Coaches are always talking about motivation and some make lots of money doing motivation talks, motivation lectures, giving motivational speeches, writing motivational books, selling motivational videos, running motivational courses and generally being motivational!

Here’s the funny thing: motivation - there’s no such thing.

No one can motivate anyone to do anything.

Motivation must come from within: from the inside.

What is all this motivation stuff about? In one word – commitment. Everyone has a dream. To be happier. To be thinner. To be a better parent. To be a great leader. To be healthy. To win an Olympic Gold Medal.

What most of us lack is the commitment to make our dreams become reality. The dream is the key….And the dream is the motivation: it is our desire- our fire.

People enlist the services of a motivator to inspire them with new ideas and to give them some direction in life, their careers or their sport.

And many motivational speakers are great at presenting, telling stories of people who succeeded against the odds, people “just like you” who believed anything was possible and became successful, wealthy, a world record holder etc etc etc.

So typically, you walk away from a motivation speech or motivation workshop feeling great………..for about two days.

That’s because – you never needed to go to a motivation lecture or workshop in the first place!

Your dreams are your motivation- and you have plenty of them inside you. YOU know what YOU WANT – you know yourself better than anyone.

The only motivator you need to be listening to is yourself!

A coach’s role is to provide the guidance, the systems, the structures, the technical know how, the knowledge, the skills and the support to help clients, athletes and others to find the discipline and commitment to turn dreams into reality.

Trying to motivate someone else is like teaching a pig to sing: it will frustrate you and annoy the pig.

So, an important lesson to all coaches – do not motivate.

Encourgage people to dream then coach commitment.

Wayne Goldsmith

Introduction

Competitive swimming is all about swimming fast, and speed, in conjunction with technique, forms the most precious element of a swimmer’s make-up. Coaches are, after all, dedicated to one task: preparing swimmers to swim their event as fast as possible.

While some swimmers possess a greater degree of natural speed than others, it is clear that a well planned training program should improve swimming speed and competitive performance of all swimmers.

This article examines three approaches to the development of speed in all swimmers and outlines their coaching and scientific rationale. We then introduce the concept of total condition training, which has the aim of maximising both speed and endurance. Several features of this model are discussed in detail and relevant suggestions on developing speed in swimmers are presented.

What is Swimming Speed?

In practice, the operational definition of speed varies from sport to sport and within in a sport, such as swimming, from event to event. In a generic sense, we can think of speed as the ability to swim a given distance in the shortest possible time.

Speed can be further divided into four components: as reaction time, acceleration, maximum speed and speed-endurance.

Reaction time in swimming is defined as the start time, which is time off the block from a full racing start to the 5m mark.

Acceleration is the ability to reach maximal speed in the shortest possible time – this is obviously a key factor in the 50m and 100m events.

Maximum speed is the peak swimming speed that a swimmer can reach (and often only sustain for a few meters).

Speed-endurance, or race-pace, is the speed that swimmers can hold over the required race distance. This speed is slower than maximal speed, but the differential between speed-endurance and maximal speed is smaller for the better swimmers.

Apart from the 50m event, it is possible that the swimmer with the highest maximum speed may not necessarily be the winner. Start times, turn times and finish times are often decisive factors and inspection of competitive evaluation reports from national and international meets will bear this out.

The skill and technical aspects of swimming are obviously critical and have been addressed in many articles in Australian Swim Coach (see articles by Bernie Wakefield, Ken Wood and Gennardi Tourestski).

This article will focus on the training considerations for the development of physiological capacities that underpin the various aspects of swimming speed.

Fitness and Technical Requirements of Swimming Events

In order to develop a good speed training program for individual swimmers, it is necessary to examine the fitness and technical requirements of the different events.

For the 50m event, it is obvious that reaction time, acceleration and maximum speed are all critical factors.

For the 100-200m events, all the different aspects of speed (reaction time, acceleration, maximum speed and speed endurance) are important.

