Tag: Woodruff

Simple Freestyle Challenge Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

SCY

This set went well for us this week. The three columns represent an A, B, and C level within our group.

A interval swimmers generally had best times faster than :50 in the 100 free. B interval swimmers :50-55, C interval swimmers :55-:58.

The interval on #14 was a stretch for most, but we came away with a good understanding of our current fitness level.

Kick Set for a Large Group

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

In any training group, having a wide range of speed/ability can present challenges when trying to create or run a workout. This set is an example of how we make it work for a kick set:

16x (:40 kick + :20 rest)

Descend the effort (get faster) on the :40 kick 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16.

We start the set with all of the swimmers in each lane spread out over the length of the pool. We all start at the same time and the coach calls out “STOP” at the conclusion of each 40 seconds. Swimmers get their rest by either standing on the bottom or treading water in whichever spot they are in when they stop, this eliminates the need for separate intervals for different kicking speeds. We did this set with six swimmers per lane and had everyone do flutter kick with a board.

Of course, there are endless variations and creative changes you could do with this framework.

You could vary the number of rounds or manipulate the length of time for kicking. I like keeping it short like this so that we can get a high level of effort on the 4th one each time and not have an extreme amount of passing going on.

Undie-Sprint-Undie

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

SCY

The purpose of this set was to develop our underwater kicking ability while also working on sprinting after the underwaters. We typically took about

3 x (25 underwater off the blocks, walk back to the blocks) @ 1:00 rest

100 EZ

3 x (25 underwater kick off the blocks + open turn + 25 sprint free) @ 1:30 rest

100 EZ

3 x (25 underwater kick off the blocks + open turn + 25 sprint free + flip turn + 25 max underwater kicks + walk back to the blocks) @ 2:00 rest

100 EZ

Early Season Fly Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

Did a little fly for the first time of this young new season.

SCM

5:00 fartlek (non-stop repetition) doing 25 dolphin kick on side/back/front and 25 fly drill 2 right-2 left @5:40

8 x 25 strong fly @:30

:30 extra rest

5:00 fartlek,same as above @5:40

10 x 25 strong fly, 6@:30, 4@:25

:30 extra rest

5:00 fartlek, same as above @5:40

12 x 25 strong fly, 6@:30, 4@:25, 2@:20

Day 1 of a New Season

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

SCM

400 smooth free with open turns, great streamlines and 3 dolphin kicks

10 x 25 flutter kick @:35

    With snorkel, on side at 45 degrees

400 smooth free with open turns, great streamlines and 4 dolphin kicks

8 x 50 dolphin kick @ 1:00, On side at 90 degrees, snorkel optional, change sides by 25

400 smooth free with open turns, great streamlines and 5 dolphin kicks

6 x 75 br kick with board @ 1:45 (those with knee issues do flutter or dolphin)

400 smooth free with open turns, great streamlines and 6 dolphin kicks

4 x 100 choice kick descend 1-4 to all out @ 2:15

400 smooth free with open turns, great streamlines and 7 dolphin kicks

30 x 50 freestyle

2 x through this sequence of 15

    3 with tennis balls @ 1:00

    2 swim B3 @ :50

    3 fists drill @1:00

    2 swim B3 @:45

    3 catch-up drill @1:00

    2 swim B3 @:40

The Octathlon

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

SCM

We did this set recently and our group accepted the challenge pretty well! We used an approximately 1:1.5 work:rest ratio and recorded the times on a dry erase board for all to see during the workout. Swimmers were able to do a 100 EZ after the 400, 300, and 200 each time.

Hybrid Swim-Dryland Set

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

B5 = breathing every 5 strokes
In & Outs = Climb out, jump back in
Push-ups with flutter kick are done with the feet in the water, hands on the edge of the pool.
🐸 jumps = on the deck, squat down until fingertips touch the ground, jump up until feet leave the ground.

Fly-Focused Long Course

Posted on by rdwoodruff

Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA

This is a full workout for a first long course course practice of the season focused on butterfly. This is after a 15-20min warmup:

Pre-Set

9 x 100 @:20 rest

#1 Dolphin kick on side

#2 8 Dolphin kicks on side, 1 cycle fly

#3 6 diolphin kicks on side, 2 cycles fly

Main Set

2x:

4 x 150 @ :15 rest, 10 cycles strong fly then steady free each 50

6 x 100 @ :10 rest 14 cycles strong fly then steady free each 50

8 x 50 @ :50

Round 1: All fly Descend 1-4 and 5-8

Round 2: #1,3,5,7,8 are FPA fly, #2,4,6 are free B5

Kick Set with Freestyle

6 x (75 fast kick try to best best 100 LCM time + 25 EZ kick ) @2:20

1 x 200 freestyle descend cycle count by 50

4 x (75 faster + 25) same as above

1 x 200 freestyle descend cycle count by 50

2 x (75 faster + 25) same as above

1 x 200 freestyle descend cycle count by 50

Warm down

Book Review: “The Art of Swimming and the Game of Racing; Reflections of a USA Swimming Club Coach” by Dudley Duncan

Posted on by rdwoodruff

by Ryan Woodruff

I had the good fortune to meet Dudley Duncan in 2015 when I moved to Virginia. Having only observed his team from a distance previously, I enjoyed conversations on the pool deck with him until his retirement in 2019. The title of his book spells out his philosophy — that swimming well is an art and learning how to compete is figuring out the game that is happening within every race.

My favorite thing about this book is that it reads as though one is having an informal conversation with the author. If you have ever wanted to pick the brain of a master coach but are too afraid to ask, this is the book for you. Coach Duncan tells stories from his career and explains every step of his 51-year coaching journey. He delves into the business side of owning a swim team and a pool facility (very informative!) and advocates for more coaches to control their business destiny. He doesn’t sugarcoat the realities of ownership, even detailing the difficult schedule he had to keep to turn his vision into a reality. Sure, there is a chapter on technique (humbly titled “A Way”, not The Way), but the real gold nuggets in this book for me were the chapters on Team Consciousness and The Mental Game. Duncan describes his process for elevating a group to next-level performance and how to most effectively communicate with different personalities.

Coach Duncan’s ideas have caused me to reflect on my own coaching process and re-framed my thoughts on how I lead and guide a group. Though he is writing from the club coach’s perspective and very much aiming at helping the career club coach, there are lessons here for anyone interested in becoming a better swimming coach.  “The Art of Swimming and the Game of Racing” is available in paperback ($19.99), on Kindle ($12.99), or  as an audiobook ($17.99). Get it and read it twice or listen to it while you drive back and forth to practice. It will be a valuable addition to your coaching library.

You can purchase the book or read the reviews on Amazon.

Editor’s note: I received zero compensation for this review other than a copy of the book.