I've been reading a great book about swim training. It devotes a chapter to each of the four strokes and one to IM. It was suggesting that IM should be tought of as an entirely different event. That IM swimmers shouldn't train actual IMs until 5 weeks before their meet. The should train the strokes, swimming 800-1000 meters/yards EVERY practice (either swim, drill, kick, pull, ect).
It has an entire plan laid out for what the focus of every practice is. Basically, that each practice should be devoted to a different stroke.
I've always assumed that IMmers should swim IM all the time.
THOUGHTS?
I didn't write the author because I can't remember ... I want to Sweetham ... the former Aussie, not British coach.
What is was saying was to train 200s of every stroke, trying to make the 2nd 100 your 400IM split. Basically, it was saying that it is more important to work on the strokes and focus on stroke work rather than gutting it through a grueling IM set.
I think the logic is that if you get used to swimming all the strokes hard and tired your IM will improve. You also won't blow off your weak stroke.
I don't think he meant not to swim IM AT ALL, but rather to focus on each stroke. I've read that Katie Hoff pretty much trains this way. He also talked about swimming IM order only, and not mixing that up. I'm guessing because of muscle memory, but I'm not sure.
It was suggesting that a swimmer swim a practice in the backstroke lane, one in the breststroke lane, and so on ...
I'll have to reread the chapter then clarify.
I didn't write the author because I can't remember ... I want to Sweetham ... the former Aussie, not British coach.
What is was saying was to train 200s of every stroke, trying to make the 2nd 100 your 400IM split. Basically, it was saying that it is more important to work on the strokes and focus on stroke work rather than gutting it through a grueling IM set.
I think the logic is that if you get used to swimming all the strokes hard and tired your IM will improve. You also won't blow off your weak stroke.
I don't think he meant not to swim IM AT ALL, but rather to focus on each stroke. I've read that Katie Hoff pretty much trains this way. He also talked about swimming IM order only, and not mixing that up. I'm guessing because of muscle memory, but I'm not sure.
It was suggesting that a swimmer swim a practice in the backstroke lane, one in the breststroke lane, and so on ...
I'll have to reread the chapter then clarify.