For the middle-distance and distance events, reaction time, acceleration and maximum speed are less important, but a highly developed level of speed endurance is critical.

Once these factors are sorted out, the planning of speed training can begin. Initially, the aim is to plan a general training program that addresses the overall needs of the team or group. However, it is necessary to evaluate each swimmer individually to determine the strengths and weakness for each of the different components of speed.

In essence, there are three common approaches used for the development of speed in swimmers:

1. High-Volume and High-Intensity Training;
2. Specific Energy System Training;
   and
3. Total Condition Training.

1. High Volume and High Intensity Training (Broken Egg Coaching)

We refer to this approach as “broken egg coaching”, because it is much like throwing a dozen eggs against the wall, and seeing which one doesn’t break. The high-volume high-intensity approach has the following features:

• Give all swimmers as much volume and intensity training as they can handle (or can’t handle).
• Three weeks out from the meet reduce the volume and do a few sprints.
• Rest one week out by drastically reducing the volume and pray that the speed will come when the swimmers are rested.

This approach, sometimes seen in swim programs with a big feeder system, works on giving swimmers a great deal of non-specific work. If a coach adopts this approach, then they can be confident that the average fitness of their squad will be higher than the average fitness of most other squads, making them very competitive at most levels. Many coaches have been relatively successful using this coaching method.

It is generally accepted that a well-developed aerobic base is necessary for success in swimming at the highest level. Long term success is also dependent on developing a broad range of physiological, psychological and technical skills.

The high-volume and high intensity approach can often produce great age group results and is particularly effective when working with large teams. Coaches who have achieved success using this technique are understandably reluctant to change a tried and proven method.

In the long-term however, neglecting overall development in the effort to maximise training volume and intensity in the hope of short-term goals, is in our opinion, more likely to limit success at older age group and elite levels. Remember, “many meaningless miles means mass mediocrity”!

Pros

• Swimmers get very fit and are competitive at most levels of competition.
• Swimmers develop a large aerobic base.
• Easy to control large group of swimmers.

Cons

• Potentially an increased risk of illness and/or injury.
• Does not permit training to be tailored to individual needs.
• Swimmers may become overtrained and burned out.
• Performance can be limited at the top level owing to neglect of the full development of all energy systems and swimming abilities.

2. Specific Energy System Training

It is often heard that sprint swimmers do too much volume training, and many commentators cite the principle of specificity to justify their argument. The dynamics of the different energy systems and the principle of specificity suggest, at face value, that sprint swimmers should do less work than currently advocated by most coaches.

In some circles, it was and is fashionable to look for low-volume and high-intensity sprint training programs.

The model of specific energy system training is based on the following rationale:

First, most swimming events last around 2 minutes or less and consequently highly anaerobic in nature; and second, basic physiology and the principles of specificity suggest that swimmers need to perform training at race-specific speed in order to develop the appropriate energy system(s) required for that particular event.

On this basis, it is argued that sprint swimmers should do far less training at submaximal level and concentrate on the development of the alactic (ATP-PC) and lactic (anaerobic glycolysis) energy systems through sprint training.

Among other things, this system-specific approach overlooks the interactive effects of training all the energy system pathways concurrently. It is a fundamental principle of physiology that all energy systems contribute to the energy requirements of physical activity: the contribution of each of the three systems is dependent upon the intensity and duration of exercise.

It is an oversimplification to assume that short-explosive events are totally alactic or that middle and long-distance events are totally aerobic. Every swimming race requires a combination of all the energy systems.

The periodised nature of modern swimming training programs permits endurance, strength, speed, power and technical skills to be developed concurrently. Inspection of most coaches’ training programs would show that all these attributes are addressed to some extent during each week of training.

Pros

• Is consistent with the principle of specificity of training.
• Develops great speed over short distances.
• Has proved to be popular with swimmers.

Cons

• Limited aerobic development in spring swimmers may have negative consequences in lactate breakdown and removal.
• Increased risk of injury and swimmer ‘burnout’.
• May limit swimmer’s ability to finish off races.

