Ultra Short Training At Race Pace

Thank you very much for the feedback Glenn. I'm not sure my body would be able to hold up with 6 days of very hard training like this, but I'm going to try to work it in at least 4 days a week, probably 5, and see what kind of results I get. I think I'm going to do 50s two days a week with a target time for my desired 500 race pace, 75s one day a week with a target time for my desired 1000 race pace and then 100s one day a week with a target time for my desired 1650 race pace. Not sure if this is something Rushall would suggest, but I think it's worth a try for me. This is really only a problem if you believe (as I definitely do not) that training at race pace for event X has little or no benefit for event Y. I think the overlap is considerable, especially if you are talking about things like the 500/1000. Yes, that certainly makes sense Chris. I also want to swim the 200 fly and 400 IM at future meets, which I just did for the first time recently and had a blast! So I'll have to figure out when to work training in for those events.

Thanks so much for the response, Glenn! Next time I do the 100s set, I'll do 2 x (30 x 100) on 1:05 skip if missed on a rest interval of :20. That sounds very intimidating to me right now, but hopefully I can get at least part way through the first set before reaching failure. I would say both. You might try 1:05 on the 1:25. Remember that Rushall suggests the following sets for the 1650: 40 x 50 30 - 35 x 75 25 - 30 x 100 Eventually you should get to 2 days per week of 2 x (40 x 50) skip if missed on a rest interval of :20, plus 2 days per week of 2 x (35 x 75) skip if missed on a rest interval of :20 and 2 days per week of 2 x (30 x 100) skip if missed on a rest interval of :20. Yikes! That seems like a lot of yardage, but I guess with all of the failures, it won't work out to be too much; perhaps 4000 to 5000 per set, on the longer end, which is reasonable. Though it does seem that with that much swimming, I'd need more than one day off per week in order to recover. Just to clarify, when doing the 2 x ( XXXXX ), I can take time between the first and second major sets, right? Something else I've been wondering: I have several goal times in the different distance freestyle events. In the 1000, I'd like to go a 11:10 (holding 1:07s). In the 500, I'd like to go a 5:15 (holding 1:03s). Is it possible with UST@RP to train for different events with each workout? I know you're focused (exclusively?) on the 400 SCM. But say I want to focus on the 1650 race pace two days a week, the 1000 pace 2 days a week and the 500 pace the other two days. Is that something that's possible with UST@RP?

Is it possible with UST@RP to train for different events with each workout? that's were i think it really fails. as an example how would Michael Phelps train for the 400im, 200im, 200fly, 100fly, 200free and 100free using this method? if you are trying to condition your muscles for 400im race pace, you wont be ready for the 200im. same on the others. it would be even worse if you want to swim the 1500 and 400m. training for the 100s and a single 50 (say like the kid michael andrews does) isnt very broad. except the strokes are also totally different. again, may work for a few, may not. if it does for you great! but 1 size does not fit all

that's were i think it really fails. as an example how would Michael Phelps train for the 400im, 200im, 200fly, 100fly, 200free and 100free using this method? if you are trying to condition your muscles for 400im race pace, you wont be ready for the 200im. same on the others. it would be even worse if you want to swim the 1500 and 400m. training for the 100s and a single 50 (say like the kid michael andrews does) isnt very broad. except the strokes are also totally different. again, may work for a few, may not. if it does for you great! but 1 size does not fit all Is there any one method that trains a swimmer for all those different events? I've been dabbling with USRPT, and I race pretty much every event, so I've been varying what I do each day. One day might be 50's at 500 free pace, the next day 50's at 200 back pace, etc.

I have been "kinda,sorta"trying these sets(kinda, sorta because I got ill and missed 10 days and so started easing back slower than I wished.)What I notice is missing is the burn from lactic acid build up I get from my usual HIT sets.I know Rushall thinks that is a good thing,but I have read several articles about the body's adaptation to lactic acid by improving buffering enzyme production etc. that would seem very useful for the 50-100 swimmer.Also the skill of holding ones stroke together when having muscle lactic acidosis("the burn") also seems to be useful.I know "train like you swim or you'll swim like you train"is important and that the Rushall method gives lots of race pace,but I am not sure how well it mimics the feeling of a race.This is really more of a question than a complaint,so what say Yáll?

I have been "kinda,sorta"trying these sets(kinda, sorta because I got ill and missed 10 days and so started easing back slower than I wished.)What I notice is missing is the burn from lactic acid build up I get from my usual HIT sets.I know Rushall thinks that is a good thing,but I have read several articles about the body's adaptation to lactic acid by improving buffering enzyme production etc. that would seem very useful for the 50-100 swimmer.Also the skill of holding ones stroke together when having muscle lactic acidosis("the burn") also seems to be useful.I know "train like you swim or you'll swim like you train"is important and that the Rushall method gives lots of race pace,but I am not sure how well it mimics the feeling of a race.This is really more of a question than a complaint,so what say Yáll? Seems to me that possibly there are several related adaptations, two of which Allen mentions: 1. Improving ability to buffer lactic acid, helping to avoid or lessen the magnitude of acidosis 2. Improving ability to "hold one's stroke together" when experiencing acidosis 3. Improving ability to recover from acidosis (e.g. between races) Rushall avoids lactic acid buildup like the plague but very possibly that doesn't mean that one doesn't get the first adaptation. One could argue that what Rushall is doing by maximizing the amount of race pace training is increasing the overall amount of LA production, which could even be the best way to achieve adaptation #1 even though blood LA levels are kept low, b/c production is still high. I don't know how much #2 is a physiological adaptation vs a psychological/learned one. Which doesn't mean it isn't important...! Adaptation #3 seems pretty important to me, at least for some people, and seems lacking in USRPT. All of this is well outside my area of expertise, other than as a lifelong competitive swimmer, so I'd welcome correction from those of you better versed in exercise physiology and the like. Based on my experiences in training I tend to agree with Allen that it is important to learn to deal with acidosis in and after a race and that USRPT (by itself, with nothing else added) doesn't IMO promise to be the best way to do that. At least for 100s and 200s, and maybe longer events too; I never experience significant acidosis in 50s.

What I notice is missing is the burn from lactic acid build up I get from my usual HIT sets. How does one "measure" lactic acid build up? I too have been doing these sets for the past week or so now. I think my body is responding well to the workouts. I love the warm, tired feeling after completing the sets, especially the 2 x 25 100s at race pace, but I don't feel overworked. I've been an endurance athlete my entire life (running until my knee stopped working a couple of years ago and switching to swimming then), and I guess I don't know what lactic acid build up might feel like. While doing these sets, I do get the extreme burning that results from doing high intensity training. Is that the burn? But perhaps at a lower level than you're talking about?

I think a good example of extreme LA buildup would be the sensation at the end of a 200, taken out at a 100 pace.

We should encourage swimoutlet to carry OTC blood lactate test kits

finger *** blood tests!!! we did this a LOT. first time we were all stupid and offered a different finger for each *** (using the snap gun) and the next day boy did we learn NEVER to do that again. couldnt touch anything. We did lactate testing in college and I remember this as well. Not fun!