Ultra Short Training At Race Pace

In answer to The Fortress Thank you for your thoughtful reply. > USRPT does have to be modified for hypoxic 50s, as I mentioned. But when you eventually have to start breathing, as mother nature will force you to do (in long course initially), these short sprints become progressively more oxidative—fueled by oxygen. This involves more than just the recruitment of additional slow twitch, Type I muscle fibers. Drop-dead, fast-twitch fibers also pitch in. These are the Type IIb fibers. The ability to recruit both Type I and Type IIb fibers is what Dr. Rushall calls “oxidative capacity,” as opposed to simple aerobic capacity, as measured by VO2max. What USRPT does so well is to convert many Type II fibers into Type IIb fibers, enhancing the oxidative contribution to the race (beyond the 5% you mention) and lessening the predominance of the anaerobic system. This means less acidification of the blood and less tying up on the charge to the finish. My point for masters swimmers was only that modifications in USRPT become less necessary as the years pass by. > I have the same problem, though I can’t quite submarine out to 15 meters anymore. Just slice up the race into its segments and use an USRPT set for each segment: 1) dive to 15M; 2) 15M to wall; 3) wall to 15M; and 4) 15M to finish. On 1 and 3 you can ease in to the opposite wall for the next repeat. For 1, if there is no starting platform on that side, you have to go from the deck. Not perfect but workable. On 2 and 4, you have to ease back out to the 15M mark. (It is tempting to do these segments in sequence, as a broken 50, but this would breach USRPT protocol, which calls for repetition to failure of each skill.) If you want more free swimming, as you might for long-course, you can begin the repeats over a lane mark, and starting with one or two submarine kicks and your break-out stroke, you can sprint across the next four to five marks. Since for 50s you go as fast as possible (AFAP) as far as possible (AFAP), you don’t have to keep an eye on the clock. Just stop when your stroke has lost its pop. All of us drop dead types can pinpoint that. On the hypoxic segments, 1 and 3, you may need more recovery time than the official 15 seconds. Let breathlessness be your guide. By the way, I think your HIT program is super. It reminds me of the one I came up with at Longhorn, which was inspired by Dave Salo, back when he was considered a rogue coach. I suspect we share the same disdain for the glorified lap swimming that burns out so many promising kids, especially sprinters. To me USRPT is a refinement of Salo. But what you are doing is probably a lot more fun. Inserting some USRPT might even add to that.

In answer to The Fortress Thank you for your thoughtful reply. > USRPT does have to be modified for hypoxic 50s, as I mentioned. But when you eventually have to start breathing, as mother nature will force you to do (in long course initially), these short sprints become progressively more oxidative—fueled by oxygen. This involves more than just the recruitment of additional slow twitch, Type I muscle fibers. Drop-dead, fast-twitch fibers also pitch in. These are the Type IIb fibers. The ability to recruit both Type I and Type IIb fibers is what Dr. Rushall calls “oxidative capacity,” as opposed to simple aerobic capacity, as measured by VO2max. What USRPT does so well is to convert many Type II fibers into Type IIb fibers, enhancing the oxidative contribution to the race (beyond the 5% you mention) and lessening the predominance of the anaerobic system. This means less acidification of the blood and less tying up on the charge to the finish. My point for masters swimmers was only that modifications in USRPT become less necessary as the years pass by. > I have the same problem, though I can’t quite submarine out to 15 meters anymore. Just slice up the race into its segments and use an USRPT set for each segment: 1) dive to 15M; 2) 15M to wall; 3) wall to 15M; and 4) 15M to finish. On 1 and 3 you can ease in to the opposite wall for the next repeat. For 1, if there is no starting platform on that side, you have to go from the deck. Not perfect but workable. On 2 and 4, you have to ease back out to the 15M mark. (It is tempting to do these segments in sequence, as a broken 50, but this would breach USRPT protocol, which calls for repetition to failure of each skill.) If you want more free swimming, as you might for long-course, you can begin the repeats over a lane mark, and starting with one or two submarine kicks and your break-out stroke, you can sprint across the next four to five marks. Since for 50s you go as fast as possible (AFAP) as far as possible (AFAP), you don’t have to keep an eye on the clock. Just stop when your stroke has lost its pop. All of us drop dead types can pinpoint that. On the hypoxic segments, 1 and 3, you may need more recovery time than the official 15 seconds. Let breathlessness be your guide. By the way, I think your HIT program is super. It reminds me of the one I came up with at Longhorn, which was inspired by Dave Salo, back when he was considered a rogue coach. I suspect we share the same disdain for the glorified lap swimming that burns out so many promising kids, especially sprinters. To me USRPT is a refinement of Salo. But what you are doing is probably a lot more fun. Inserting some USRPT might even add to that.