Total Condition Training

A theme which has stood the test of time and is considered the most effective way to prepare all swimmers, including sprint swimmers, is a balanced and integrated training program that addresses all the aspects of conditioning.

A fully integrated training program normally follows a periodised format where endurance, speed, strength, power, and all the necessary skills and technique, are developed concurrently.

A periodised approach requires that certain aspects of fitness are emphasized at different stages of the training program, but an underlying feature is that all elements are maintained at an acceptable level.

The current format of the Australian and international calendars, where there are approximately 12-14 weeks between national championships and major international meet, is sufficient time to fully prepare all aspects for all swimmers; hence the title “Total Condition Training”.

Pros

• Facilitates concurrent development of endurance, speed, strength and skill.
• May lead to higher level performance in the longer term.
• Permits a more general preparation of swimmers for a full range of events.

Cons

• Long-term goals may be at the expense of short-term gains.
• Specialised and detailed program is more suited to smaller sized squads.

Features of Total Condition Training for Speed

To improve start time, which is the time from a dive start to the 5m mark, and can be sub-divided into reaction time and movement time.

Reaction time is the time from the firing of the starting gun to the first sign of movement.

Movement time is the actual duration of the start from the first sign of movement to the swimmer reading the 5m marker.

The start is an explosive movement and will be assisted by a conditioning program that develops strength and power in the lower body. Of course, starting is also a skill that needs to be learned and perfected through appropriate instruction and practice. It may be useful to set aside 10 minutes for group starting practice (and relay change overs) every week or two.

To improve acceleration, training sets incorporating a systematic increase in speed, up to maximal speed, should be undertaken.

In swimming parlance, the most common acceleration drill is the “build” set and its many variations. This work is undertaken normally over 50m or 100m and involves an increase in pace through each lap or 25m segment. The increments of the increase in speed will vary according to the individual swimmers event and specific requirements.

Some coaches also use “variable pace” drills where swimmers can accelerate and decelerate according to a set pattern. E.g., 8 x 50m on a 60 second cycle alternating 25m fast, 25m easy with 25m easy, 25m fast.

Another type of acceleration drill is a short descending set such as 8 x 50m D1-4 on 60 seconds, where the times are descended from moderate to fast in efforts 1-4 and again in 5-8.

Strength and power training is essential to fully develop the various components of speed.

This work may take the form of traditional strength training in the gym (free weights, machine weights or circuits) or more specialised forms such as plyometrics, jump training, swim bench, jump squats, power cleans or other strength and power related activities.

It is worthwhile to consult a strength and conditioning coach or gym instructor to discuss the strength and power training requirements for both age group and senior swimmers.

Similar to speed, there are different components of strength such as general strength, maximal strength, power and strength endurance. Power is the combination of speed (time) and strength (force) and therefore higher velocity drills must be considered; power will not be developed unless high speed intervals are used.

The most commonly used drills for power training are sets of 15-25m efforts at maximal effort from either a dive or push start eg. 10 x 50m as 20m fast – 30m recovery on a 1:15 cycle.

In the model of total conditioning, maximal speed is developed by a combination of endurance, speed and supplementary training activities.

Maximal speed can only be sustained for a short distance (duration) before deceleration is evident. Deceleration or slowing of swimming speed is most likely the result of biochemical and physiological processes such as depletion of the high energy compounds ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and creatine phosphate within contracting skeletal muscle.

The most effective means of developing speed is through a periodised program of high to maximal velocity short interval training. This type of work takes the form of sets like: (i) 10 x 25m FS maximal effort or (ii) 8 x 50m at 200m race pace with 100m recovery swimming, where the most important factor is the speed or pace of the repeats.

Maximal race speed will only be improved when swimmers are swimming at speeds very close to, equal to, or in excess of existing maximal speed. This can be achieved by use of speed assisted drills.

