I am thinking about focusing on the 50 and occasional 100 (primarily freestyle but some breaststroke as well). I have been swimming basically a mile each workout and think that with a move to more sprint stuff my workouts need to reflect that. I know sprinters generally swim less distance and more intensity but how long in between sets?
My real big question is: what else besides swimming should I be doing? I figure the weight room would be good but I don't know wha exercises I should do. Any suggestions?
I answered another similar question posted in an earlier thread, as shown below. This is a programme that a few of my clubs competitive masters swimmers have followed, with good to exceptional results. Some examples - at the age of 42 during 3 years training I have dropped from a 26.3 to 24.3 on 50M free. A 33 year old team-mate has dropped from 26.9 to 24.4 in 2 years. Target next year is 23.
The training plans are very similar to what Fortress posts apparently, but for non-US based swimmers the book is the next best thing. It's not a miracle fix to becoming a world class sprinter, but I believe its the most efficient method of maximising a swimmers sprint potential. Unfortunately it's often at odds with a typical Masters session, which usually caters for everyone but sprinters:
"I highly recommend the Sprint section of this book, based upon High Intensity Training (HIT) .....
'Swimming Fastest: A comprehensive Guide to the science of swimming' by Ernest Maglischo
It has sample training plans and the science behind it. A short summary would be:
1. Lactate Production training - short sprints (25m/50m) with lots of rest
2. Lactate Tolerance/Race Pace training - e.g broken 100m's with recovery
3. Power Sprints training - very short sprints with recovery
4. Basic endurance every session - aerobic and threshold
5. Recovery swimming after lactate tolerance sessions
Some other considerations, all of which can shave time of a PB:
- Taper cycle - 2-3 weeks decreasing yardage each week
- Creatine - if a responder
- Improve technique - not just with drills, but using focus during sprint sessions. Stroke counting during race pace training
- Starts and turns - track or grab, track with incline blocks
- Fast swim suit
- Sprint with fins - very painful but beneficial anaerobic workouts
- Land training - plyometrics with medicine balls, stretch cords, core work, stretching, stroke specific weights. The Dave Salo book is worth a look"
