Tag: Distance

Freestyle Negative Split and Descend

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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA.

SCY.

This isn’t the most creative set ever, but it gets the job done for a cool 4,000 yds of aerobic work. The instructions for our crew were to negative split the long swim, and then make both of the shorter swims faster than half of the long swim. The intervals listed represent the A interval for our group, on a 1:10 per 100 base.

Freestyle Pacing and Control

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Coach Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

SCY

This set was seeking a very specific pattern of pacing on each 600, as indicated by the line graph for each one. Failure to split it correctly meant repeating that 600. To interpret…
1 – 300 at a consistent pace, 300 at a faster pace, also consistent
2 – 3 x 200 descend, each one at a consistent pace
3 – 2 sets of 3 x 100 descending
4 – 4 x 100 descend + 200 fast and consistent
5 – 3 x 100 descend + 300 fast and consistent
6 – 2 x 100 descend + 400 fast and consistent
The second picture shows how it turned out for our swimmer, with splits written next to each graph. We had to do the first 600 twice due to some early set rusty-ness. Splits for the first of those two are not included.

Challenge and Technique Freestyle Set for Diverse Group

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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

The broad aim of this set was to give our group (that has a wide range of speeds for middle-distance swims) a challenge to push themselves on the 400 while still getting some recovery/drill/technique work in. We timed the 400s and then swimmers would start right into the fartlek (continuous swimming). After 5-7 minutes of the fartlek, I would verbally stop the group and we would rest a minute before starting the next 400. FPA = fastest possible average. K.O.S. = Kick on Side

Freestyle T-30 Substitute

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

SCM

At the beginning of my career (20+ years ago), I would have my team do a T-30 test multiple times per season. Since that time, I have gradually moved away from long steady paced swims such as that. The set below is the kind of thing I am more likely to do now. Each of the timed sets is “As Many Rounds As Possible” (AMRAP) with a set distance and rest to repeat. The amount of rest scales down with the distances, which allows for a pretty direct comparison of pace as the times decrease. We recorded each swimmer’s distances (to the nearest meter) on a dry erase board for all to see. As the time was cut in half, swimmers were urged to exceed 1/2 of their previous distance on the next swim. The 5:00 swims in between allowed for recovery and emphasis on technical reminders. Overall, it was a successful set with high levels of effort and engagement!

150s Madness

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

SCM

The format is similar to my most recent other post, with a more aerobic focus. The intervals stay the same for each part, with the quantities at each interval shifting slightly. The effect is a set that gets steadily a bit harder, with the peak intensity coming in the final 4 x 150 at the end. FPA = Fastest Possible Average.

Distance Freestyle Ramp-Up Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

The basic concept here is to ramp up the challenge by adding a constant amount to the interval with each increasing 100 so that the average pace gets progressively harder. In this case, we added 1:00 each time so that all of the intervals ended in :20. Maybe for your swimmer the way to keep the set challenging but doable would be to add :55 or 1:05 or 1:15, but I like the symmetry of this set-up.

In this case, the lines are there to highlight the pattern. You could certainly insert brief breaks or recovery swims if needed.

The way the set is written, the swimmer does 5,600 yards in 63 minutes, an average of 1:07.5 for the interval.

SCY

Split Distance and Sprint

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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

We have days where the whole group does one workout. Other times, we split by strokes. On this day, we split along distance lines. Part of the group worked around their distance race pace, while the other group did a small number of intense 50s from a dive. The sprinters also watched their 50s back on video and did some active recovery during the 6:00 interval. This workout was in LCM.