An important principle of the physiology of sprint training is that very high energy compounds in the muscle such as ATP and creatine phosphate (CP) are depleted rapidly during maximal effort work and take approximately 3 minutes to be fully restored.

Recent research at the University of Western Australia has shown that it may even take 4-6 minutes before normal levels of ATP and CP are restored. This means that longer interval sprint work which significantly depletes CP levels (e.g. maximal effort 50m and 100m intervals) for outright speed is most effective on cycle or turn around times of approximately 5 minutes.

In practice, this is achieved by having swimmers undertake some low to moderate-intensity aerobic recovery swimming during long and intensive sprint sessions. E.g., 8 x 50m maximal effort with 200m recovery on a 5 minute cycle.

Active recovery is preferable between efforts as the body will recover more quickly than with passive rest (e.g. sitting on the deck or supporting one self on a lane rope!).

Another important type of sprint training is the short rest spring set such as 4-8 x 50m FS maximal effort on a 35 seconds cycle. Gennardi Touretski refers to this type of set as an “activation” set. The aim is to activate or mobilise the physiological processes of the lactic acid energy system (anaerobic glycolysis).

This set is only done infrequently at key points in the training program – such as during the transition from aerobic to quality work, prior to a mid-season competition, and during a full length competitive taper.

The work is very arduous and should only be attempted when swimmers are in good shape. Not only does it play a role in stimulating some of the necessary physiological adaptations, it is of course, very specific training for 199-400m events.

A comment on lactate tolerance training. This term has been used in several of the classification of training systems developed for swimming and refers to high intensity interval work that is known to elicit high levels of blood lactate.

In one sense the term is misleading, because it may imply that the main aim of the exercise is to develop high levels of lactate in order to stimulate the development of physiological processes. Of course, the debilitating effects associated with an elevated level of muscle and blood lactate can impair training and competitive performance.

The critical aspect is to improve the swimming speed during this type of work. A common mistake is to focus too heavily on the effort. Swimming these type of sets with high heart rate and blood lactate levels at slow speeds is not a very effective method of training.

Experienced coaches will know the considerable limitations of doing repeat maximal effort 100’s eg. 6 – 8 x 100m maximal efforts on 8:00. There is, arguably, a place for such sets, but a more effective approach is to incorporate recovery swimming between each of the quality efforts. This way, you get better speed without the interference of high blood lactates.

Coaches should use speed-assisted drills throughout the training program. Examples of speed-assisted drills include the use of paddles and pull buoy, stretch cords and various pulley systems.

The Australian Institute of Sport has recently installed a motorised pulley in its 50m pool and this has proved to be very useful in introducing swimmers to higher level speeds.

For example, with senior male freestyle swimmers, the speed is set to 20-22 seconds, which is slightly in excess of race speed. The pulley system is also an effective means of checking the quality of streamlining of individual swimmers. Any deficiency in streamlining (excessive drag) becomes very noticeable when the speed of the pulley is set above normal race speed.

Summary

The development of speed-endurance is, as the name suggests, a combination of speed and endurance training. We have suggested that a highly developed background of endurance is essential to support the speed training necessary for an elite level sprint swimmer. This approach, of course, has to meet the requirements of individual swimmers, and what suits one swimmer may not suit another.

In brief terms, speed-endurance is developed through a periodised program of basic aerobic work (longer intervals at the level of sub-maximal aerobic and anaerobic threshold), general dry-land strength-endurance training in the gym, and specific high-intensity interval training (sets of high intensity 50-200m intervals).

The frequency of speed training is another common topic of conversation. Through experience, some coaches devote a number of specific sessions to speed each week, while others will incorporate a few sprints at the end of every workout.

However, there is no hard and fast rule. For a full and exhausting sprint workout it is suggested that at least 24-48 hours of recovery (i.e. low to moderate-intensity aerobic swimming) be undertaken before the next full sprint workout. This time is required for muscle glycogen stores, particularly in fast twitch muscle fibres, to be restored to normal levels.

