100 ez freestyle @ :30 rest

100 IM @ 1:25
200 RIM @ 2:50
300 IM @ 4:15
200 RIM @ 2:50
100 IM @ 1:25
300 Breast, max speed holding race cycle count minus 1
100 ez freestyle @ :30 rest

100 IM @ 1:20
200 RIM @ 2:40
300 IM @ 4:00
200 RIM @ 2:40
100 IM @ 1:20
400 Breast, max speed holding race cycle count minus 2
100 ez freestyle @ :30 rest

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 #10

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

#10 – The Race Pace Spectrum

This set will get you swimming at race pace using varying energy systems. Time these carefully to make sure you are getting it right. Figure out these paces ahead of time so that you have precise information. P500=race pace for 500, P200=race pace for 200, etc. All 25s end with a turn (put your feet on the wall) to ensure accuracy.

20 x 25 all @ :30 except P50s, which are @ :40
#1 – faster than P1000
#2 – faster than P500
#3 – faster than P200
#4 – faster than P100
#5 – faster than P50
#6 – faster than P500
#7 – faster than P200
#8 – faster than P100
#9 – faster than P50
#10 – faster than P200
#11 – faster than P100
#12 – faster than P50
#13 – faster than P100
#14 – faster than P50
#15 – faster than P50
#16 – ez swim
#17-#20 – all out, whatever you have left in the tank!!!

P1000 and P500 should be pretty easy for the athlete to attain. P200 and P100 are very doable, though P100 will be increasingly difficult for the higher-level athlete. P50 should be a significant challenge for sure.

Click below to read any of the previous 9 posts in this series:
#9 – Hypoxic Freestyle Speed
#8 – Backstroke Tempo & Kick
#7 – Individual Medley Speed
#6 – Improving Breaststroke Tempo
#5 – Dryland Strength and Aquatic Speed
#4 – Developing Devastating Underwater Kicks
#3 – Improving Breaststroke Distance Per Cycle
#2 – Race-pace Swimming for the 500
#1 – Improving Attention to Underwater Kicks

Friday the 13th I.M. Set

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

Focusing on good IM efforts interspersed with aggressive freestyle swims. Everything in the main set is descend, then working specific underwater skills in the second set.

3 x 200 IM descend @ 2:30
4 x 75 free descend @:55
3 x 200 IM descend @ 2:35
3 x 75 free descend @ :50
3 x 200 IM descend @ 2:40
2 x 75 free descend @ :45
3 x 200 IM descend @ 2:45
1 x 75 free @:40 MAKE IT!

500 Free pull B 3-5-7-5-3

1 x 100 fly @ 1:10
1 x 25 all out backstroke, UW kick to 15m @ 1:00
1 x 100 back @ 1:10
1 x 25 all out breaststroke w/ double pullout @ 1:00
1 x 100 breast @ 1:20
1 x 25 all out freestyle, UW kick to 15m @ 1:00

The Rectangle Warm-Up

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

Don’t be a square. Try it!

This is best done if you have the whole pool for your one workout group. Start one at a time, swim 25 yards in Lane 1. Then push off from the side of the pool and streamline dolphin kick across the pool width, underneath the lane ropes to the last lane. Swim 25 yards back to the starting end and kick width-wise again to return to where the rectangle began. Do as many revolutions as you like.

For extra motivation for your swimmers to complete the entire width without surfacing, do this set while all of the lanes in the middle of the pool are occupied with swimmers working out.

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 – #9

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

#9 – Hypoxic Freestyle Speed

The ability to swim fast while using little oxygen is a vital skill for sprinters. This set aims to improve that ability. For a little variety, do it with paddles and/or a buoy and fins. For a bigger challenge, do all max speed swims at your Threshold Tempo with a Tempo Trainer.

20 x 25
2x:
#1 – ez with 3 breaths or fewer @:30
#2 – max speed with 3 breaths or fewer @:20
#3 – ez with 2 breaths or fewer @:30
#4 – max speed with 2 breaths or fewer @:20
#5 – ez with 1 breath or fewer @:30
#6 – max speed with 1 breath or fewer @:20
#7 – ez no breathing @ :30
#8 – max speed no breathing @ :30
#9 – max speed unlimited breath @ :30
#10 – max speed no breathing @1:00

Disclaimer: Use caution when performing hypoxic restricted breathing sets. Do not push yourself too far or you risk blacking out. Do not hyperventilate in preparation for a swim. Only perform this set under the direct supervision of a coach trained in rescue techniques.

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 #8

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

#8 – Backstroke Tempo & Kick

20 x 25
Use a Finis Tempo Trainer and set it for your Threshold Tempo
4x:
#1- Backstroke, build tempo to threshold :25
#2- Fast backstroke swim at threshold tempo :20
#3- Backstroke spin drill at faster than threshold tempo :25
#4- Underwater streamline dolphin kick :25
#5- ez kick on back :30

Spin drill is sitting up “like in a chair,” with head still, very aggressive kick, and arms spinning at maximum speed. Don’t worry about holding water with your hands or moving quickly through the water. The entire emphasis is on tempo here.

