I'm seeking advice on training for the 100 fly. Decided to start swimming it last year. Swam it 7x on the three courses. I can only remember 3x times where I didn't suffer from complete paralysis the last 15 meters or so and worry about a DQ. Gah. So how can I fix this?
I've read that you don't need to train fly in practice. I'm not sure I buy this. The muscular fatigue from fly seems unique. And I don't want to substitute freestyle training for it.
What are some good sets? How many SDKs per length should I take to prevent oxygen debt? If too much fly hurts the shoulders, is kicking a decent training substitute?
I also seem to swim better 100 flys on a week rest. The paralysis seems to be associated with a 2 week taper. Does aerobic fitness drop off that quickly? Is this an age thing? Or is it that I just don't train enough yards for a 2 week taper?
I do think you need to train fly, but it doesn't have to be 100s. Repeats of 50s and even 25s will help with your fly endurance. Just don't take too much rest. I swim the 200 fly in meets sometimes, but virtually never do a 200 fly in practice. There's a writeup by Jon Urbanchek on USA Swimming's site about how Tom Malchow trained. Despite specializing in the 200 fly, he never did 200 flys in training. I think the same thing could be applied to the 100 fly.
I do think you need to train fly, but it doesn't have to be 100s. Repeats of 50s and even 25s will help with your fly endurance. Just don't take too much rest. I swim the 200 fly in meets sometimes, but virtually never do a 200 fly in practice. There's a writeup by Jon Urbanchek on USA Swimming's site about how Tom Malchow trained. Despite specializing in the 200 fly, he never did 200 flys in training. I think the same thing could be applied to the 100 fly.
