Trying to set one solid goal for next year. After a mediocre season, I've decided to focus on one event only for next year. I want to see if I can break 5 minutes for a 500 free.
Back in my college days (almost 30 years ago), my best was a 4:47, and I would routinely swim just under 5 in most dual meets. Since I started Masters swimming 4 years ago, my best has been a 5:10. Not bad, but I think I can do better.
Now here's the question for all the middle-distance studs out there: what are some good workouts/drills that you can do to A) increase raw speed, and B) increase endurance. As I mentioned in a different thread, I have been dealing with a mild anemia issue, which I'm pretty sure has been resolved.
If your goal is under 5:00 for the 500, forget doing 100 repeats. Do what I do and do USRPT sets of 50s.
You should work into 2 sets of 30 x 50 on the :50 holding :29 to a hand touch, skip if missed. Of course as you know with USRPT, you should never be able to do all 30 in the set. If you can do into the low 20s of the 30 x 50 and hit your total of 3 failures, you will be able to go under 5:00.
Best of luck to you!
Glenn Gruber
I have made huge gains doing USRPT myself. Many thanks go out to Glenn for posting here on the USMS forums about this training technique and being so friendly and willing to help!
I was not a swimmer until a couple of years ago and I'm now 37. Having always been an endurance athlete, I'm naturally inclined to distance swimming and I think USRPT is great for distance and middle distance athletes.
Before a recent injury, I got to the point where I could hold 29 seconds/50 yards on 50 seconds and not have more than 3 failures in two sets of 30 x 50, but I could only muster a 5:25 this year at spring nationals.
Granted, a 5;25 is 10 seconds faster than I ever went previously in a 500, but it's also not anywhere near sub-5:00. I believe this mostly to be due to my lack of experience controlling my breath into and out of turns.
I can easily do 29-30 seconds per 50 yards for 60 repetitions when I have 20 seconds rest between each 50 (doing them on 50 second intervals). Problem for me is, when continuously swimming a 500, somewhere around the 150-200 yard mark, all of the turning catches up to me in terms of oxygen debt and breath control. I attribute this primarily to a lack of experience/coaching. Most everyone I swim with has swum since they were young and they don't seem to have any problem controlling their breath in and out of turns. Hopefully I'll get there someday. For now, my LCM times are great. But all of the turning required in SC results in slower times than I'd expect.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience. USRPT has definitely made me faster and I'd highly recommend it to nearly anyone, but I can't quite do the times one would expect in a SC setting. However, in LC I'm golden!
If your goal is under 5:00 for the 500, forget doing 100 repeats. Do what I do and do USRPT sets of 50s.
You should work into 2 sets of 30 x 50 on the :50 holding :29 to a hand touch, skip if missed. Of course as you know with USRPT, you should never be able to do all 30 in the set. If you can do into the low 20s of the 30 x 50 and hit your total of 3 failures, you will be able to go under 5:00.
Best of luck to you!
Glenn Gruber
I have made huge gains doing USRPT myself. Many thanks go out to Glenn for posting here on the USMS forums about this training technique and being so friendly and willing to help!
I was not a swimmer until a couple of years ago and I'm now 37. Having always been an endurance athlete, I'm naturally inclined to distance swimming and I think USRPT is great for distance and middle distance athletes.
Before a recent injury, I got to the point where I could hold 29 seconds/50 yards on 50 seconds and not have more than 3 failures in two sets of 30 x 50, but I could only muster a 5:25 this year at spring nationals.
Granted, a 5;25 is 10 seconds faster than I ever went previously in a 500, but it's also not anywhere near sub-5:00. I believe this mostly to be due to my lack of experience controlling my breath into and out of turns.
I can easily do 29-30 seconds per 50 yards for 60 repetitions when I have 20 seconds rest between each 50 (doing them on 50 second intervals). Problem for me is, when continuously swimming a 500, somewhere around the 150-200 yard mark, all of the turning catches up to me in terms of oxygen debt and breath control. I attribute this primarily to a lack of experience/coaching. Most everyone I swim with has swum since they were young and they don't seem to have any problem controlling their breath in and out of turns. Hopefully I'll get there someday. For now, my LCM times are great. But all of the turning required in SC results in slower times than I'd expect.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience. USRPT has definitely made me faster and I'd highly recommend it to nearly anyone, but I can't quite do the times one would expect in a SC setting. However, in LC I'm golden!
