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?
There is a cadre of people who recommend swimming no longer than 50 yards fly at a time, when training for the 100 fly.
So, my question is: why? Is there some reason other than preserving shoulders? (And I grant that may be sufficient reason for many.)
The only one I can think of -- other than pain avoidance -- is wanting to avoid swimming with sloppy technique. Fair enough, but if you cannot swim 100 fly without your stroke falling apart then I think you have a problem when it comes time to race.
I can understand not wanting to do sets of 100s fly with 20 seconds rest -- or similar types of sets with lots of fly and little rest -- that's training for the 200.
But never (or hardly ever) swimming a 100 fly in practice? I just don't see why that would be. Would people make the same recommendation if we were talking about training for the 100 back/***/free?
If you avoid the 100 fly in practice as too painful then IMO you're setting yourself up to fade badly on the last 25. And 75 or 100 fly repeats -- with significant recovery between them -- is good conditioning for this type of race. (In ADDITION to 25s and 50s, not replacing them.)
Chris (& Leslie),
In my case shoulder preservation is extremally important...but I also find that (again for me) technique is so critical that I like to swim fly at or close to race speed unless doing drills. I train for the 100 (never swim the 200) and in a sense swim lots of boken 100's.
I have nothing against people who may want to swim longer distances and more reps of fly...it just hasn't ever been something that I needed to do to prep for a race.
Fort...I do a lot of drills:
- left are/both arms (w/breath)/right arm. Variations include doing single, double or triple, breathing to alternate sides on the single arm stroke, etc. For me this is the best drill to work on rythym of the stroke.
- super slow fly. Baker turned me on to this...start out floating prone in the pool and work thru the stoke at hyper slow speed checking and feeling hand placement, hip movement, light kick.
- Fin work. Under water power kicks w/w-o fins. etc.
Also...if your seizing up at the end of the race your probably making the most common mistake in fly and swimming with your arms vs. your "core".
One last thing....I really think that flexibility is far more important than strength and aerobic conditioning when it comes to swimming fly well & not seizing up at the end of a race.
There is a cadre of people who recommend swimming no longer than 50 yards fly at a time, when training for the 100 fly.
So, my question is: why? Is there some reason other than preserving shoulders? (And I grant that may be sufficient reason for many.)
The only one I can think of -- other than pain avoidance -- is wanting to avoid swimming with sloppy technique. Fair enough, but if you cannot swim 100 fly without your stroke falling apart then I think you have a problem when it comes time to race.
I can understand not wanting to do sets of 100s fly with 20 seconds rest -- or similar types of sets with lots of fly and little rest -- that's training for the 200.
But never (or hardly ever) swimming a 100 fly in practice? I just don't see why that would be. Would people make the same recommendation if we were talking about training for the 100 back/***/free?
If you avoid the 100 fly in practice as too painful then IMO you're setting yourself up to fade badly on the last 25. And 75 or 100 fly repeats -- with significant recovery between them -- is good conditioning for this type of race. (In ADDITION to 25s and 50s, not replacing them.)
Chris (& Leslie),
In my case shoulder preservation is extremally important...but I also find that (again for me) technique is so critical that I like to swim fly at or close to race speed unless doing drills. I train for the 100 (never swim the 200) and in a sense swim lots of boken 100's.
I have nothing against people who may want to swim longer distances and more reps of fly...it just hasn't ever been something that I needed to do to prep for a race.
Fort...I do a lot of drills:
- left are/both arms (w/breath)/right arm. Variations include doing single, double or triple, breathing to alternate sides on the single arm stroke, etc. For me this is the best drill to work on rythym of the stroke.
- super slow fly. Baker turned me on to this...start out floating prone in the pool and work thru the stoke at hyper slow speed checking and feeling hand placement, hip movement, light kick.
- Fin work. Under water power kicks w/w-o fins. etc.
Also...if your seizing up at the end of the race your probably making the most common mistake in fly and swimming with your arms vs. your "core".
One last thing....I really think that flexibility is far more important than strength and aerobic conditioning when it comes to swimming fly well & not seizing up at the end of a race.
