Lactate Threshold Set with Coach Andy Copley

Andy Copley, Malibu Canyon Aquatics

Lactate Threshold Set working on 2nd 50 of goal 100 with a little bit of underwater dolphin kick worked in…
GEAR: Fins; Tempo Trainer
7×50 w/fins @ 2nd 50 goal pace                    1:00
8×25 no fins, 12subkk @ .45 tempo               :25
6×50 w/fins @ 2nd 50 goal pace                     :55
10×25 no fins, 14subkk @ .45 tempo              :30
5×50 w/fins @ 2nd 50 goal pace                     :50
12×25 no fins, 16subkk @ .45 tempo              :35
4×50 w/fins @ 2nd 50 goal pace                      :45

I do variations of this set a few times each season with different strokes, going off the blocks, etc… it has been one of my most effective sets for a couple of years now as the kids love it and I always get a huge effort out of everybody.

The Record Breaker

Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

We don’t do lots of swimming with fins, but when we do, I like to make sure it is fast.

Here is one way I like to do it:

4-6 rounds of:

100 fast swim with fins, where the goal is to go your lifetime best time, or your goal time, or the team record

100 ez swim free breathing every 3

Total interval around 5 minutes

Provide an incentive for going a best time or breaking a record: maybe coach does pushups, or relays at the end, etc.  I have the breaststrokers go flutter kick with the fins on –they end up going really fast that way!

3-part Sprint Challenge Circuit with @GAswim

Rob Bond
Head Senior Swim Coach
Glenbrook Aquatics

 
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We also do a Sprint Challenge Circuit.  Each part of the challenge is about a month apart.  No intervals – swimmers go when they are ready.  A pre-meet warm-up precedes the set.  Active recovery is encouraged, but not required.  Swimmers get 5 failures at any step before the set is cut off.  If a swimmer tries 5 times without meeting goal, the set is over and they are out of the set – send them to a different training group…

Part 1:
Pre-Meet Warm-up then
3 x 50 Off The Block @BT +2.5
3 x 50 Running Start @BT +1.5
3 x 50 Fins @BT +.5

Part 2 (approximately one month later):
Pre-Meet Warm-up then
2 x 50 Off the Block @BT +2.0
2 x 50 Running Start @BT +1.0
2 x 50 Fins @BT

Part 3 (another month apart):
Pre-Meet Warm-up then
1 x 50 Off the Block @BT +1.5
1 x 50 Running Start @BT .5
1 x 50 Fins @BT -.5

Running start sprints – begin the stopwatch when the final foot leaves the deck.  Fins can be from a push or dive – your call.

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Swim Workout of the Day: Lionville Riptide

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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Cougar Aquatic Club Workout

Pat Collins

Cougar Aquatic Team


Here’s a set I did with our Senior 1 (National) Group. I thought it went real well, kids loved it, but were dead tired.

The entire pre-set was done on simply 15 secs rest after the leader of each lane would touch. Distance per stroke / cruising speed was expected.
Main Set: Our fastest two lanes did the first two 250s on 3:00 and then the four on 2:50. We have a black line across the middle of our pool at the 12.5 where we expect each swimmer to kick to minimum. The five 250s with no fins were then also done on 3:00, expecting near race-pace on them.

WARM UP (1800)
600 free long/loose
400 Rev. IM d/k/s
16x25s kick on side on :30, :35, :40
6x50s descend w/fins on :40, :45
100 EZ
PRE-SET (1000) 15 secs rest in between each
Technique – DPS
150 – 100 fly/50 bk
150 – 100 bk/50 br
150 – 100 br/50 fr
150 – ALL FREE
400 IM – DPS – perf tech
MAIN SET (3300) varying intervals
2x250s fr/bk w/ fins working UWK
4x250s fr/bk w/ fins working UWK
5x250s free – no fins
50 EZ @ 1:30
500 free for time
COOL DOWN (300)
300 EZ
TOTAL: 6400

North Jeffco Stroke Set

Brett Stoyell
North Jeffco Swim Team

Best Stroke Practice working Quality and Endurance (Sectional-Trials level group)
This set was done at 5,500 ft above sea level in Arvada, Colo. almost every swimmer started the primary set holding at or under their best time and finished the set 5-10sec under their best 200 time.

