Tag: Breathing Pattern

Aerobic Free with Deep Focus

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

I like our distance sets to also include some technical focus.  This set seemed to do the trick.  The “Deep Practice” points of emphasis correspond to the 1st, 3rd, and 5th 50s of the 300.  The swims written in black are meant to be descending effort (getting faster) on an increasingly tighter interval.  At the end of the set, we recorded 10-sec heart rate values for swimmers immediately upon finishing 30 seconds after finishing, and 60 seconds after finishing. B3 = breathing every 3 strokes.  This set was performed in a SCM pool. 39-43 minutes, 3,000m.

The ? Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff
 
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SCY

? x 50 @ :50
Using a dry-erase board, give the swimmers a different set of instructions for every 50, erasing the old instructions and writing the new one while they swim. Mix it up, changing speeds, strokes, drills, breathing patterns, etc. Don’t let the swimmers know what is coming beyond the next 50. All swims are choice unless the stroke is specified. Here’s an example:
#1- P200+5
#2- P200+3
#3- P200+1
#4- P200-1
#5- EZ free B3
#6- Free B5
#7- Free B7
#8- At count
#9- Race!
#10- At cycle count -1
#11- 25 underwater dolphin kick/ 25 sprint
#12- 25 sprint/25 underwater dolphin kick
#13- 25 race/25 ez kick
#14- Fly B 1 up/1 down
#15- Fly B 1 up/2 down
#16- Fly B 1 up/3 down
#17- Fast fly
#18- EZ breaststroke
#19- Race!
#20- At cycle count -2
#21- 12.5 fast/12.5 ez of same stroke as #20
#22- At cycle count
#23- Breast with dolphin kick
#24- Backstroke 12.5 spin drill/12.5 swim
#25- P1650
…
The set could go on for as long as you like. The changing up speeds and instructions every 50 keeps the swimmers alert and the set fresh and interesting. What other interesting instructions can you come up with?

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Swim Workout of the Day: Lionville Riptide

Posted on by rdwoodruff
Alex Baxter
Head Coach- Lionville Riptide Swim Team

Love the site. I have been using it for ideas recently so I thought I’d share a set that came about from ideas here. This is a 1:45 practice for our Junior and Senior Group

SCY
Sunday, December 16, 2012
W/U-
                4×100 hold stroke count :15R
                6×50 4 kick 2 swim :10R
                4×50 S/D :10R
                12×25 build burst ez fast :30
1200
Gear- pick your poison (fins, snorkels, paddles, all)
2xthru-change up the gear after round 1
                2×50 at 200 pace 1:15
                2×75 moderate 1:15
                2×100 within 2 seconds of pace from 50’s 1:45
                2×75 moderate 1:15
                Extra :30R to switch gear
1200/2400
Aero-
2×75 1:15/1:20   1- fl/ba/br, 2-ba/br/fr
4×100 free 1:20/1:25 (hold 1:15/1:20 minimum)
2×75 1-50fl/25ba 2-25fl/50ba
4×100 free 1:25/1:30 (hold 1:12/1:18 minimum)
2×75 1:15/1:20   1- 50ba/25br, 25ba/50br
4×100 free 1:30/1:35 (hold 1:08/1:15 minimum)
2×75 1:15/1:20   1- fl/ba/br, 2-ba/br/fr
4×100 free 1:35/1:40 (hold 1:05/1:12minimum)
2200/4600
Gear- use variety you have yet to use
1×600 50 fast/150 build back to fast :30R
6×50 1-2 DPS, 3-6 breathe control (breathe 3/3 max) :10R
900/5500
W/D-
1×200 cruise
200/5700


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Fly Set for Groups

Posted on by rdwoodruff
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

Swimmin’ with Shreveport

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Dustin Myers
City of Shreveport Swim Team

LCM
This is a freestyle set working on pace with some active recovery mixed in.  The intervals are the ones we used, but you can adjust to your athletes ability level. 

10 x 150
odds = moderate free breathing every 3  @  2:30
evens = desc 1-5 from moderate to fast  @  2:15

10 x 100
odds = moderate free breathing every 3  @  1:50
evens = at 400 pace  @  1:30

10 x 50
odds = moderate free breathing every 3  @  1:00
evens = at 200 pace or faster  @  1:00

Age Group Habits

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Abby Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachabby@ncacswim.org

Here's an age group practice emphasizing good habits with some fast
100's freestyle at the end:

600 (100 Free – 50 Breast)

8 x 100 (25 Fly – 50 Back – 25 Free) on 2:00

#1:  5 dolphin kicks off each wall
#2:  6 dolphin kicks off each wall
#3:  7 dolphin kicks off each wall
#4:  8 dolphin kicks off each wall

10 x 50 with fins on 1:00

Odd:  UW dolphin kick as far as possible, then sprint fly or back to wall
Even:  Streamline dolphin kick on back

3 x 300 Free – breathe every 3, no breaths off wall – on 5:00/5:15/5:30

2 x 100 Free on 1:40/1:50/2:00 Free FAST

2 x 300 Free – breathe every 3, no breaths off wall – on 5:00/5:15/5:30

4 x 100 Free on 1:50/2:00/2:10 Free FAST

1 x 300 Free – breathe every 3, no breaths off wall – on 5:00/5:15/5:30

6 x 100 Free on 2:00/2:10/2:20 Free FAST

100 Easy

The ? Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

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

Here’s a workout for when you only have 30 minutes.

