Fun, and Fast

I have such a love/hate relationship with paddles!! You also have a degree in Psychology and English. Something in me thinks you can probably sort that one out!:applaud: This is a cool set! Looks simple, but is deceptively hard. That's the thing about sprint endurance programs... It's easy to say that it's not hard, but when we actually train with the proper work/rest ratio's, that can be very challenging. thanks for posting! Thanks Jonathan :) You're welcome, and let me know how this goes for you. To give the program an honest attempt you really should go for an 8 week cycle. Write all the times down, and compare the first cycle with the 4th cycle. You should see an improvement. Nice set. Sometime you should try reversing the order on the last 5 50s (ie, to 25 choice, 25 UW). The age group coach at NOVA does that sometimes, and it is a good way to work on end-of-the-race UWs. Good advice... for sure... I read on your blog that you're attempting a 2:03.99 or better 200 back scm... That would be Amazing! Here's a workout that I loved last night! Sprint Set 4 x (4 x 75) on 1:30 Sprint 50 active recovery 25 (IM Order) 4 x 100 IM on 1:45 4 x 200 IM on 3:30 (very few made this all 4 reps) That would be enjoyable... IM is quite hard to do in training, for sure. Here is the work-out tonight, SCM 300 swim, 200 drill, 100 kick 20x50 on 1:00 (It was going to be on :50, but I exercised my rights) Done as 1 fast, 5 moderate, 1 fast, 4 moderate, 1 fast, 3 moderate, 1 fast, 2 moderate, 1 fast, 1 moderate.... averaged 27.5's on all fast from push. 100 easy 12x50 IM spin on 1:00 (this was hard) done as 25 fly-back, back-***, ***-free, repeat x4... 200 easy

Ugh, "freestyle night"? That sounds horrible. When the coach shows us our workout, and it's all freestyle, my enthusiasm drops immediately. You deserve a pat on the back for doing that though. Definitely not my cup of tea either! No pat on the back necessary -- I always substitute some backstroke and kicking for all that freestyle since "it's masters." :D Thursday and Sunday are more stroke-oriented days, so we get a good mix of workouts.

Ugh, "freestyle night"? That sounds horrible. When the coach shows us our workout, and it's all freestyle, my enthusiasm drops immediately. You deserve a pat on the back for doing that though.

I wish we had a predictable schedule for stroke/free days. We have four different coaches, so one of them coaches each day of the week we have practice (4/week). It's sort of random, but a couple of the coaches prefer stroke/IM stuff to straight free. To bring up something from the beginning of this thread, I tried the JMiller workout for sprints (8x25 on 3:00) today, including the EZ/drill/pull warmup. I warmed up with some free and some ***, but I did all the sprints breaststroke. I realized what I did horrendously wrong in that meet a few weeks ago, and have been screwing up since. My first couple were around 18-20s per 25, which was better than the meet (45.55s just in case you forget, lol); however, I knew I could go faster, because I had gone around 28-29s in practice a little while ago off of a dive. I did a few 25s slow pace focusing on keeping my technique solid. Then I did the last four sprints at race pace, and I hit 16s, 16s, 15s, 15s. I think I could go even faster if I shortened my glide, but I'm finding that the increased turnover chops up my stroke a little, so I end up hitting the same time. The speed I was going, I could definitely sustain for a 100. We'll see what happens next week at my meet.

Ya, that work-out looks quite challenging. Was that SCY? Yes, SCY. I do this type of workout pretty rarely. I figure a good conditioning set once a week is probably more beneficial than not for me. It's at least a change from speed work. It certainly makes the distance junkies on the team happy.

I skipped practice today just from reading that workout, so thanks a lot.

I absolutely love doing these sets....they throw a little fun in the mix! This seems to be a theme, have you seen that "New Balance" ad? It's pretty funny, more of the love, etc... IM is good for over-all body awareness, for sure. Glad to have you sharing work-outs/advice... How long have you coached, and what are your goals/dreams? OOOOOOO, I wanna try this just not sure how to accomplish it. Would probably have to be on my own at a pool deeper than 3 feet :frustrated: Worse case scenario, build yourself a new pool. Definitely not my cup of tea either! No pat on the back necessary -- I always substitute some backstroke and kicking for all that freestyle since "it's masters." :D Thursday and Sunday are more stroke-oriented days, so we get a good mix of workouts. Ya, that work-out looks quite challenging. Was that SCY? To bring up something from the beginning of this thread, I tried the JMiller workout for sprints (8x25 on 3:00) today, including the EZ/drill/pull warmup. I warmed up with some free and some ***, but I did all the sprints breaststroke. I realized what I did horrendously wrong in that meet a few weeks ago, and have been screwing up since. My first couple were around 18-20s per 25, which was better than the meet (45.55s just in case you forget, lol); however, I knew I could go faster, because I had gone around 28-29s in practice a little while ago off of a dive. I did a few 25s slow pace focusing on keeping my technique solid. Then I did the last four sprints at race pace, and I hit 16s, 16s, 15s, 15s. I think I could go even faster if I shortened my glide, but I'm finding that the increased turnover chops up my stroke a little, so I end up hitting the same time. The speed I was going, I could definitely sustain for a 100. We'll see what happens next week at my meet. mjgold: Interesting anomaly with your times. I'm trying to understand this, 29's in work-out for the 50? and 45.5 at the meet? With holding 16's for 25's... this all doesn't add up... Either way, keep up the effort, and you should notice improvement if you train consistently. I would never do this kind of conditioning set on my own, but I guess they're good for me every once in awhile. Well, that's what they tell us anyways... Here was tonight's work-out. SCM 4x150 cruise DPS 2x(4x100) on 10 seconds rest done as 25 IM Strong, 75 free easy, rotate through. 600 paddles cruise, breathing 3-5-gasp-3 400 finz dolphin kick on back 6x50 from dive, 25 fast for time 25 easy, on 2:00 11.8 11.7 11.3 11.1 11.5 11.3 3 minutes rest 50 fast from blocks 25.3