Warmup
(2x)
400 @ 530 Snorkel Stk Count Free
300 @ 430 IM R#1 K-K-D, R#2 K-D-S
4×50 @ 1 Stk
#1 Drill
#2 Fast-EZ
#3 Kick
#4 EZ-Fast

Primary Stk (Breaststk and some flyers went on + 15sec for the 175s)
4×175 @ 240 Hold Best 200 time control stk count and HR
1×200 @ 300 Free Stretchout
3×175 @ 250 Hold Best 200 time – 2-3 seconds
1×300 @ 430 Free Stretchout
2×175 @ 300 Hold Best 200 Time -4-5 seconds
1×400 @ 600 Free Stretchout
1×175 @ 310 Hold as Fast as possible from a start
1×500 Recovery choice

Followed by a circuit (1min to switch stations)
G1 8×50 on medium in water cords @ 130 Either IMo or best 2 stks (Stk count against resistance – Stk tempo with assistance)
G2 12×50 @ 1:00 Fins 25 15mtr uH2O – 10 mtr sprint IMo or Best 2 stks on surface
G3 2×400 IM from a dive @ 6 Each stk as follows: 25 Build-25 Kick-25 Drill-25 ALL out. (Working Transitions all out!)

Flyin’ at Heartland

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.

Beat Your Best With Fins

Ryan Woodruff

LCM – We performed this set 3x through. The goal for each swim with fins & paddles is to beat your lifetime best 100m time. This set works for any stroke, and it may work best for some butterflyers to do it without paddles.

100 with fins & paddles + 100 ez swim @ 3:00
100 with fins & paddles + 200 ez swim @ 4:30
100 with fins & paddles + 300 ez swim @ 6:00

Cyclone Kick Set

Lucas Ferreira, Ames Cyclone Aquatics Club

This is a set I did with my age groupers, but if you adapt the intervals I’m sure senior swimmers can get a lot out of it too:

SCY
The 400, 200s, 100s, and 50s kick are always 50 FR / 50 FL on BK

1×400 Kick – 8:00
4×25 UW DK @ 0:45
0:30 extra rest, fins on!
2×200 – 3:10
4×25 UW DK @ 0:45
0:30 extra rest, fins off!
4×100 – 2:00
4×25 UW DK @ 0:45
0:30 extra rest, fins on!
8×50 – 0:45
8×25, long UW DK, FAST Breakout! @ 0:45

Heavy 50s

Louis C. Cavadini

SCY
Here is a little set we did that was fun and hard

24×50 (1-12 w/fins @1:15, 13-24 wo/fins @1:30)
-25 IM rotation
-25 sprint free
Place 25lb weight room plate on the bottom of the deep end (starting end). Swim 25 IM rotation, sprint back freestyle and at the flags(deep end) dive down and pull the weight back up to the surface. We used 10lb plates for the smaller swimmers.

After that set, we did a little experimenting:
8×25 @1:00 w/fins
-kick underwater with weights (use 10lbs). They kids said it worked
best if you held the weight out like a steering wheel.

Drill: Rotisserie Kick

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

This drill is to help with body awareness, core body control, and balance in the water. Rotisserie kick is simple: Get in a streamlined position, squeezing your head between your arms, and flutter kick face-down. When you need a breath, roll onto your back, keeping your streamline intact. When you have concluded your breath, roll in the same direction onto your front again. Repeat and continue as you need each breath. This is best done with fins.

Age Group Habits

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

Twenty Ways to Do 20 x 25 – #9

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.

Masters Freestyle Workout

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