The Sprint Free Lane

I can't help but to reply to this thread!! Around here, sprinting and masters swimming are a total contradiction in terms! I've been blessed to have coached some amazing sprinters (5'8" M - 20.4/44.8; 6'0" F 23.0/50.7 - Both in the 1990's), and one of the things that was the most successful was a bit I "borrowed" from Richard Quick called a sprint circuit. At the time, we had the luxury of having a 6 lane pool and a diving well. We would do 4 stations that we would focus on trying to transition power on land to power on water. 4 minutes per station, 2 or 3 X thru depending on time of the season: Station 1: Vasa swim bench - High as possible and max # of reps - :45 on; :15 off; :45 on; switch stations Station 2: Sprint widths (~15yd) - No-breathers (If fly or free) on :30. If ***, no underwater pullouts Station 3: Stretch cords on land - stroke specific. Max Correct Reps per :30 - :30 on/ :30 off Station 4: Long Strech cords in the water - Resisted/Assisted 50's on 1:00. If you can't make it to the wall in :25, turn and sprint back! I've seen a few variations that some of my former swimmers who are now coaching have made to this... Sprinting with Ankle Weights Sprinting with Snorkels Sprinting with Boxing Gloves Sprinting with Buckets or Full Milk Jugs tied to ankle bands Sprinting with small paddles I think with each of these, an important component would be to tie back to the idea of what it feels like to go "au Natural" and with no gear again. Another concept I am taken with is the work that Mike Bottom and his crew have been doing for the past several year at Michigan/Race Club/Cal. I am just recently starting to take a deeper dive into the straight arm free and the dryland ideas they use. Seeing the way that Nathan Adrian uses that as a weapon over and over, it's hard to deny something very positive about it. Might want to take a look at what they're doing at Club Wolverine... FB: www.facebook.com/ClubWolverine Site: www.clubwolverineelite.com/.../Home.html Me personally, I am still trying to channel my inner sprinter after numerous youth years at a yardage warehouse as a mid-distance freestyle/IM'er. I have possibly bulked up a bit too much, but I still think I can translate it to speed since I can still hit a low 22/high 21 at the tender age of 41. :cane: The piece that I very loudly agree with Ande on is the emphasis on Kicking. Notice that there is no "FINS" in "KICKING". I admit that there is a place for it with OCCASIONAL use, but most all masters swimmers I see are unable/unwilling to develop a solid kick without fins, and then have the audacity to be stunned when their times stagnate or go slower... duh! Don't forget to REST! Let your body build back up after breaking it down between workouts.. Go do a few easier distance workouts between sprint sessions so you have enough endurance to handle more sprinting! What other ideas are out there that people find helpful towards a faster sprint time???

I can't help but to reply to this thread!! Around here, sprinting and masters swimming are a total contradiction in terms! I've been blessed to have coached some amazing sprinters (5'8" M - 20.4/44.8; 6'0" F 23.0/50.7 - Both in the 1990's), and one of the things that was the most successful was a bit I "borrowed" from Richard Quick called a sprint circuit. At the time, we had the luxury of having a 6 lane pool and a diving well. We would do 4 stations that we would focus on trying to transition power on land to power on water. 4 minutes per station, 2 or 3 X thru depending on time of the season: Station 1: Vasa swim bench - High as possible and max # of reps - :45 on; :15 off; :45 on; switch stations Station 2: Sprint widths (~15yd) - No-breathers (If fly or free) on :30. If ***, no underwater pullouts Station 3: Stretch cords on land - stroke specific. Max Correct Reps per :30 - :30 on/ :30 off Station 4: Long Strech cords in the water - Resisted/Assisted 50's on 1:00. If you can't make it to the wall in :25, turn and sprint back! I've seen a few variations that some of my former swimmers who are now coaching have made to this... Sprinting with Ankle Weights Sprinting with Snorkels Sprinting with Boxing Gloves Sprinting with Buckets or Full Milk Jugs tied to ankle bands Sprinting with small paddles I think with each of these, an important component would be to tie back to the idea of what it feels like to go "au Natural" and with no gear again. Another concept I am taken with is the work that Mike Bottom and his crew have been doing for the past several year at Michigan/Race Club/Cal. I am just recently starting to take a deeper dive into the straight arm free and the dryland ideas they use. Seeing the way that Nathan Adrian uses that as a weapon over and over, it's hard to deny something very positive about it. Might want to take a look at what they're doing at Club Wolverine... FB: www.facebook.com/ClubWolverine Site: www.clubwolverineelite.com/.../Home.html Me personally, I am still trying to channel my inner sprinter after numerous youth years at a yardage warehouse as a mid-distance freestyle/IM'er. I have possibly bulked up a bit too much, but I still think I can translate it to speed since I can still hit a low 22/high 21 at the tender age of 41. :cane: The piece that I very loudly agree with Ande on is the emphasis on Kicking. Notice that there is no "FINS" in "KICKING". I admit that there is a place for it with OCCASIONAL use, but most all masters swimmers I see are unable/unwilling to develop a solid kick without fins, and then have the audacity to be stunned when their times stagnate or go slower... duh! Don't forget to REST! Let your body build back up after breaking it down between workouts.. Go do a few easier distance workouts between sprint sessions so you have enough endurance to handle more sprinting! What other ideas are out there that people find helpful towards a faster sprint time???