The Fun of a Menu

When our team closes in on an important meet and we hit taper phase we often have a Saturday work out that is done Menu style. Basically it involves a warm up of some predetermined amount and then the rest of the session happens according to whatever time plan the swimmer wants. Sometimes we have them do a meet warm up; other times – like today – we lead them through it. Below is an example. This is what we are doing today 2-25-12. We have a meet in Clovis, CA next weekend which is the shave and taper meet for the winter racing block. It is also the last chance qualifier for the NCSA Junior National meet in Orlando March 20-24.

These work outs are extremely popular. When we announced last night that we had a menu work out for today there were whoops of joy. We sometimes time the swims and sometimes don’t. We often will look at our watch and make remarks of glee, impressed with the times, but not tell them the times. It drives them crazy. They all want to know what the watch says but we don’t place to much value on it ourselves, especially as each person is different in the transition from training to taper. We call it “checking the oil”…you don’t check the oil every time you get in your car. Unless there is a pool of goop under the car you pretty much know the oil is fine. After all you drove it yesterday. Same thing with speed in work outs; look good, feel good, done.

2-25-12 MENU OPTIONS – Clovis in 1 week; Orlando in 3 weeks

Wmp 2000/40

Meat and potatoes – Orlando

Fast eaters: all from blocks

1x150 broken .10/100, last 50 fast

1x100 broken .10/50, last 50 fast with legs

1x100 broken .10/25 and 75…build middle 50 with legs

3x35 - one like your 50, one like your 100, one your choice

Bigger eaters: all from blocks

1x200 broken .10/100 fast cruz to leg build up

1x200 broken .10/50 each 50 gets faster and has more leg power

1x150 broken .10/50 building leg power

1x100 broken .10/25 and 75 – your chance to be a sprinter!

3x35 – one like your 50, one like your 100, one your choice

The light eaters and dessert lovers: Clovis

See the maître d for options from today’s organic garden of earthly delights…we know you will be so happy that you will tell all your friends and relatives about our fine cuisine and excellent service!

Your total cost will not exceed 200 yards – oops, calories!

Find us on the web at www.bestchoicesforfastswimming.tuna

Dry Land & Wet Land

Swim coaches know the value of dry land exercise. We all look for the routines and exercises that will help our athletes get stronger. The main goal of course is to build strength and stability while making those gains functional. To that end we also incorporate stretching and general flexibility making certain muscles are used in a full range of motion. Think of swimmers doing pull ups but only dropping down to the point where their arms are bent at 90 degrees as an example of limited range of motion. We want them to be strong throughout the entire length of the stroke so it is better to do fewer repetitions using your body weight or the same number of repetitions with free weights or machines using less resistance but going through the full range of motion of any particular exercise.

You can also incorporate your dry land routine into the pool creating another environment for training: wet land.

Wet land means several different things but basically it revolves around doing strenuous movements that are very nearly the same as swimming but with an increased load. These exercises come in as many different forms as your imagination can contrive.

A simple one is kicking with tennis shoes on. You then have the three forms of kicking; 1- with fins, 2- regular, 3 – with tennis shoes. Add some ankle weights if you want even more resistance. Put on a parachute and kick. If your program has money to burn buy some power towers and kick against that resistance…talk about a work load. If you don’t have money to burn buy a bungee cord, kick out until you hit the resistance point and then kick like you mean it seeing how long you can hang there before succumbing.

Sound a little challenging? Get rid of the kick board and use a metal folding chair. That not tough enough? Open the chair up and see what happens.

We swim with all these things as well as 1 & 2 pound hand weights. We read where Elizabeth Beissel’s club coach gave his stronger kids landscape bricks to hold while they were swimming…the ones with holes in them. We haven’t yet tried that one but you can tell the next step in the progression – swimming with bowling balls…just kidding, sort of…

You can do all these types of things with swimming and pulling. Stretch your imagination. 5 gallon buckets are cheap at Home Depot etc. Look around at what you have poolside then go for it. The kids will love the challenge of something new. They are competitive. Turn up the heat a little and watch what happens. Have pool records for some of this stuff and you’ll see some very high levels of output.

The idea is to take your dry land component and add a wet land factor to it. Or you can substitute wet for dry. So long as you are getting resistance to the muscle and maintaining range of motion it is hard to go wrong.

As always, be sensible. Start small and progress carefully. An injured athlete cannot train let alone race.

Any more ideas out there? Let us know and we will share. Thanks and have an awesome week in the pool!

Christmas Shopping

We realize that not everyone celebrates Christmas and therefore is not wound up in the whole shopping thing. But if you are or would simply like to indulge yourself here are two quick ideas.