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 #7

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

#7 – Individual Medley Speed

20 x 25

#1-4 Descend butterfly @:30,:25,:20,:15
#5 Max speed backstroke @ :30
#6-9 Descend backstroke @:30,:25,:20,:15
#10 Max speed breaststroke @:30
#11-14 Descend breaststroke @:35,:30,:25,:20
#15 Max speed freestyle @:30
#16-19 Descend freestyle @:30,:25,:20,:15
#20 Max speed butterfly NO BREATH & RACE!!!

Try repeating this set with fins on and drop the intervals by 5 seconds. Yes, that means you have a 25 fly, back and free @:10. Do it!

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 – #6

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

#6 – Improving Breaststroke Tempo

In my opinion, kicking speed (specifically the recovery portion of the kick) is the limiting factor for most swimmers when it comes to breaststroke tempo. Speeding up breaststroke tempo thus must start from the legs. This set focuses primarily on kicking foot speed, and then works briefly on the pull, then finally on overall stroke tempo.

20 x 25 @:30
Perform the following sequence 4x:
#1-3: Br kick w/board & tempo trainer at Threshold Tempo
#4; Br pull w/ flutter kick, focusing on fast arm tempo
#5: Br Speed Drill (narrow pull, narrow kick, fast hands and heels)

The Ken Ryan Tribute

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

If you know him, you are no doubt amused at how appropriate the title is.

SCY

This set can only be done at afternoon practice.

Warmup
20 minutes. Do whatever you want to prepare yourself to swim fast, just be READY TO GO at the end of the time.

4 x 15m sprints from a dive for time @ 2:00
Time to the head crossing the 15m mark

200 ez social swim

4 x 25 yard sprints from a dive @ 2:00

200 ez social swim

4 x 35 yeter (25 yards + turn & back to the near 15m mark) sprints @ 2:00

200 ez social swim

1 x 50 yard sprint for time

Loosen down until you feel REALLY, REALLY, GOOD.

Get out and go home.

Freedom Fridays

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

Do you want your swimmers to take more personal ownership of their swimming? Do they need a better understanding of exactly what it is that they do to become fast? Here’s a solution for you.

I call it Freedom Fridays. Ask your swimmers: “If you had 20 minutes at practice to do whatever you thought would make you a better swimmer, what would you do?” Have them write down their own set (no copying from teammates) on a 3 x 5 note card. It can be anything they want, but must involve 1)being in the water 2)becoming a better athlete and 3)take about 20 minutes. The set can be easy or hard, require a coach’s help or not, but it MUST be directed toward getting better and they should be able to explain what they are doing.

Collect the cards and then allocate time each week to do their set. We do it on Friday and call it “Freedom Friday.” It is a great way to end the week. Freedom Fridays promote critical thinking on the athlete’s part, foster a sense of ownership of their training, and are just plain fun too. Give it a try with your Senior kids. I think you will like the results

Aerobic Tempo Set

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

In order to do this set, you should have already established your Threshold Tempo. This set will help you train your neuromuscular abilities while enhancing your overall aerobic fitness. For your “prime stroke,” choose whichever stroke you would like to work. I particularly recommend this workout for backstroke, freestyle, and butterfly.

T-Tempo=Threshold Tempo

6 x 600 @ :20 rest
#1,3,5 – 25 prime stroke at T-Tempo/25 prime stroke drill/50 ez freestyle swim
#2,4,6 – 25 prime stroke smooth swim/25 prime stroke at T-Tempo/50 ez freestyle swim

This set requires significant discipline on the part of the athlete to hold the tempo under fatigue.

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 #5

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

Dryland Strength and Aquatic Speed

20 x 25

10 pushups, right into:
#1 – No breath sprint @ :20
#2 – Sprint @ :25, beat time from #1
#3 – Sprint @ :30, beat time from #2
#4 – EZ swim

Repeat for 5 sets of 4 with different dryland exercises with each set:
Before #5: 10 fast squats
Before #9: 5 pullups
Before #13: 10 switch lunges
Before #17: 20 pike-ups on a physio ball

Masters Freestyle Workout

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

Intervals are written for LCM

WARMUP
400 FREE
200 IM DRILL

6 X 100 FREE @ 1:30/1:45/2:00
SNORKELS, FINS & PADDLES
DESCEND 1-3, 4-6

MAIN SET
PURPOSE: INDUCE A LITTLE FATIGUE WITH THE THREE 50s AND THEN HOLD A STEADY PACE UNDER THAT FATIGUE. AN IMPORTANT SKILL FOR RACING AND A GREAT FITNESS BOOSTER! PULLING EQUIPMENT OPTIONAL THROUGHOUT THE SET. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AN EVEN BIGGER CHALLENGE, SUBSTITUTE STROKE FOR FREE DURING THE 50s!

