Tag: Woodruff

Flying Snakes!

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

I have posted here before how we sometimes use “Snakes” (swim one direction in each lane, sidewinding your way down the pool) as a means for training fly in narrow lanes. This set took it a step further with the final 25.

I timed each individual on the final 25. Their goal was to score points by achieving their individual race pace but also by kicking underwater to one of two orange hockey pucks placed on the bottom at about 8 and 12m off the Wall. This dual incentive led to some individual experimentation with more underwater kicks than they are normally comfortable with.

RACE PACE + GREAT UNDERWATER KICKING = SUCCESS!!!

When swimmers finished the final 25 of each snake, they added the points to a tally counter on a nearby iPad. This helped us keep an accurate tally without me doing extra work. We ended up requiring 6 rounds to achieve our 300 point goal.

The Hand-Me-Down Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

This set (or something very similar) was given to me by Jon Jolley, Head Coach of the Hickory YMCA, who used it with his star pupil Ross Dant. Jon says it was given to him by Eddie Reese, legendary Texas and US Olympic coach. We gave it a spin, and it was definitely a good one.

The idea is for the red set to be at a relatively tight interval. The blue is essentially active recovery on the same interval. Do a good job descending, and it’s pretty demanding.

Underwater Kicking Power & Lightning Speed Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

We did this set at the end of a long practice that included dryland that was heavy on the legs and a long kick set. The goal was to work some underwater power and then get some “lightning speed” underwater kicks at the end of each round. It worked well, with a few of our swimmers setting personal bests & team records at the 25m underwater kicking distance.

For the part written in green, one athlete wore the belt/cord and a partner stood on the deck and held the cord to provide the resistance.

Race pace – Oof!

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

This was a really good set for us…  The 2 x 50 at 200 pace is relatively easy to make on the first 2 rounds, but it is immediately followed up with the challenge of making the 75 (oof!).  The 175 is just active recovery, getting them to remain technique-aware while using the legs.  The changing interval on the 50s ups the ante for the middle rounds and then eases up again for the last round to have them finish on successful note.

Challenging Set for 400 IMers

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Lynchburg YMCA

This IM Set can get quite challenging in a hurry. The set is somewhat tame at the start, but switching out the Free in the later rounds adds an interesting wrinkle

                1 x 300  25 IMO/50 Free                 @ 4:20
                1 x 200 25 IMO/25 Free                  @ 3:00
3x            1 x 100 IM FAST                             @ 1:40
                1 x 200 25 IMO/25 Free                  @ 3:00  (go faster than 1st 200)
                1 x 300  25 IMO/50 Free                 @ 4:20  (go faster than 1st 300)

  • 1st round performed as written
  • Intervals should be easy enough so that 1st round is not tight.
  • 2nd round: Free parts are now backstroke.
  • 3rd round: Free parts are now breaststroke.
  • These changing strokes on the 2nd and 3rd rounds make the set dramatically harder. 
  • You may want to add :20-:30 extra rest between rounds if swimmers are not strong 400 IMers.