Idea #1 – Get yourself the smart phone app called liveresults. On Android phones liveresults and on Apple iPhone or iPad search for liveresults and you can download and pay a very small amount and then load the app. You can get an amazing number of real time results from swim and track meets all around the world. The menu is particularly good for US meets. You can see splits of swims as well as relays plus if the blocks are wired for it you can see reaction times including relay takeoffs…very cool.

Idea #2 – Do this kick set to build your legs even stronger. It comes originally from Chris Davis via the “Workout Wednesday” menu at the American Swimming Coaches Association web site. It can be modified endlessly. We did it Friday and it was awesome…excellent team energy and great leg power development…nice!

1x5 minute wall kick: 30 seconds moderate 30 seconds fast right into

6x50/1:10 fast kicking right into

1x5 minute wall kick: 20 seconds moderate 40 seconds fast right into

6x50/1:10 fast kicking right into

1x5 minute wall kick: 10 seconds moderate 50 seconds fast right into

6x50/1:10 fast kicking

Rest 1 minute

6x100/2 kick fast time average

It is 50 minutes of leg burning fun…a perfect holiday gift for every swimmer on your list!!

Which Ones and How Many?

It is a common thread of discussion among swimmers and parents concerning practices: which ones are really important and how many do I really need to attend?

Not surprisingly coaches do not ask these questions. They already know the answer: all of them!

Swim coaches get frustrated when athletes miss workouts. We have a plan for what we accomplish every day…or at least what we aim to accomplish. So why, we ask ourselves, would any swimmer miss a training session?

Let’s set aside the usual and very real reasons – illness, family emergency, unexpected school work and or tutoring.

If you play on the football team, soccer team or lacrosse team and miss every Thursday because you are getting tired from training you will not play in the game on Saturday. Why, because you have missed some important practice time that is relevant to the game itself.

When a swimmer misses a day here and there are they really prepared to race on the weekend? Well, yes and no. Yes - because they know how to swim and race and have entered the meet. No - because they have missed valuable practice time that affects their ability to race up to their current potential.

We are talking here about the senior swimmer or senior want-to-be. The younger age groupers have other sport activities and school interests (the school play) which are very valid things in which to participate.

At some point however, if the youngster really wants to see what she can do with the sport she needs to commit to it…and that means to going to every practice, not just the ones she wants to or can fit in due to her social schedule.

Every year we have seniors who miss out on a college opportunity due to being a second slower in their 100 free than what the college needs. Is this the end of the world? Of course not! Having said that, every time a swimmer misses a training session there is a cost to that absence.

Not terribly dissimilar to the fact that every day you don’t show up to work there is a cost. Or to put it into more precise terms, if a student missed a day once a week of math class then he doesn’t get to complain too loudly about his grade suffering…nor does his parent(s).

If you are older and swimming is important to you – get to the pool. If you are younger and swimming intrigues you – get to the pool. As one of our soon to be famous swimmers said a year or so ago, “You don’t get faster with your head on the pillow.” We couldn’t say it any better, so we won’t. See you at the pool soon – like today!

Training vs. Racing

Every now and then we ponder the question of what is more important for a competitive swimmer, training or racing?

At first glance it seems obvious that each is very important and that without one the other has very little meaning. Upon further reflection we believe that racing is actually much more important than training.

In terms of competitive sports we cannot think of a sport where this is not the case. Games, matches, races – it matters not what the sport is, what counts in competitive action is the competition.

Without competition, there is no feedback on the training being performed. An athlete might be in excellent condition but without the race or game she doesn’t have any way to measure the effectiveness of her training.

He might be training wonderfully but his skills may not be useful for the competition. How often can a quarterback throw passes in practice but when in the game, the speed of the action confuses him and his passes are no longer accurate.

We just finished our summer of swim racing and had many excellent competitive efforts. We also had some that fell short of the mark, especially when compared to the training we had seen. So obviously we as coaches and they as swimmers missed something. Without the meet at the end when everything was “on the line”, we would have not known that we were missing our target.

This is not a bad thing by any means. It is very valuable since none of the swimmers in question had their final career swim last week. The learning continues and the opportunities for redemption are there for the taking. It is up to the coaches and the athletes to work together with honest assessment on both sides with the common goal being resolution of the shortcomings.

There is a continuous loop running; training, race, evaluate. You can step into the cycle at either the training or racing step but evaluation cannot take place without the racing.

One could almost make the case that a swimmer would be better served racing 20 days a month and training 2 or 3 days a month…though we don’t think that will ever happen. What we did learn this summer from some of our college swimmers was that they believe they didn’t race nearly enough after their college season ended, in either February or March. Many waited until late June to race and they all said it was a mistake.

