Ultra Short Training At Race Pace

I think what is very important to point out...because it is very different with USRPT, is that even though the set says 30 x 50 or 25 x 75 etc. you should NOT be able to do all 30 or all 25 etc. If you can do all of them, the target time is too easy. Right. I forgot that very important point of clarification of the set. If I can't make my target time, I take one repeat rest and then start again. If I fail two in a row, or three total in the set, I terminate the set.

"Design to failure" is a difficult concept. I've found in my coaching that no one wants to sit out, but that is exactly what you are hoping if the set is designed correctly. Related to a previous thought in this thread, I like the USRPT addition of sprint sets with longer rest. In my former workout group based in Denver (including Rich Abrahams, Chris O'Sullivan, Bill Abbott, Kim Crouch, Heide Crino, Dana Johnston, and myself), we used to set up the touch pads, scoreboard, and timing system for 4-6 efforts, from the blocks, on a 6- to 10-minute interval. Ideal seemed to be for us to repeat this type of practice this every 3 weeks or so. We raced and cheered for each other, and I believe this kept us "race ready" year-round. Tomorrow's practice, as a matter of fact is a short pentathlon (100IM and the stroke 50s) on a 6-minute interval. Three of us will be doing the set: one swimmer, one timer, and one cooling down...on a two-minute rotation.

set up the touch pads, scoreboard, and timing system for 4-6 efforts, from the blocks, on a 6- to 10-minute interval. Man, that sound like a blast

You might also do all-out 25s on 3:00 trying to do 12 - 18 of them (that is Rushall's new protocol for race pace 50 training). Dude stole my favorite set! :)

There was a talk somewhere where Bob Bowman referenced Rushall. He basically said "Keep on trying that. We'll keep kicking your ass long course till the end of time." Rushall is okay for getting the best performance you can put forward given your current capacity. But building that capacity requires old school aerobic base building. When Michael Andrew is 19 or 20, all the talented kids who are doing huge aerobic non-Rushall sets right now are going to surpass him like he's nothing special. I'd be willing to call it right now: Michael Andrew won't ever make finals at Olympic Trials, and it's directly because of his dad's devotion to doing nothing but Rushall sets.

There was a talk somewhere where Bob Bowman referenced Rushall. He basically said "Keep on trying that. We'll keep kicking your ass long course till the end of time." Rushall is okay for getting the best performance you can put forward given your current capacity. But building that capacity requires old school aerobic base building. When Michael Andrew is 19 or 20, all the talented kids who are doing huge aerobic non-Rushall sets right now are going to surpass him like he's nothing special. I'd be willing to call it right now: Michael Andrew won't ever make finals at Olympic Trials, and it's directly because of his dad's devotion to doing nothing but Rushall sets. Please lets not get into a pissing match again over USRPT..... Time will tell whether it works or not and until then it's a futile argument.

But building that capacity requires old school aerobic base building. When Michael Andrew is 19 or 20, all the talented kids who are doing huge aerobic non-Rushall sets right now are going to surpass him like he's nothing special. Have you done any USRPT sets? I find them much more aerobically challenging (and I'm an aerobic beast!) than the "old school" aerobic sets that I used to do!

Have you done any USRPT sets? I find them much more aerobically challenging (and I'm an aerobic beast!) than the "old school" aerobic sets that I used to do! I agree. anyone who thinks there's not a significant aerobic capacity building component to something like 30 x 50 or 20 x 75 on 20 seconds rest at 200 race pace hasn't likely tried either set once, much less done them several times a week for different strokes. Either of your predictions could prove to be true, however, it won't necessarily be due to the fact that he trains USRPT exclusively. I think this is ridiculous. He is already fast enough to make finals at olympic trials. His 100 *** time would have tied him for 4th at trials in 2012 and his 100 fly, 200 IM and 50 free times would also have placed him in the finals in 2012 in those events. I think he has almost no chance of qualifying for the Olympics this year but he already has a very good chance of making more than one final even if he doesn't get any faster this year. Exactly. How many 17 year old boys who train "old skool" are gonna make the finals at the upcoming trials? Few, if any. Why? Because it's damn hard to make the finals, especially in an era where guys can earn a decent living in swimming and extend their careers into their early 30's. The average age of the US Men's team at the 2012 Olympics was 25.8. It could be even older this year. No male under 18 has made the US men's Olympic team since 2000. If Micheal Andrew doesn't make the team, or doesn't even make the trials finals, it's hardly an indictment of his training methodology. He's far below the prime performance age for this sport. Let's give it at least another 4 years before we try to draw any conclusions. People have been saying for three years that a plateau is immanent, yet he continues to progress at a rate puts him on the right trajectory to be a strong contender in multiple events in 2020.

When Michael Andrew is 19 or 20, all the talented kids who are doing huge aerobic non-Rushall sets right now are going to surpass him like he's nothing special. I'd be willing to call it right now: Michael Andrew won't ever make finals at Olympic Trials, and it's directly because of his dad's devotion to doing nothing but Rushall sets. Either of your predictions could prove to be true, however, it won't necessarily be due to the fact that he trains USRPT exclusively. It is not unheard of for kids to excel at a younger age only to plateau as they get older, resulting in their peers outpacing them.

I'd be willing to call it right now: Michael Andrew won't ever make finals at Olympic Trials, and it's directly because of his dad's devotion to doing nothing but Rushall sets. I think this is ridiculous. He is already fast enough to make finals at olympic trials. His 100 *** time would have tied him for 4th at trials in 2012 and his 100 fly, 200 IM and 50 free times would also have placed him in the finals in 2012 in those events. I think he has almost no chance of qualifying for the Olympics this year but he already has a very good chance of making more than one final even if he doesn't get any faster this year.