mjgold: Interesting anomaly with your times. I'm trying to understand this, 29's in work-out for the 50? and 45.5 at the meet? With holding 16's for 25's... this all doesn't add up... Either way, keep up the effort, and you should notice improvement if you train consistently. Yeah, it was quite shocking to me too. But, it was my first meet, and I did a lot of things wrong in the stroke, turn, and start. I was breathing wrong, not gliding, not streamlining, and my kick was doing nothing basically. I didn't know this at the time, which is why I couldn't figure out the discrepancy. I had someone video me a week or so ago though, and I could see most of that just on the video. The breathing thing helped a lot as well, since I realized I was exhaling as soon as I lunged forward. Exhaling during the insweep definitely helps you go faster, though I'm not sure why. Anyway, I started out the 25's going 18-20s, which is consistent with a 40s 50, which is what I was doing in practice after the meet (the 45.55 was SCM). I took a break, did a few slow 25's where I really focused on all of the details of the stroke, and slowly sped myself up. Then, I did the last few really concentrating on what I was doing, and it was like magic. I felt like I was actually going slower since I took fewer strokes, but the stopwatch said differently. I guess the changes made me more efficient. Hopefully, I won't breakdown at my next meet. I'll let you know. Oh, and just as a side-note, the 29 was off a dive during a timed sprint we did at the end of practice one night. I only know that time for sure because the coach timed us. I wasn't trying to imply that I do 29s for every 50 during practice, so sorry if there was some confusion. The times from today I know as well, since a friend timed me.

Yeah, it was quite shocking to me too. But, it was my first meet, and I did a lot of things wrong in the stroke, turn, and start. I was breathing wrong, not gliding, not streamlining, and my kick was doing nothing basically. I didn't know this at the time, which is why I couldn't figure out the discrepancy. I had someone video me a week or so ago though, and I could see most of that just on the video. The breathing thing helped a lot as well, since I realized I was exhaling as soon as I lunged forward. Exhaling during the insweep definitely helps you go faster, though I'm not sure why. Do you have the video in digital? Put it on www.floswimming.org and show me, let's see if I can offer functional advice. Anyway, I started out the 25's going 18-20s, which is consistent with a 40s 50, which is what I was doing in practice after the meet (the 45.55 was SCM). I took a break, did a few slow 25's where I really focused on all of the details of the stroke, and slowly sped myself up. Then, I did the last few really concentrating on what I was doing, and it was like magic. Yes, slow swimming, maximizing range of motion through distance-per-stroke training, this will initiate adaption. Do this consistently over many months/years and you will go best times. Remember though, this is a drill (almost like walking or deep knee-lunges, only with your arms, very long and slowly), you should focus on s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g in the pool, actually lengthening the muscle tissue. This combined with top-speed work will ensure the maximum length and strength, required to reach your personal best. I felt like I was actually going slower since I took fewer strokes, but the stopwatch said differently. I guess the changes made me more efficient. Hopefully, I won't breakdown at my next meet. I'll let you know. :applaud: That's how it should feel, less resistance, ease of motion, faster times. Oh, and just as a side-note, the 29 was off a dive during a timed sprint we did at the end of practice one night. I only know that time for sure because the coach timed us. I wasn't trying to imply that I do 29s for every 50 during practice, so sorry if there was some confusion. The times from today I know as well, since a friend timed me. Well sub-30 for the 50 free is very respectable, and from the sounds of it you'll probably improve if you continue to practice. Seeing tangible gains on the clock can be a very rewarding experience, and that feeling is available for anyone that wants to earn it.

The sub-30 was breaststroke. I can go 26/27 if I sprint a 50 free. I do a 30 pretty consistently going a moderate pace breathing every 3rd stroke. If I don't breathe at all and kick, it's about 27 seconds. I haven't really tried to open it up yet off a dive, but we do that occasionally at practice, so next time we do, I'll time it. In breaststroke, the stretching is my problem. I can do it at race pace for a 100 or 200 (~30s per 50 yards), but when I try to sprint a 50, I start chopping the stroke. I find myself focusing on turnover too much, and the stretch gets lost. I'm also pondering over the kick. My coaches tell me that I should be doing the old up and around squeeze kick, but I keep reading about this new "whip kick" where you just go up and down. I was cruising along doing the whip kick, and she actually pulled me out of the pool and made me watch her do the squeeze kick on the deck.