Maybe a better cycle would be to train for 3 or 4 days, rest a day, then race for a day…sounds like the NFL. The NBA plays 82 games without half as many practices once the season begins. MLB plays 162 games with virtually no workouts.

So, what do you think? How often should a swimmer race? What kind of ratio would be most beneficial when you consider training vs. racing?

And, do you think a non-competitive swimmer would benefit by entering a race now and then, either in the pool or open water? Let us know and have a great finish to your summer!

Distance per Stroke

Whether you are swimming for fitness or competition distance per stroke is an excellent skill to work on; we of course recommend regularly but will settle for occasionally for those who are more fitness inclined.

Distance per stroke, along with tempo (how fast you move your stroke cycle) are the two main components of speed. For general fitness you can simply focus on dps (distance per stroke).

What is it? No mystery here. It is exactly what it says: how far through the water can you propel yourself with each arm cycle. When you swim freestyle, backstroke or butterfly you only count the propulsive phase. Do not count the recovery. When you swim breaststroke you count the arms and legs as “1” complete stroke cycle. If you come up with a partial number, such as 16 and ½ then you are counting incorrectly. It is probably 16.

It is extremely important to do this in the regular pool you training in so you have a “base line” number. Obviously 25 yards and 25 meters and 50 meters will all be different. Some folks swim in a 33 1/3 or a 40 meter pool. It makes no difference. If you swim open water you will not be able to get an accurate count.

So let’s say you have a number in a 25 yard pool (we’ll use this since it is the most common one here in the US) that is 18 strokes of freestyle. If you can figure out how to get that number down to 17 or even 16 you have made a significant improvement in your stroke efficiency. If you swim competitively that is very important. If you swim for fitness it is also huge in a different way. By lowering your stroke count from 18 to 17 you have just moved your body (your weight hasn’t changed) over the same distance with one less stroke. Another way to look at it is this. If you bench press 100 lbs. 18 times you have lifted 1800 pounds. Lift that same 1800 lbs. in 17 lifts and you will need to add some extra weight to the bar to make the totals the same. To do that you will put more stress on your muscles which will break them down and have them rebuild at a stronger level. You just got stronger.

If you want to swim competitively in open water you need to master this dps skill. If you simply want to swim for fitness you probably have a goal of some sort; swim a certain number of laps or yardage per week. Why not get stronger in the water (and out of the water at the same time) while you are achieving your goals? If you get into the dps skill you will do just that. You will get stronger and more efficient in the water…

…and that is a great thing since swimming is the only sport activity that can actually save your life…if you are strong – efficient – enough to reach shore.

Have a great week and count your strokes now and then!

The Challenges of Holding Patterns

Every now and then we find some of our swimmers get stuck in what we refer to as a “holding pattern.” We define this as a space where lots of activity occurs but the swimmer is going nowhere. It comes of course from the airplane analogy of not being allowed to land so the plane is put in a holding pattern, circling the airport, going nowhere while waiting for a chance to land.

This time of year our swimmers are particularly vulnerable to holding patterns. They have completed their high school season three weeks ago. Many have just finished finals. Some have graduated. There are endless social events to attend. There isn’t so much sleep happening…you get the picture.

The challenge is that the clock is ticking, endlessly, without regard for your personal situation. First a few days go by, then a week…10 days out of touch turns into 2 or 3 weeks. Now the long course season is in full swing and the swimmer hasn’t really trained all that much. The State Sectional meet is 5 plus weeks away; Nationals are 2 plus weeks after that. If you aren’t into training fully engaged you are running dangerously close to not being able to taper.

We find that this process is rarely intentional. It just sort of happens. One event leads to another; one dinner cannot be missed, let alone be late to…the beat goes on. The intentions are good, “I’ll start again Monday,” or, “As soon as my last final is done I’ll get back into the swing of it.”

So, how is one to avoid this dangerous trap or cycle?

Pretty simple from where we sit. Have a clear vision of what it is you want to get done; figure out which choices are most in line with that vision and then execute your plan.

Realize that you cannot make everyone happy. But you are in charge of your decisions so you must own them. Five weeks from now at the State meet all those friends that you had to see at all those parties will be nowhere near you…and of no assistance as you endeavor to swim fast.

So, have a plan; stick to it; make your choices based upon your plan; own your swimming career. Not rocket science but very effective.

A Simple Little Set

Here’s a fun easy set to take for a spin sometime soon. You can do it swimming, pulling or kicking. You can mix and match strokes anyway that you want. You can vary the intervals forever.

We did this with our team on Friday – Masters did it swimming, kids did it kicking using .30 per lap as the interval. Let us know what you think and have a great week at and in the pool!