3 X 50 FREE FAST @ 1:00/1:10/1:20
3 X 100 STEADY & STRONG @ 1:40/1:55/2:10
1:00 REST

3 X 50 FREE FAST @ 1:00/1:10/1:20
3 X 200 STEADY & STRONG @ 3:20/3:50/4:20
1:00 REST

3 X 50 FREE FAST @ 1:00/1:10/1:20
3 X 300 STEADY & STRONG @ 5:00/5:45/6:30
1:00 REST

WARM- DOWN SET W/ FINS
6 X 100 @ :30 REST
SPRINT 15m, EZ FOR 85m

TOTAL 4,050m

I.M. Set #1,364,821

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

100 IM
3 x 150 Prime stroke descend to fast
100 IM
2 x 150 Prime stroke descend to fast
100 IM
1 x 150 Prime stroke descend to fast
200 IM
3 x 100 Prime stroke descend to fast
200 IM
2 x 100 Prime stroke descend to fast
200 IM
1 x 100 Prime stroke descend to fast
300 IM
3 x 50 Prime stroke descend to fast
300 IM
2 x 50 Prime stroke descend to fast
300 IM
1 x 50 Prime stroke descend to fast

I Just Wanna Fly

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“There’s no time to think about the starting or the end.
We’ll find out I’m told, my mother she told me so.
I just wanna fly.”
– Sugar Ray

600 fly – 50 drill/100 swim @ 9:00
6 x 25 fast fly @ :30
100 dolphin kick on back, arms at side @ 2:00
400 fly – 25 drill/75 swim @ 6:00
8 x 25 fast fly @ :25
100 dolphin kick on back, arms at side @ 2:00
200 fly swim @ 3:00
10 x 25 fast fly @ :20
100 dolphin kick on back @ 2:00

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 – #4

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

Developing Devastating Underwater Kicks

20 x 25
Put cones or other markers at 5-yard intervals on the pool bottom

#1 – underwater dolphin 5 yards fast then ez swim @:30
#2 – underwater dolphin 10 yards fast then ez swim @:30
#3 – underwater dolphin 15 yards fast then ez swim @:30
#4 – ez freestyle @:20
#5 – max speed 25 yard underwater kicks @ 1:00
repeat up to 20

To make this set even more effective, you can do the following:
1) Use a tempo trainer for the dolphin kicks. Suggested tempos: 0.50 for round 1, 0.40 for round 2, 0.30 for round 3, self-selected tempo (no device) on round 4. Only very good kickers will be able to hold 0.30 and still kick efficiently.
2) Time all of the kicks or just #5. If the athlete sticks to the tempos, these should give you an idea of the most efficient tempo for the athlete to be kicking at.
3) Do it all with a parachute on. That sounds like fun!
4) Do it fins on. Or fins and a parachute. Or running shoes!

How Low Can You Go?

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Greg Johnson
Carter Center Aquatics- Roanoke, VA
 
ALL KICK w/ Board
 
6 x (or wherever your best kicker(s) can get to):
 
    K 3 x 100 @ 1:50 (or wherever you decide) (r
    S 1 x 300 w/ snorkel D/S by 25 @ call
 
Drop 5 seconds each round to see who can make it down.  Once the send off is missed, you can either back the swimmer down to the last successful send off or have them wear zoomers or fins to keep up with the group.
 
 
 

Stroke Sprints

Posted on by rdwoodruff
Arena Club Aquatics: Harford County, Maryland
 
3 X 100 Stroke/Free by 25 on 1:30
1 X 75 Free Breath every 5th (6 Fly kicks Under H2O) on 1:15
3 X 25 Stroke FAST on :40
1 X 50 easy on 1:15
3 X 100 Stroke/Free/Free/Stroke by 25 on 1:30
1 X 75 Free Breath every 5th (6 Fly kicks Under H2O) on 1:15
3 X 25 Stroke FAST on :40
1 X 50 easy on 1:15
 
2 X 200 Stroke/Free by 50 on 3:00
2 X 200 Stroke/Free/Free/Stroke by 50 on 3:00
150 Free Breath every 5th (4 Fly kicks Under H2O) on 2:15
3 X 50 Stroke FAST on 1:15
 
Total- 2100
 
 

Short Axis Co-Training

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

The shared short-axis rotation of breaststroke and butterfly can be co-trained by going back and forth between the two. This can help your butterflyers be better breaststrokers and vice versa.

Configure intervals to have about :10 rest after each repeat.

1 x 100 Breast kick with board
1 x 25 Fly Sprint no breath
1 x 75 Breast drill
1 x 50 Fly swim
1 x 50 Breast swim
1 x 75 Fly smooth swim
1 x 25 Breast- underwater pullouts or no breath swim
1 x 100 Fly kick on side

Then go:
2 x 100…
2 x 25…

The first round isn’t so tough, but it will get better as you go up in reps!