Training for the 100 fly?

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? My 2 cents - "specificity in practice results in improved performance" -so I would practice swimming 100 flys exactly as you plan to do so in a meet - down to the number of SDKs, turns and percieved pace. You should build a base of butterfly swimming, drill and kicks before such race pace sets - hopefully, that will reduce the probability of shoulder injuries. Muscular tetanus ( dying so badly you can barely recovery your arms ) may result from 1) trying too hard at the start ( don't take it out so fast, be smooth and relaxed - which is something to practice during the race pace sets) and/or 2) lack of conditioning (your 1 week versus 2 week taper observation). Aging reduces VO2 max - but it should not play a significant difference in an short duration event. One of my favorite train up sets is as follows: 25 free (hypoxic) + 75 fly easy 50 free (hypoxic) + 50 fly easy 75 free (hypoxic) + 25 fly blast with enough recovery time to bring your heart rate down. Good luck with the 100 Fly

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? My 2 cents - "specificity in practice results in improved performance" -so I would practice swimming 100 flys exactly as you plan to do so in a meet - down to the number of SDKs, turns and percieved pace. You should build a base of butterfly swimming, drill and kicks before such race pace sets - hopefully, that will reduce the probability of shoulder injuries. Muscular tetanus ( dying so badly you can barely recovery your arms ) may result from 1) trying too hard at the start ( don't take it out so fast, be smooth and relaxed - which is something to practice during the race pace sets) and/or 2) lack of conditioning (your 1 week versus 2 week taper observation). Aging reduces VO2 max - but it should not play a significant difference in an short duration event. One of my favorite train up sets is as follows: 25 free (hypoxic) + 75 fly easy 50 free (hypoxic) + 50 fly easy 75 free (hypoxic) + 25 fly blast with enough recovery time to bring your heart rate down. Good luck with the 100 Fly