This length of recovery should also permit regeneration of neuromuscular pathways that regular muscular contraction. Central nervous system or neuromuscular fatigue may limit the ability to swim fast even though muscles may be fully hydrated and refueled.

The importance of the technical aspects of sprint swimming is appreciated by every coach.

In addition to the subjective evaluation of the coach (the so-called coaching “eye”), it is good practice to utilise video camera technology to occasionally assess and correct the technical aspects of each swimmer’s stroke.

Some elite coaches may have access to more sophisticated biomechanical analysis of the different strokes at different speeds.

One approach to the development of speed is to improve the efficiency and economy of swimming throughout the full range of training and competitive speeds. While all coaches acknowledge the importance of improving efficiency and economy during submaximal swimming, it is also equally important in higher velocity sprint swimming. The best sprinters have efficient and economical techniques at the higher speeds in terms of both metabolic and mechanical factors.

Speed should be assessed regularly by timing 25 and 50m efforts in the swimmer’s main stroke. Coaches do this routinely and it is a good way of checking how an individual swimmer’s speed is responding to training.

To check reaction time, acceleration and maximal speed it is appropriate to use a dive start. To simply check acceleration and speed, a push start can be used. Coaches (and swimmers) should use the 25m and 50m split times from their best competitive effort as a reference point.

For speed-endurance, most coaches use either 100m and 200m race pace (and occasionally 400m race pace). In this work, the average pace held through a 100m or 200m, is used in 50m intervals e.g. 8 x 50m at 200m race pace (e.g. 32 seconds for a swimmer with 2:08 200m PB) with a 100m recovery swim between each effort.

Measuring the stroke rate and stroke count is a practical method of evaluating (in gross terms) the stroke mechanics of any given swim.

During competition, most 50m and 100m swimmers will reach stroke rates between 50 and 60 stroke cycles per minute. During low-to-moderate intensity aerobic swimming (which forms the majority of the weekly volume) stroke rates usually range between 25-40 strokes per minute.

It is essential, therefore, the ensure that high-intensity sprint work is completed with race specific stroke rates (50-60 strokes/min). If a swimmer is unable to “rate up” to the appropriate level, it may be prudent to hold the speed session over to another day when they are able to complete the workout as specified.

Wayne Goldsmith

In swimming, effective propulsive movements are slow to fast.

In Fly, you reach long, feel the water, catch then accelerate through the stroke to recovery. Same in back. Same in breast (arms and legs). Same in free.

It starts with an effective feel on entry and a strong catch then…..throughout the stroke it is acceleration that makes all the difference.

2. The relationship between hips and head is critical

There is a critical relationship between the hips and the head in swimming. Simply, when the head is up, the hips go down and if the hips are down three important things happen:

• Hips down means you kick down – instead of back.
• Hips down means your body is in an inefficient position
• Hips down means that your body is not streamlined

Be aware of this relationship and keep your head and hips in the right positions.

3. Soft Hands and Feel!

If someone gave you a rose and said, “feel this – it is so soft” – what would you do with your hands? Cup them tightly? Clench them into a fist? Force your fingers wide apart with lots of tension? Or……..would you relax your fingers and hands and wrist and gently feel the rose?

You can’t feel anything with tight, tense hands. To improve your feel of the water, relax and think soft hands.

4. Think tall, think long

There is no doubt that objects that are long, tall, thin and streamlined move better through water than things that aren’t!

Streamline off every turn. Streamline on entry at each dive and start. Streamlining off walls is important, but think tall and think long all the time!

Believe it or not, an awareness of being tall and long in the water is important. For example in breaststroke recovery, think tall and long as you stretch and reach forward – reach long…..then kick strong.

It is the combination of long and strong that produces the most efficient swimming movements.

This “tall” thinking and awareness really helps your body move and flow through the water.

5. The faster you want to go, the more relaxed you have to be

Watch a little kid running. Now tell him to run as fast as he can…what happens? He clenches his fists. He gets red in the face. He holds his breath. And he lasts about twenty yards!