• 1x50


• 1x100


• 1x50


• 1x25


• 1x50


• 1x25

Do three rounds of this (or multiples of 3 rounds – knock yourself out!)

1st round the 50’s are recovery, blast the 100 and the 2x25

2nd round blast the 50’s using the 100 and the 25’s as recovery

3rd round do one of each distance fast and the rest of the swims are recovery. On this round you only have one 100 but no matter how you choose the 25 and 50 combo they will be back to back – unless you choose the 1st or 2nd 50 in which case you will be back to back on the 100.

Kicking Set

Here is a kicking set we did the other night that went well. Many workouts look good on paper and then when we get to the pool the desired effect is not always there. This was a good one and so we share it with you.

As always, we warm up with something in the 1500-2000 range including some easy kicking in the mix. The set looks like this:
5 rounds of 1x100/2 then 2x50/1 then 4x25/.40 flat out fast

Each of the 100’s gets progressively (descending) faster. The 2 x50 start at ½ of the 100 speed with the 2nd 50 always faster than the first one. All the 25’s are full tilt boogie or as we say “burn those legs up” always with a smile on our face

You can adjust the interval to fit your needs/capabilities. This is 1500 of kicking that ends up really fast and taxing. We chose to give enough rest so they would take the bit and run with it…and they did! Except for the 25’s, the faster kickers were getting approximately a 1:1 work to rest ratio.

You could take this same set and do it pulling or swimming or a combination of all three disciplines. You could swim it IM as an option.

We finished this workout with some stroke drills and then a hypoxic loosen down. One of our mantras is to make sure the workouts are challenging yet still give the swimmer a chance to have success. This builds confidence and that is a wonderful thing for any competitor.

Got a favorite? Send it along and we will share. Have a great week at the pool!

So Simple, So Effective

You may remember Terry Stoddard from a blog a year or so ago about the difference between being disappointed and being discouraged. Terry coaches the Pasadena Swim Association US Swimming club team. We are in Long Beach this weekend so we had a chance to chat with him while competing at the Speedo Sectional Championships.

We were comparing notes about how we began our training block back in late August which is culminating for many swimmers right now. We found his comments and approach refreshingly straightforward, simple and - if done correctly - very effective.

He said he began the season with a 5 week block that focused for one week on each of the following 5 topics. His contention is that if his swimmers could master these 5 things they would improve dramatically.

They are as follows:
1 - head position
2 - body position
3 - kicking
4 - pull pattern
5 - breathing pattern

You may not agree with his 5 or the order of importance but we think if you will pick a manageable number of focal points and drill those until they are second nature you will be well served. We see far too many swimmers striving valiantly with easily correctable bio-mechanical flaws. None of us are "perfect" in the sense that our way is "best". The object is not to be "right". The task as coaches is to impart what we know to our swimmers so they can use it to be more effective and faster. Our goal is to make certain that what we are imparting to them is correct...and then to do it in such a way as to make a difference in their performance.

Have a safe, happy and healthy holiday season. Keep coming to the pool and keep smiling...and keep your head down!

What is "Pain" Anyway?

There is a distinct difference between the pain of an injury and the discomfort (pain) that comes from exerting yourself while exercising. In the athletic world these two are often lumped together - unfortunately. We hear phrases such as "play through the pain" and "you can heal in the off season" and it makes us cringe.

When you feel your body sending you a signal that you are injuring yourself you need to listen or you might not play again for quite a while.

Today we are interested in an athlete's reaction to the other kind of "pain", the one that comes from exercising, often strenuously, in an effort to improve her/his game.

You build your body's ability to do work by - well, working. Some folks say "you have to work hard" to get anywhere. We don't like the word "hard" since it often has negative connotations. We encourage you to look for a more accurate way to express what you are doing - perhaps "challenging" or "rigorously" would do the trick. The idea here is to get away from the negative when it comes to working out strenuously so as to improve your body's ability to deliver a higher level of output.

When you push yourself you either work aerobically or anaerobically, or both. When you do so vigorously, pushing to previous limits, or beyond, your body sends signals to your brain which in turn sends signals back to your body to "give me a break". This is the "pain" of exercise. If you are either an athlete getting better or an active person working to stay fit this "pain" is indeed a good thing to experience. It is the best verification you can get that you are making a difference right now! We encourage you to embrace it!

How do you do that? Well, if you change your "comfort zone" as regards "pain" tolerance you will end of welcoming this discomfort rather than dreading and or avoiding it. Superior athletes welcome the distress that comes from training. The "regular" person (what a misnomer, none of us is regular!) who simply enjoys working out likes the discomfort now and then as well. Both know this signal is a sign of good things happening...and good things won't happen without it!
So, figure out how to search for, embrace and relish the "pain" of exercise. It is a key ingredient to your athletic improvement and a long and healthy life as well (ultimately way more important!).

Learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Really good things happen when you do this.

Connecting the Dots

We have our senior team training really well right now preparing for the November “mid-term” meet which comes up in three weeks. As coaches we always strive to get the swimmers to see how things they do in practice relate to results in meets. We refer to this as “connecting the dots”.

We came up with a simple explanation that seems to be taking hold, having a positive effect if you will. We tell swimmers that “you race like you train, so train like you want to race.” We apologize to the English teachers out there for the grammar. Having said that, this rather simple statement is having an effect. We had a tri meet last Saturday and our finishes are much better. We have been emphasizing that recently…no breathing at the end of free and fly races.

We have also been talking about turns…turning at the same speed you are swimming, as opposed to relaxing through the walls. In this last meet we saw that we need to be better at this in the later stages of the race. We had a number of swimmers who turned well at the 25 and even the 50 wall in their 100’s but really coasted into the 75 wall. It is as if they were taking a short pause in their effort while readying themselves for the last lap and the finish from the 7 or 8 yard mark to the touch pad. So we need to fix that…and we will.

It is really simple sometimes and as coaches we tend to make things a little too complex now and then. Football coaches talk about the fundamentals of blocking and tackling; basketball coaches talk about getting in position for the rebound; swim coaches talk at length about the importance of the start and the turns.

Effective coaches are able to communicate the essentials to their athletes in such a way that those same athletes learn the value of the skill(s) and then make it habit. We are willing to bet a large amount of money that Ryan Lochte spends a lot of time underwater off turns in practice whether he is swimming easily or going for it. He is more than someone who turns really well. Indeed, he is an underwater phenom who to no one’s surprise crushes opponents on the turns. He wasn’t born that way. Neither was Natalie Coughlin. They both learned the value of it and then learned how to do it. It is a skill that is now part of who they are in the water.

What do you want to change in your game? How are you going to do it? Find the dots then connect them. Pretty darn simple…

Revisiting Cycles

This may be a little remedial for some of you but it has been a while since we wrote about cycles in training. At the very least we hope it will give all of you pause about what works - or doesn't - for you. It matters not if you are a part time fitness swimmer or a full time Masters, YMCA or US Swimmer.

What does indeed matter is that you remember you are not best served by going full bore every time you train. Your body recovers and actually gets stronger during the rest phase. Weeks can have cycles, months or seasons can have cycles and even Olympians look at four year cycles. If you are feeling a little beat up you may want to consider changing your cycle.

Here at North Bay Aquatics our Senior team trainers have a weekly cycle that looks like this.

Dry land training is M/W/F for 75 minutes in the morning before school.

Swim training in the morning for 75 minutes is on T/Th before school. It is dedicated
to specific stroke work issues including underwater work.

Additionally, distance swimmers train Wednesday for 75 minutes before school doing longer swims, grooving their strokes while working negative splitting with heart rates in the 140-160 range.

In the afternoons we swim from 5-7 and they look like this.

M/W are full tilt stress days specific to the events that are primary for each swimmer. We have a sprint group with emphasis on 50's and 100's. We have a breaststroke group. We have a 200 group and we have 500, 1000, 1650 group.

Tuesday we have a team meeting for 30-60 minutes often with a special guest presenter. Then we swim 25's and 50's stroke work. This is a total recovery workout. No one's heart rate is elevated.

Thursday is what we call a "light aerobic" day where we swim about 30 minutes with heart rates in the 140-160 range.

Friday is a 90 minute recovery, again stroke work.

Saturday is a 2+ hour long course workout with split groups along the lines of M/W. This is a full tilt stress session as well.

We film every swimmer on T/F so they can see what they are doing from a different vantage point.

So when you look at the big picture we have 8 swims available and 3 dry lands. It is the rare week when anyone can make all 11 sessions due to school demands etc. Having said that, each swimmer knows when the dial gets turned up and when it is turned down. The great thing about this is that each session has a stated specific purpose. Some sessions it is challenging physical work, other ones it is specific muscle group work (dry land) while still other workouts are very specific stroke issues; muscle memory, building myelin wraps.

When do we kick? We kick on M/W/Th/S. The underwater specialists kick with fins, monofins and regular "bare" feet on those days as well as T/Th mornings. We occasionally kick with tennis shoes on as well.

We are very happy with our cycle right now. Our team is swimming faster in workout each week and they have to swim faster on Thursday to get their heart rates to 140-160...an indication of cardiovascular fitness. They all feel empowered. They have a huge amount of confidence. We had a pre-season meet a couple of weeks ago and they could see the results of their training. We have another one this coming weekend and we will have more of the same.

