What is everyones approach to dryland training during taper? Here is my approach below.
DRYLAND TRAINING DURING TAPER
All the hard work has been put in over the course of the season and finally its time to Taper. Every swimmer and coach has a different approach to their taper but everyone wants the same thing – peak performance at the right time. Dryland training plays a big role in this process as well. Its is important not to eliminate dryland during taper time but to design the workouts so they are consistent with the taper in the pool.
A good dryland program develops strength and power thoughout the season and is periodized properly so that the athlete peaks at the right time.. If the exercises used all year in a dryland program are eliminated completely during taper then the power gained throughout the season will have some sort of drop off. This is the exact opposite of what an athlete or coach wants during taper time. When looking to be at a peak performance level and preparing to swim at a championship meet an athlete needs to be as fast and explosive as possible and certainly does not want to have a drop off in power in the water.
They key to dryland during taper is to “maintain” the strength and power levels gained throughout the year. Taper time is certainly not a time to increase weight, volume or intensity in any way. It also is not the time to introduce new exercises and create new adaptations for the body. Just stay consistent with the exercises that have been done throughout the year and pull back a little bit with the intensity. Many swimmers and coaches are resistant to doing any dryland during taper in fear of “messing up the taper”. It is ignorant for us completely eliminate the exercises we have been doing all year. Instead just change the variables and redesign the workouts. Compare this to the work done in the pool. Do we just stop swimming? Of course not, we reduce volume, increase rest periods, and increase speed work. Almost the same thing should be done with our dryland training.
During taper, exercises should be selected that emphasize power. Fast explosive movements that teach the muscles to generate force quickly are ideal. Keep reducing the volume and the resistance the closer the championship meet gets. In addition to this increase the amount of rest the swimmers get between each set. To give everyone a better idea I have included a lower body workout below. Notice how each during each week the change in repition and resistance.
( 4 weeks out from Championship Meet)
ExerciseSetsRepsResistanceBarbell Squats38135 lbsBox Jump3810 lb weighted vestDumbbell Lunge3810 lb dumbbellsSplit Jumps3810 lb weighted vest
(3 weeks out from Championship Meet)
ExerciseSetsRepsResistanceBarbell Squats35135 lbsBox Jump3510 lb weighted vestDumbbell Lunge3510 lb dumbbellsSplit Jumps3510 lb weighted vest
(2 Weeks out from Championship Meet)
ExerciseSetsRepsResistanceBarbell Squats35115 lbsBox Jump35BodyweightDumbbell Lunge355 lb dumbbellsSplit Jumps35Bodyweight
(1 Week out from Championship Meet)
ExerciseSetsRepsResistanceBarbell Squats000Box Jump35BodyweightDumbbell Lunge0 00Split Jumps35Bosyweight
The last thing swimmers want is to feel weaker because their dryland program has been eliminated the last 2 – 3 weeks before the big meet. Periodization of a dryland program should include the taper period. If you have a plan then dryland training will improve your taper and certainly won’t hurt it! Good luck and swim fast! If you have more questions you can email me at Grif@ihpfit.com.
Thanks for adding into the post Paul. I definetly like to here about what works for other people.
The training program I posted is what I did with some of our higher level high school kids. They actually tapered pretty well. We stopped dryland one week out with the more advanced swimmers that had the most dryland background. If someone is new to dryland training (new stimulus) then I usually rest them earlier. One of the guys who swam the 50 Fr went 21.5 in season and went 20.8 at states. We had a girl who swam the 100 Free and went 51.5 in season and ended up going 50.2. I feel the taper was good but I have had a couple seasons with them and their coaching staff to get it right.
As for me I haven't been in a masters meet in 5 years but I'm starting back again! Dixie Championships in Feb will be my first meet back - I will see how my taper goes then.
Thanks for the details...explains a LOT! When you get back into training your going to find that the recovery time for us old farts greatly exceeds the high school kids this program worked well for (we did something similar for our club kids and its a good strategy).
If I go back to my fastest season training as a "sprinter" (2004 when I was 44) where I lifted extremely heavy and dropped weights 3 weeks out...my times from in season (note, most in season swims were at altitude so the bigger drops make more sense) vs. nationals:
50 free: 21.8/20.9
100 free: 47.8/45.9
100 fly: 53.5/50.2
100 back: 58.6/54.6
100 IM: 57/53.3
200 IM 1:57.3 (never swam it in season)
When I have trained more for the 100/200/500 I have always stopped lifting 10 days out...much of the decision of when I back off has to do with how my legs feel, I even get to the point a week out I stop using stairs, wearing flip flops, etc. just to rest them as much as possible!
Agree with you on the legs and its important to state that everyone has a different recovery timetable.
I just wanted to clarify the low level of intensity of dryland training that I recommend during this time. An aggressive dryland program 1 week before a championship meet is not what I am suggesting. Doing 3 sets of 5 box jumps and 3 sets of 5 split jumps with lots of rest in between is not going to ruin a taper. This is like saying a broken swim will ruin a taper if you do it the week before the meet.
The goal of taper is to swim as fast as possible and my point is that a drop off in power production will not allow this.
I don't do any hard broken swims the week before a taper meet.
I also don't see how jumping or body weight exercises before a meet is really going to prevent a drop in power production, especially if you're still doing speed work in the pool. And, for us geezers, it's just more wear and tear on the legs. Masters need to rest much more than HS kids. And as Paul alluded to, sprinters need to rest more than mid-D types. So any tiny loss in strength is more than made up for by eliminating training fatigue. I think many masters could stand to rest more than they do.
For me, if I'm doing a full taper, I drop all drylands (even my bikram yoga) 3 weeks out.
I can definetly see the adjustments that need to be made from an 18 year old to a masters swimmer - great point. I look forward to seeing how I respond with recovery time as well. I am also working with a couple masters swimmers at the time and will see how they respsond to their upcoming meets.
