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?
-- kicking helps butterfly very much. Legs are used a lot in fly.
That becomes apparent to me when I swim fly with a parachute, there is a "dead spot" in the stroke where most of the propulsion comes from legs & hips.
-- legs conditioning is important too: if your legs die in the middle of a 100 fly, you're done.
-- when you do intense/fast kick sets don't just do 25s and 50s, do fast 75s and 100s with some significant rest.
For example, at the end of practice today I did 8 x 75 kick on 1:30 (pretty much rest for me) for best average. It hurt, a lot. But it is a good way to condition your legs for the end of races. It also helps a lot on SDKs late in backstroke races.
Kicking saves my ass! I kick a lot, and not just short stuff. I did 6 x 150 and 9 x 100 on descending intervals the last couple days. My legs never die in a 100 fly; it is always the arms. I may try more high rep weights to help with this as well as doing more fly in practice.
Jim, I hadn't swum the 100 fly since I was 19 either. 27 year hiatus! I scratched it a couple times as a master ... had a mental block about swimming it. I overcame this by signing myself up for the 100 fly at a USA-S meet where my kid was swimming. Couldn't possibly scratch it then! At least not without scorn and derision.
400 IM sets?!
-- kicking helps butterfly very much. Legs are used a lot in fly.
That becomes apparent to me when I swim fly with a parachute, there is a "dead spot" in the stroke where most of the propulsion comes from legs & hips.
-- legs conditioning is important too: if your legs die in the middle of a 100 fly, you're done.
-- when you do intense/fast kick sets don't just do 25s and 50s, do fast 75s and 100s with some significant rest.
For example, at the end of practice today I did 8 x 75 kick on 1:30 (pretty much rest for me) for best average. It hurt, a lot. But it is a good way to condition your legs for the end of races. It also helps a lot on SDKs late in backstroke races.
Kicking saves my ass! I kick a lot, and not just short stuff. I did 6 x 150 and 9 x 100 on descending intervals the last couple days. My legs never die in a 100 fly; it is always the arms. I may try more high rep weights to help with this as well as doing more fly in practice.
Jim, I hadn't swum the 100 fly since I was 19 either. 27 year hiatus! I scratched it a couple times as a master ... had a mental block about swimming it. I overcame this by signing myself up for the 100 fly at a USA-S meet where my kid was swimming. Couldn't possibly scratch it then! At least not without scorn and derision.
400 IM sets?!