300 smooth swim for warmup

? x 50 @ :50
Using a dry-erase board, give the swimmers a different set of instructions for every 50, erasing the old instructions and writing the new one while they swim. Mix it up, changing speeds, strokes, drills, breathing patterns, etc. Don’t let the swimmers know what is coming beyond the next 50. All swims are choice unless the stroke is specified. Here’s an example:
#1- P200+5
#2- P200+3
#3- P200+1
#4- P200-1
#5- EZ free B3
#6- Free B5
#7- Free B7
#8- At count
#9- Race!
#10- At cycle count -1
#11- 25 underwater dolphin kick/ 25 sprint
#12- 25 sprint/25 underwater dolphin kick
#13- 25 race/25 ez kick
#14- Fly B 1 up/1 down
#15- Fly B 1 up/2 down
#16- Fly B 1 up/3 down
#17- Fast fly
#18- EZ breaststroke
#19- Race!
#20- At cycle count -2
#21- 12.5 fast/12.5 ez of same stroke as #20
#22- At cycle count
#23- Breast with dolphin kick
#24- Backstroke 12.5 spin drill/12.5 swim
#25- P1650
…
The set could go on for as long as you like. The changing up speeds and instructions every 50 keeps the swimmers alert and the set fresh and interesting. What other interesting instructions can you come up with?

Welcome to Friday Fly Day

Posted on by rdwoodruff

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

Throughout this set, every time you reach the wall, perform vertical dolphin kicking until your interval comes up for an extra aerobic boost.

300 fly swim @ 6:00
Swim fly as long as you can hold your technique together (i.e. hold you count and rhythm). When you fall off, kick a 25 dolphin kick and then resume fly swimming. Continue until you have reached 300 yards total of fly swimming (it may be a 325, 350, 375 etc. total)

3 x 200 fly
#1 – 12.5 kick/12.5 fly clap drill @ 3:30
#2 – 12.5 triple kick drill/12.5 swim @ 3:00
#3 – 15m swim/~10y no breath fly swim @ 3:00

20 x 50 @ 1:00
#1 – breathe every stroke
#2 – breathe every 2nd stroke
#3 – breathe every 3rd stroke
#4 – fast swim, choice breathing pattern

The Finisher

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club

This set makes a good practice finisher. After a long hard set, it gets them going fast, swimming hypoxically, and working together to build some team unity.

Divide the swimmers into groups, ideally a number that can all swim side-by-side for a 25. All swimmers will swim a no-breath 25 freestyle, and one swimmer will be chosen by the coach to swim FAST no breath and given a time to beat. If that swimmer achieves the time AND all other swimmers in that group make the 25 without breathing (time doesn’t matter), the group earns a point. Repeat the exercise with each group until they earn 5 points (or any number you set). When a group gets their 5 points, they are free to go. The 25s can be done from a push or off the blocks.

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
 
 

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 – #2

Posted on by rdwoodruff

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

Every set has a distinct purpose.

#2 – Race-pace training for the 500 free.

This is essentially a broken 500.

20 x 25 @ :20 (for swimmers with best times 5:40 or faster)
or @ :25 (for swimmers with best times 5:40 – 7:00)
or @ :30 (for swimmers with best times >7:00)

Every 25 has the same breathing pattern. Always flip and put feet on the wall. Coach times and records each 25. Give swimmers a longer cool down after the set and add up the times. For best results, figure out each swimmer’s 500 pace (to the 10th of a second) per 25 before starting the set to give them a specific goal.

The Cold Mountain Stream

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club

Jump right in. It’ll take your breath away.

B5 = Breathing pattern of once every 5 strokes

Warm up:
20 minutes 100 swim/100 drill/100 kick continuously

Freestyle Pull Set – paddles & buoy (buoy is used only for 300s)
300 B5 @ 3:40/3:50/4:00
2 x 75 @ 1:00 #1 – 25 strong B3/25 NO BREATH/25 strong B3, #2- EZ
300 B5 @ 3:40/3:50/4:00
2 x 50 @ :40 #1- 25 strong B3/25 NO BREATH #2 – EZ
300 B5 @ 3:40/3:50/4:00
2 x 25 @ :20 #1 – 25 NO BREATH #2 -25 ez
300 B5 @ 3:40/3:50/4:00
2 x 50 @ :40 #1- 25 strong B3/25 NO BREATH #2 – EZ
300 B5 @ 3:40/3:50/4:00
2 x 75 @ 1:00 #1 – 25 strong B3/25 NO BREATH/25 strong B3, #2- EZ

100 ez

Mini-Maxi Set – 3 x through
16 x 25 choice @ :30 odd minimum cycle count, even max speed
100 ez @ 2:00

Loosen down 400 freestyle at minimum cycle count