This cycle will change a little as we get closer to the "peak" meet season in December. The basics will remain the same. 8 pool sessions will have no more than 3 stress workouts. The closer we get to the big meet in December the less we will be doing on the stress days.

We encourage you, no matter your level of interest to consider what kind of cycle you can adopt so that your training levels get more advanced. It is truly a self confidence booster when you know without a doubt that you are becoming more capable or faster or fitter...or all three!

Burn Up Those Legs & Arms

Here's a set we had fun with last week. Take this out for a spin and let us know what you think!

After you get yourself warmed up with 1000 - 1500 there are two sets.

Set 1:
1x200 swim negative split (2nd 100 faster than the first)
4x25 kick fast / .40 (pick whatever interval gives you 15 seconds or so rest)
1x200 swim neg split
3x25 kick fast/same interval as above
1x200 swim neg split
2x25 kick fast/ same as above
1x200 swim neg split
1x25 kick fast
Swim an easy 100

Set 2: you will want some drag device like a parachute, small inner tube, a tethered plastic jug you can fill with a little water, ankle weights (go lightly at first) - you get the idea. You also will want a pull buoy. We recommend a snorkel on the 50's.

1x50/ scull lap one, swim lap two: with pull buoy and drag device
4x100 swim (no toys - snorkel OK) burn up the last lap - interval = 15 seconds rest
1x50/ as above
3x100 swim as above - be sure to blast lap 4
1x50/ as above
2x100 swim as above
1x50/ as above
1x100 swim as above

Cool down with 300 or so

Make sure you blast the 25's kicking and the last lap of the 100 swims and we think you will feel pretty darn good about your workout. Let us know and or share a good one with us!

Recovery

Our body adapts to stress - gets stronger - during periods of recovery. Athletes tend to push themselves, always testing limits. We find this to be the case regardless of age. Show us a motivated swimmer and we'll show you one who 9 times out of 10 is over trained and under rested.

You can get away with this for quite some time, especially if you are generally healthy and well nourished. But know this for certain, at some point you reach a stage of diminishing returns.

We see it in our Masters group as well. Often adults use physical exertion to balance and relieve the stress of mental effort. A really good workout relaxes you from the workday stress while improving your fitness level. That is an excellent reason to workout!

Yet, if you find yourself exhibiting any of the following symptoms you may need a day or even two off:
1 - Hard to get out of bed in the morning
2 - Once you get out of bed you still feel sluggish, like you are dragging around
3 - Your early morning pulse rate is elevated 8-10%
4 - You feel achy, flu like
5 - Your swim (or bike or run) times are off noticeably
6 - Your motivation seems to be slipping a little
7 - You are cranky in general
8 - Your body weight is dropping even though you are eating the same
9 - You are trying harder and going slower

You get the idea we are certain. These types of effects suggest that you are nearing or actually in the "Zone of Failing Adaptation". This means that your body is not getting stronger between workouts but actually is still breaking down. And this is not a good thing.

We have seen swimmers who push themselves while in this "Zone". The result is usually a lost season or if you are lucky only part of a season. In our Senior training group - the kids heading for Sectional/State and National meets - we have 11 workouts each week. They look like this: 3 in the weight room and 8 in the pool. It is a rare week when anyone makes all 11. Of the 8 swimming sessions only 3 are listed as "Stress" workouts with an additional 1 listed as "Aerobic". The other 4 are for drill work, pacing skills etc. When we get closer to a December Peak Meet we will drop all those numbers significantly. If anyone shows signs of weakness we will limit their attendance immediately until we see signs of life again.

Our Masters swimmers have workout opportunities 7 days a week. Even if they could figure out how to come 7 days we are pretty sure they would soon find a need for skipping one or just showing up and swimming easy for 20-30 minutes and getting out.

You do not get stronger and faster unless you push yourself. You do not get stronger and faster unless you rest between stress sessions. You can still swim but change your focus to technique and don't even count the laps or yards.

Remember this: when you find yourself in a hole, put the shovel down and stop digging or the hole will get deeper!

A Couple of Sets to Keep Things Interesting

Last Saturday at our Masters training session we offered two different formats. The first is more aerobically focused while the second is more anaerobically based.

We warmed up with a basic 200 pull, kick, and swim. Then we swam 300 yards every 3rd lap half way under water. This was followed by 6 X 75's where we kicked the first lap and swam the 2nd and 3rd laps. We also asked each swimmer to stop after the 2nd lap and do a pull out on the edge of the deck...it is basically an assisted (water helps make you lighter at the beginning of the press out) pull up.

