Fortress' impressive three world record performance over the weekend made me think of this topic. Obviously the things she's doing are working well for the events she likes to swim. She concentrates on SDKs, fast swimming with lots of rest and drylands to aid in explosiveness. Long aerobic sets just aren't a part of her training regime, from what I've seen.
Almost every organized training group I've swum with, on the other hand, focuses on long aerobic sets, short rest, not a whole lot of fast stuff, etc. Basically the polar opposite of how Fortress trains. In my opinion this probably works pretty well for those who swim longer events, but really does very little for sprinters. The sprint events are almost always the most popular events at meets, so why do people choose to train aerobically? I think there are a number of factors at play. There's the much maligned triathletes. There's those who don't compete and "just want to get their yardage in." There's a historical precedent of lots of yardage being the way to go.
So what do you all think? How does you or your team train? I know lots of regular bloggers here DO train differently than my perception of the norm. Examples include Ande, Chris S. and Speedo. Are too many masters teams stuck in a training regime that is not at all what many of their swimmers need to get faster?
Former Member
For the elites, a 200 is a sprint, but for most of us masters, it's a middle distance mix of speed and endurance. A set like this will, in my opinion, work on the endurance aspect of the race and give you some mental toughness.
The double descending aspect will help you learn pacing strategies, which I think is really important in anything over a 100 (and for many of us, even the 100 itself. Ask Leslie about her WR 100 back--it was NOT an all out sprint. She worked the SDKS and turns really hard, but tried to stay smooth on the actual arms-being-used parts of the race.)
Sets of 50s or even 25s with lots of rest will help you with the speed you'll need for a good 200, but you can't avoid the endurance aspect. I think of all the benefits of this kind of set, the mental toughness/self confidence aspect is probably the most important.
Thank you for agreeing with me Jim, it might be the first time.
10x300 double descend will train the aerobic system and can be used to teach pacing, or as Geek puts it, teaching yourself to swim slowly.
Sets like 8 X 400 and, especially, 10 X 300 double descend long course, aka "world's greatest set," are the reasons I stay motivated. When those sets go on the board I know we are about to laissez le bon temps rouler. The river of tears and chorus of boos from the weak minded sprinters makes it even better.
But, I agree, pointless for 50-100-200.
I agree. I wish we would do more ling sets like that.
I think I'm among the fortunate. My team has 25 coached practices weekly including 3 geared to the long distance swimmer. Within those practices, there are 3 groups based on interval. Within the week there are focused days dedicated to stroke, speed, and aerobic sets. Something for everyone.
Freestyle is always an option for non-strokers, and we can always change groups if we want a longer interval with more rest for sprints or stroke work. Our coach is accomodating and flexible as long as we are mindful of the clock and our lane mates. What could be better!
Duh, I guess I should have looked at my keyboard for two seconds. I kinda like "ling," though. I might start using that in my blog. Ling is any set where you start to feel like a lingcod in the middle. Here's the lingcod: en.wikipedia.org/.../Ling_cod
Duh, I guess I should have looked at my keyboard for two seconds. I kinda like "ling," though. I might start using that in my blog. Ling is any set where you start to feel like a lingcod in the middle. Here's the lingcod: en.wikipedia.org/.../Ling_cod
LOL! I like "ling". Glad I could help your blog writing.
Here's the lingcod: en.wikipedia.org/.../Ling_cod
My parents liked to go out deep sea fishing when I was a young kid. (I grew up in San Jose.) I remember them catching the occasional lingcod. As I recall, they have a poisonous barb on their dorsal fin so you have to be careful handling them.
So maybe during a ling set that makes you feel like a lingcod you get cranky and start stinging your lane mates. :D
I remember them catching the occasional lingcod. As I recall, they have a poisonous barb on their dorsal fin so you have to be careful handling them.
I retract that statement. I believe I was recalling the sculpin.
