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.
Showing posts with label kicking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kicking. Show all posts
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Kicking, Kicking, Kicking
This is the headline of the third point listed in the March/April 2010 Splash Magazine article entitled "So Long, Suits". The article outlines the "top 4 adjustments swimmers must make" now that FINA has sent the high tech suits to the Smithsonian. The other adjustments are "Improve Core Strength and Stability", "Eliminate Excess Drag" and "Technique Rules Again".
The main point of the Kicking adjustment is now that the buoyancy provided by the suits is gone swimmers will need stronger legs so that their kicking stays with them all the way to the finish so their body position remains advantageous. As the article so succinctly states, "Whether it's the end of a race or off the start or turns, no suit will cover up legs that are out of shape."
Fortunately there is a very clear and inexpensive solution; the more and faster you kick the less you will be hampered by leg fatigue or lack of a high tech suit. And the best thing about kicking is that it requires no special talent; all you need is will power!
However, it is all too often that swimmers (just about any athlete for that matter) will continue to work on their strengths figuring that will save the day. We figure that about 1/4 to 1/3 of training needs to incorporate leg work. We don't hit that number yet but we are working in that direction. We want leg power for short course and we know we need it for long course. If you are an open water aficionado you need it too. Tri-athletes need it as well.
We are including some kicking in our warm ups often and will add it to our loosen down swims as well. We even break some swims into part kick and part swim. The way to incorporate this into your training is only limited by your imagination.
Pick your starting point - where you are now in terms of a normal kicking set and interval. Then set a goal to work to change the duration, distance, interval and intensity of the kicking.
An example: you currently can kick 8x50/1:30 and that is pretty much it for you. Next time go 4x50/1:30 and then 4x50/1:20. Then try 2x100/2:50 and 2x100/2:40. Then add a couple more repeats and then knock another 5 or 10 seconds off the interval. If you swim 4 days a week make a kick set part of the workout twice a week. You can put on fins regardless of the caliber of kicker you are. It is fun to kick really fast! You can even begin, with fins, to kick on the same interval you usually swim. Be patient and give yourself some time. You will see steady and encouraging progress. And you will see an improvement in your racing as well. You will feel fresher deeper in the swim. You can actually pass people in the last 10 yards if your legs are still with you. When you do that you will feel so empowered and encouraged.
On our senior training team we now can kick 100's on the 1:40 for 2000 yards worth. Two years ago that was not possible. We kick 200's on the 3:30 and we are headed down from there...beginning this week!
You can do 100 short course repeat swims where you kick 25, put the board up, swim a 50, then rest 10 seconds and grab the board and kick the last 25 full blast. Find an interval that gives you 15 or 20 seconds rest. If you do 10 of these you will have added 500 yards/meters of kicking to your workout. Trust us when we say "that is a good thing".
Send us your favorite kick set and we will share it with others. Have a great week at the pool and bring your kick board. You will be pleased with the results...guaranteed!
The main point of the Kicking adjustment is now that the buoyancy provided by the suits is gone swimmers will need stronger legs so that their kicking stays with them all the way to the finish so their body position remains advantageous. As the article so succinctly states, "Whether it's the end of a race or off the start or turns, no suit will cover up legs that are out of shape."
Fortunately there is a very clear and inexpensive solution; the more and faster you kick the less you will be hampered by leg fatigue or lack of a high tech suit. And the best thing about kicking is that it requires no special talent; all you need is will power!
However, it is all too often that swimmers (just about any athlete for that matter) will continue to work on their strengths figuring that will save the day. We figure that about 1/4 to 1/3 of training needs to incorporate leg work. We don't hit that number yet but we are working in that direction. We want leg power for short course and we know we need it for long course. If you are an open water aficionado you need it too. Tri-athletes need it as well.
We are including some kicking in our warm ups often and will add it to our loosen down swims as well. We even break some swims into part kick and part swim. The way to incorporate this into your training is only limited by your imagination.
Pick your starting point - where you are now in terms of a normal kicking set and interval. Then set a goal to work to change the duration, distance, interval and intensity of the kicking.
An example: you currently can kick 8x50/1:30 and that is pretty much it for you. Next time go 4x50/1:30 and then 4x50/1:20. Then try 2x100/2:50 and 2x100/2:40. Then add a couple more repeats and then knock another 5 or 10 seconds off the interval. If you swim 4 days a week make a kick set part of the workout twice a week. You can put on fins regardless of the caliber of kicker you are. It is fun to kick really fast! You can even begin, with fins, to kick on the same interval you usually swim. Be patient and give yourself some time. You will see steady and encouraging progress. And you will see an improvement in your racing as well. You will feel fresher deeper in the swim. You can actually pass people in the last 10 yards if your legs are still with you. When you do that you will feel so empowered and encouraged.
On our senior training team we now can kick 100's on the 1:40 for 2000 yards worth. Two years ago that was not possible. We kick 200's on the 3:30 and we are headed down from there...beginning this week!
You can do 100 short course repeat swims where you kick 25, put the board up, swim a 50, then rest 10 seconds and grab the board and kick the last 25 full blast. Find an interval that gives you 15 or 20 seconds rest. If you do 10 of these you will have added 500 yards/meters of kicking to your workout. Trust us when we say "that is a good thing".
Send us your favorite kick set and we will share it with others. Have a great week at the pool and bring your kick board. You will be pleased with the results...guaranteed!
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