Then we split into two separate groups. Everyone - we are pretty sure - enjoyed themselves and the challenges offered. Give one or both (we recommend separate days) a try and let us know what you think...better yet, share a favorite set of yours. We'll put it out there for the entire community to try!

The two sets of 4 rounds above the line are for the aerobic folks. The one set below the line are for you sprinters and or folks just getting started. Have fun!

4 Rounds...choose your own interval, be as ambitious as you want

1x200 neg split (2nd 100 faster than the 1st 100)
1x100 neg split...and faster than last of the 100
1x50 ez recovery
Total set = 1600
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
4 Rounds...choose your own interval

1x100 build to 75% (then 80%, 85%, 90%)
4x25 taking 3 breaths at each wall at 75% (2nd round 80%, 85%, 90%)
1x50 ez recovery
Total set = 1000

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3 Rounds...every swim is on the one minute interval except the last 100
Round #1 effort = 80%, #2 effort = 85%, #3 effort = 90%

1x50 with 15 yards effort
1x25 ez

1x50 with 25 yards effort
1x25 ez

1x50 with 35 yards effort
1x25 ez

1x50 entire swim at effort
1x25 ez

1x100 recovery SAS - Smooth As Silk

Time vs. Effort or Time + Effort

The big meets for the summer are just about done. The last of the summer championships are in the books. We know there are still several big "end of season" triathlons still on the books but in general things are beginning to wind down.

What we do, especially at this time of year, is to think about things we learned from observing our team perform at the big meets. We add to that what we learned watching other swimmers in the same setting. We have been asking coaches for tips. One very nice thing about American swimming is that coaches seem willing to share ideas about what works and what doesn't...at least in their situations. So here are some of the observations we have made. We'd love to hear from you about yours. Sharing is a wonderful of getting better.

Jim Bauman, the US Swimming Sports Psychologist, encourages athletes to "make sure your autopilot is engaged" when it comes to being able to perform at big meets.

In butterfly we saw Tyler McGill breathe every stroke for about 90 meters and then none at all for the last 10 meters. We also saw Michael Phelps take 17 strokes per lap - talk about distance per stroke.

Larry Liebowitz who coaches women at Oregon State turned us on to tabata training. Look it up on the web and or You Tube. He also said he has been collecting old "retired" fire hoses which are free instead of having to purchase heavy ropes.

Nort Thornton said he had recently seen an older interview with Popov who said the three things he kept thinking about were "rhythm, range and relaxation".

Several coaches spoke about Matt Fitzgerald's new book "Run".

John Dussliere who coaches the Santa Barbara Swim Club said since he has put his kids on jump ropes his shoulders problems have vanished. He also mentioned a good book, "Evolve Your Brain". He has developed a monster drag chute that seems very interesting. Watch for news about that.

David Marsh talked about how important his Masters group was to his Youth swim team...in a variety of ways from fund raising to development of additional coaches. He is speaking on this topic at the ASCA World Clinic.

And then this gem, from Theo St. Francis, a sophomore who swims for North Bay Aquatics. We were talking about the upcoming season and how many workouts each week he would be able to make given his school schedule and his commute. He had big improvements in his backstroke this year and can now "see" making his Junior National cuts. We said to some degree it matters how many sessions you make but it is even more important to put your best effort forward when you do train. He responded nearly instantaneously, "If I'm going to put in the time I might as well put in the effort". Truer words have never been spoken. It made us think about how many athletes - and coaches - put in the time but not the effort. And how many put in the effort but not enough time to really make a difference. It is definitely the combination that makes the difference. Put in the time plus the effort and you will get the results...especially if your auto pilot is engaged.

See you at the pool!

Simon Burnett Kick Set

Simon Burnett came to the University of Arizona by way of England. He is a many time collegiate All American and a multiple time member of many England National Teams. The swim most vivid in my mind (Don Swartz writing here) was his 1:31.20 200 yard free at the 2006 NCAA Championships in Atlanta, GA. He was out in 44+ and back in 46+. His leg power was phenomenal until I learned that he spent a lot of time on his kick board.

The following set is credited to him. I am certain others have done this set but since it came to us from him we call it the Simon Burnett kick set. When we tell our team, as we did this week, that we are doing it, they know what is coming. It goes like this. We did this in a 25 yard pool.

1 x 100 kick / 1:30
1 x 50 recovery / 1:30 (we swim this 50, he may have kicked it)

2 x 100 kick / 1:30
1 x 50 recovery / 1:30

3 x 100 kick / 1:30
1 x 50 recovery / 1:30

4 x 100 kick / 1:30
1 x 50 recovery / 1:30

5 x 100 kick / 1:30
1 x 50 recovery / 1:30

This is 1500 yards of kicking and it is deceptive. By the time you are entering the round of 4 x 100 you get that you are in for a tough stretch. And since kicking is all will power it is a good test of that. It is doable but not a "piece of cake".

