Distance Swimming: Back to the Future
By Bill Sweetenham
Step 1 - I would identify which athletes due to technique and genetically advantageous aerobic qualities could manage the following sets. I would apply the individual checking speed developed by myself and well documented. This is where the athlete will repeat 100, 200, 300 and 400m swims at set speeds and you will evaluate the ability of the athlete to continually double up on stroke length protocols and time protocols at set speeds. As an example, I would have "42 second" training sessions. This is where the athlete would have to swim every repeat on an average of 42 seconds per 50m, whether it was a 50m repeat or a 1 hour swim for time. Or anything in between. This way, you can measure stroke drop off, speed drop off over increased distances and the athlete's ability to sustain speed and stroke length (efficiency) over an extended period of time.
NOTE - aerobic training is where the athlete gets bored before they get tired and endurance training is where they get tired before they get bored. This first step is all about aerobic training. If the athlete does kick or pull in the set, it still has to be done at 42 seconds per 50 speed. You may need to do fins in the kick and pull in terms of
resistance pull would be done in shorter distances (25s and 50s). The key is to maintain stroke length and measure efficiency against fatigue.
Step 2 - progress Step 1 to a "40 second"
day, then a "38 second" day as the athlete develops. Once you have
reached a "38 second" day where the
athlete can maintain stroke length over
any distance and for the entire workout,
you can then proceed to Step 3.
Step 3 - hold Step 2 but now add in
increased percentages, ie. 10% to 20%
and then to 30% of total volume being done at 36 second speed and then 34 second speed. If the swimmer is an IM
swimmer, then you would utilise the same
protocols and system but obviously at an
adjusted speed depending on the stroke.
Step 4 - using international point score
system, ensure the athlete is maintaining equal performance, ie. number of FINA points for 200m In each stroke.
Step 5 - ensure that all of the above
protocols are met using a negative to
even split approach on all repeats.
Step 6 - ensure the athlete kicks a 6 beat kick on the least 50 of each repeat. This means even if it is a 50 or a 1500. No compromise here.
Step 7 - once the athlete has achieved Step 3, ie.
30% of the total daily training programme is
performed at a speed 4 seconds per 50 faster
than aerobic speed, holding consistent stroke
length and embracing Step 6, the following step
can be put in place (but not before).
Step 8 - introduce the core set that I have listed in my book of
12X50s descending 12 to 1. This is where the first 50 starts at PB + 12 seconds and reduces by 1 second per 50. By doing this, you will identify at differing stages for different athletes somewhere
through this process a breakdown, either in speed or stroke length or in both. This is where you have to then focus the 30% of your training that is going to be faster than your base speed of 38
seconds per 50. The objective is to achieve 12X50s that can be done in a linear fashion where stroke length doesn't alter, but kick can be introduced (due to your last 50 emphasis as listed above).
This means there will be no breakdown in stroke length or speed.
This is not always possible with every athlete but is certainly what
you should aim for. If you can get to a PB +3 second 50m without
alterations or breakdown in technique, then chances are you are on
a winner.
Step 9 - once Step 8 is achieved without compromise in protocol, you can proceed to go 12X100s in exactly the same way did the 12X50s. These however will be seriously negative split as you will add the 12th and 11th 50 for the first 100, then you will add the 10th and 9th 50, then the 8th and 7th 50, and so on down until you are adding the 2nd and 1st 50 (which is actually the 12th and 11th 50) but it is 100 where the athlete is trying to do the first 50 at PB+2 seconds and the last 50 at PB+1 second without a breakdown in stroke length. If need be, this last 100 can be done broken in order to train the athlete and their energy systems to achieve this. Initially, you would break it with a good rest holding time and stroke length and then slowly reduce the rest interval. THis is a good way of setting goals for continuously increased speed for the endurance based athlete through their distance career. If you were coaching sprinters and producing sprinters, you would stop at this step. The key here is that you are teaching your athletes to minimise the time differential between their first and second 50 by holding and maintaining stroke efficiency and improving speed and change of pace using the legs. You only have to look at the Dutch and Swedish girl in Eindhoven last year to realise the world has moved on to a now 0.4 to 0.6 front end to back end differential in the world's best 100 Freestylers.
THis would occur for sprinters after maturation, ie. about 2 years after it would happen for distance swimmers and is far more important for sprinters in some ways than for distance swimmers.
Step 10 - this is achieved when all above have been
achieved without compromise and this is where you would add the 12X100s through exactly the same process as
above, but obviously with a larger negative split value. This is where you would add the 100s together to do a
descending set of 6X100s, applying the same concepts as above and obviously your second last and last 100 would add up to your goal pace 200 time for the end of season.
This would also be the time that you would look to achieve
when you did your test set of either 5 or 7X200s which you
could incorporate into this process. It is better to do the last
200 broken rather than not to achieve the right end result.
Step 11 - move this process on from the 6X200s to 3X400s however these will need to be broken swims in terms of 1 straight 400, followed by a 400 broken at the 200, and a 400 broken at either 4X100s or a 100 and 2X50s twice through. Ensure that stroke length and speed is held in alignment with all the above sets.
This should then become part of your key anaerobic threshold sets.
Step 12 - now write workouts which commence with the fastest 2 to 4X50s from the 12X50s set, and
maintain speeds as indicated in Step 11.
Step 13 - do not compromise the above process.
However, individuals are individuals and utilise this as a concept to develop efficient aerobic athletes who
have the capacity and capability to become great
endurance athletes. Efficiency is just as important as
fitness. The Kenyan runners are successful because
they do what no other culture in the world does. They
run everywhere, ie. to collect water, to go to school,
to come home from school, to go to training, to come
home from training, and they run to a timeline. They
know how far each run will be and they know how fast
they have to run to get there on time, and they do so
efficiently without breakdown.
Step 14 - in warm-ups, prepare your
muscles in preference to your metabolism and energy systems. Prepare your
metabolism on land. Utilise running and
prepare your muscles by doing some short sets of strokes, ie. 4-6 strokes of butterfly
and breaststroke rather than burning out and over-exposing the high turnover muscles
that you will use in Freestyle and
Backstroke.