Swimmers and coaches often set workout targets like 90% effort or 95% effort for practice swims. I've always found these directives to be less than useful. What is "90% effort"? I've taken to setting time targets of race time plus a certain percentage. For example one could specify the set:
5x(100 free @ race + 15%)/2:00.
That is, five 100 free swims on the 2:00 (120 sec.) interval with a target time of race time + 15%. (This would be a painful lactate production set in my estimation.)
Based on my own experience, I constructed this chart giving qualitative descriptions of the effort level associated with a practice swim from a push to achieve race time plus a percentage:
7283
A few notes:
This would correspond to the effort level of the first swim in a group. Obviously even race +25% will constitute a very hard effort after you have done a lot of them.
Generally, it appears to be easier to swim at race pace + x% for longer swims.
It is easier to swim near race pace for backstroke than freestyle. I suspect that this is simply due to the fact that a freestyle dive start gives more of an advantage over a push than a backstroke race start.
I pose the following two questions to the forum community:
1) How do these effort levels compare with your experience? I'd love to see similar charts for other swimmers.
2) How much time do you spend in practice at each effort level? This will certainly depend on the time of the season. Early in the season I expect one might do a lot of "blue" swims up to some yellow, whereas later in the season one needs to spend a lot more time in yellow with frequent excursions into in the "red zone".
Quantifying effort by percentage may work in elite ranks, where the coach is infinitely familiar with each swimmer's capabilities. But in more garden variety masters practices, I think it makes more sense to use descriptive adjectives whose meanings shift a bit as the set grinds on.
Our coach Bill, for instance, has four basic speeds:
Just make it (for multiple reps with not much rest, like, for instance, last weeks 30 x 100 on 1:20)
Easy (invariably as a prelude to harder things soon to come)
Fast (quick, painful, but not a sprint)
and finally
Sprint
....
And on this note, time for a nap.
I agree! Each coach's set is different and you have to have your internal google translator coach speak to chow speak interpretation. I use:
Easy
Smooth
Strong
Sprint
It irks me when I hear ex: 12 x 50 on 1:00 (SCM), 3 sprint, 1 easy. That would be a serious no. If I actually did the set, it would be 3 strongs and 1 smooth. Easy would be not making it on 1:00. A sprint would necessarily include the tail of several minutes rest. Optional get out and talk to the coach, then do 1 blast-o in lieu of the entire set of 12.
It irks me when I hear ex: 12 x 50 on 1:00 (SCM), 3 sprint, 1 easy. That would be a serious no. If I actually did the set, it would be 3 strongs and 1 smooth. Easy would be not making it on 1:00. A sprint would necessarily include the tail of several minutes rest. Optional get out and talk to the coach, then do 1 blast-o in lieu of the entire set of 12.
Bravo!
12x(50 SCM/1:00) "sprint" 9 of the 12 seems absurd to me. (Maybe it is ok for DivIA scholarship swimmers other swimmers totally out of my league.) To me, a "sprint" should be a warmed-up-for, rested, focused, best you can do at that moment, effort. That's in my orange zone, hoping to hit the red zone on a good day. 12x50/1 would be at the threshold of my blue and green zones., maybe 3 blues and a green. (See my OP)
Quantifying effort by percentage may work in elite ranks, where the coach is infinitely familiar with each swimmer's capabilities. But in more garden variety masters practices, I think it makes more sense to use descriptive adjectives whose meanings shift a bit as the set grinds on.
If the coach is giving send offs, he already knows enough about the swimmers in the lanes to use the other methods we have tossed out. The coach needs to lump the people together into lanes, you don't necessarily need to know that Sally's critical pace is 1:32 and Bruce's is 1:28, you just need to know that those folks as a group hover around 1:30. Then you have the interval.
If you're using 100 times, same thing; you don't need to know their time exactly but need to know which groups to put together in your lanes.
But at the same token shouldn't the coach know or at least be able to look up what the speed of the swimmers are, if he can't how does he know what he is doing is working?
Not to pick on your or your coach, this happens all the time and I often wonder this very question. If there are never test sets, what makes the coach think that what he is doing is working.
In other words the goal isn't just to make the interval. The goal is to go as fast as possible. Sort of like "best average."
Right, that's my understanding. His post with the definition is here: forums.usms.org/entry.php
But at the same token shouldn't the coach know or at least be able to look up what the speed of the swimmers are, if he can't how does he know what he is doing is working?
Exactly. Any decent coach who knows the swimmers should be able to give them goal times for the set. My coach (who I've known for a very long time), will sometimes give a 100 FAST on 5 min, and tell me he wants me to go 1:03 (ha! he'd probably say 1:00), off the block. It is something I may be able to do, but maybe not. But given that we've known each other for about 15 years, he has a good feel for what I can do on what interval (although I do sometimes manage to surprise him).
Heck, a year or so ago while visiting Vegas I swam with a group there, it was sprint day. The coach--who I had never seen before--was able to give me 50 LCM goal times--that were nearly spot on. Actually when he gave them I rolled my eyes and thought, "no way," and surprised myself when I made them.
Right, that's my understanding. His post with the definition is here: forums.usms.org/entry.php
I'm glad I'm working my butt off all day long with no access to the internet...that way I have others to do my work for me. :D Thanks.
"12 x 100 @ 1:20 Max Rest FAST fin kicking" = 12 x 100 @ ≤ 1:20?
The interesting thing is we have one guy who never went under 27 seconds for 50 free as a kid, but as a master, training on the sprint programme, he has dropped to low 24, and will probably go 23 later this year at nationals. Just goes to show......
I didn't know how to swim as a kid though I'm probing in the 27 sec area now
:D
So you guys are all within 1-2 seconds of the all-times for 50 scm? JEEZUS. I hope you have some former high level swimmers there! Man.
We have a couple of former GB Internationals, and 3 GB Masters Record holders (not all sprinters mind). The interesting thing is we have one guy who never went under 27 seconds for 50 free as a kid, but as a master, training on the sprint programme, he has dropped to low 24, and will probably go 23 later this year at nationals. Just goes to show......