On our senior team we have about 35 swimmers. Tonight 12 went on the 1:30 interval. They all made the entire set. One of the women was dolphin kicking on her back going 10 yards underwater off each wall - very impressive. We had a handful that was under 1:20 and three guys under 1:15 the entire way. We had all but 3 others on the 1:40 interval and the slowest grouping was on the 1:45 interval.

When the set was over they all felt a valuable measure of accomplishment. We have done this set before and it always is a refreshing reminder of how powerful the kick can be; and it empowers the swimmers. We had a ton of excellent team building in the lanes and across the pool.

You can riff off this set in a thousand different ways. We encourage you to explore and have fun doing so! Let us know what you think.

Holiday Speed

No matter what type of swimmer you are every now and then it is necessary and or fun to do a simple little set that gives you the feeling of how it feels to swim fast. It is a nice break from the usual routine of yardage based workouts. Think of it as a special holiday just for you!

After you get warmed up for 30 to 45 minutes give this set a whirl and see if you don't end up with a smile on your face.

Go 4-6 rounds of the following taking no extra rest between the rounds:

1x75/1:30 with the first lap at 75%, the second at 80% and the third lap at 85%
1x50/1:30 smooth easy recovery
1x25/1:30 fast as you can but remain in control of your stroke

Remember to go right into the 1x75 in round 2 after the 1 minute and 30 seconds you are allowed for the fast 25. You can mix in different strokes anywhere you want.

This set gives you enough rest to really hit the 75, 80, 85% efforts. We have used this set with our elite senior trainers, younger age groupers and Masters as well. Make certain you loosen down well after any speed set.

If you have something similar in the speed department please let us know and we will share it with our swimming community. Have a great week in the water!

The Smallest Possible Hole

When you think about swimming more efficiently and therefore faster you always want to be considering what kind of "foot print" or more specifically what kind of "body print" you are making as you go through the water. There is a reason torpedoes are shaped the way they are; they present very little resistance to the water; they are "slippery" as they move through the water.

The fastest parts of any pool swim are the pushes from the hard surfaces, namely the starting blocks and the walls at the turns. Every single elite swimmer utilizes those hard surfaces to the max. Now it is your turn as well. Even if you have no real desire to swim at the top of your division why not make the commitment now to improving off the walls. It makes swimming easier, more fun and more relaxing which in turn makes it more satisfying.

Open water swimmers can benefit from this concept as well. Work on getting your head down a little (except when you need to sight of course) so that when you turn your head to the side to breathe you will be pushing less water. Work on your core strength so that you can support your body in as streamlined a position as possible while swimming normally. Work on your kick so your legs will "anchor" your hips and keep them from slipping out to the side, especially when you turn your head to breathe.

In the pool practice getting a little farther out from the wall before you begin your first stroke. Mark your spot on the bottom and see if over time you can extend the distance. Inches matter so even a small improvement makes a difference. Ultimately you will find that you will drop your stroke count by one or two counts by really extending the wall push.

On the streamline position put one hand on top of the other. Extend your arms straight so that your biceps are squeezing your ears. Keep your head down, leading with the crown not your forehead. Hold your belly in a bit and tighten your glutes a little, engage your hamstrings and point your toes, and keep your feet together. We tell our swimmers to get "skinny" in the water.

One drill you can do is to get in deeper water and push off from the bottom seeing how high you can get in the air before you run out of momentum and sink back down. Next add a handful of dolphin kicks and see how much higher you go. You will notice the difference.

When you swim laps make the commitment to begin your first stroke after your feet have passed the backstroke flags. Keep working to "shorten" the pool.

Have you ever tossed a stone high in the air over a pond? When it comes down it makes a sound of "thunk"; same goes for a coin. A good racing dive sounds the same; there is very little splash. This is so because the hands, head, hips and feet all go through the same hole in the water. If you have a SAFE PLACE to do so, practice running dives off the deck. See if you can get the feel of being an "arrow" shot from a bow. Your hands are the tip and your feet are the feathers. Your body is "skinny" and straight like the shaft of the arrow. You must push down some on your upper torso once it hits the water because your chest is full of air and wants to pop to the surface. Use your core strength and body awareness to pull this off. The telltale sound when this is not happening is a big slap of the shins and feet. This is accompanied by a significant splash. The best dives have very little splash.

All of these ideas will make you faster without any extra exercise. You just need to be more careful about how you practice your craft; be more thoughtful; less mindless swimming.

Any other ideas out there on this subject? We are certain there are and we welcome you to share with us and our readers. Have a great week in the water, wherever you swim!