The faster you want to go, the more relaxed you have to be.

Speed is about relaxation, not grunting, not fist clenching, not tightening up, not breath holding, relaxation.

If you want to go fast, focus on staying calm, relaxed and moving easily.

6. The Power Circle: Power On – Power Off

Swimming has two primary phases – the “propulsive” phase and the “recovery” phase. For many swimmers, the recovery phase is actually an extension of the propulsive phase in that they don’t actually recover. The recovery phase is a time to relax and allow muscles to switch off in preparation for the next propulsive pull. Learning to do this can make a big difference to a swimmer’s ability to maintain a strong powerful stroke throughout a race.

Think Power Circle: Power on / Power off. When the hands and arms are under the water and pulling it is power on. As the hands leave the water to recover, it is power off.

The ability to turn the power off and relax during recovery is an important skill for all swimmers to develop.

7. Finishes: Head Forward, Hips High, Full Kick, Full Stroke

Good finishes in all strokes have four common elements: Head, Hips, Kick, Stroke

Head: leaning forward towards the wall – as opposed to turning and looking at the opposition or the results.

Hips: high and in a strong position – to keep the body in a streamlined position and moving towards the wall.

Kick: still working and driving the body forward at the wall. In fly finishing with a strong down kick and in breast finishing with the feet accelerating all the way to a toes touch position.

Stroke: finishing in a long, strong, tall position at the end of recovery so that the body is streamlined and capable of reaching and stretching towards the finish.

Every finish in training is a race finish and should include these four elements.

8. Starts Key Words: Focused Thinking

There are many distractions at the start of a race – noise, crowd, media, other swimmers, etc. The world is not going to shut down for you. You need to “shut” the world down.

To do this, try the simple “key word” technique.

Find a word that means “start” to you, something like:

• Power
• Explode
• Drive
• Strong
• Relax

Take a long, deep breath and if you can, take 5 seconds to inhale fully. Then on the exhale, say your key word quietly to yourself, taking 5 seconds to exhale fully. Repeat this for about a minute, continuing to breath deeply and slowly (about 5-6 breaths per minute), focusing on the key word every exhale.

This does three things:
1. It gives you confidence and control over the pre race environment
2. The slow deep breathing keeps you relaxed
3. The focus word allows you to eliminate external distractions and focus on a good start.

9. Turns: Tight

Turns are an important part of swimming and invariably great swimmers are great turners.

Turns need to be tight.

• Heels up close to the buttocks.
• Legs tucked up and under the body.
• Arms in close and held near the centre of the body.

Being tight keeps the body in an efficient minimum resistance position but it also allows the swimmer to adopt the “coiled spring” position.

Muscles can contract with greater power after being stretched and put under tension. By pulling the limbs in close to centre of the body, the large, powerful muscles of the legs, shoulders and back are placed on stretch.

Then coming out of the turn, the body can open up with power and explosiveness and use this elastic energy to drive off the wall and get back into fast swimming!

10. Consistency is the Key

The key to it all is to take the first nine tips and practice them consistently – every session – every day – every week.

Consistency provides opportunity – opportunity provides the talented swimmer with the chance to achieve anything.

We are creatures of habit. What we do repeatedly and what becomes habit, is what we do instinctively in times of fatigue and pressure, i.e. racing. If you practice doing things consistently well in training and doing things well becomes your “habit” under the pressure and pain of racing you will always come out on top.

Wayne Goldsmith

In part two we look at three great swimming tests designed to help you measure your improvement in Speed, Speed-Endurance, and Endurance.

Why test?
Testing provides valuable information to you and your coach on your progress of the effectiveness of your training program. It helps to identify areas of your program that need to be changed and modified as you work towards achieving your swimming goals.

Who to test?
Anyone can be tested. Some people shy away from testing early in their swimming career because they are afraid the results may not be very good. Actually the best time to be tested is early in your career because this is the time when you are likely to make you biggest improvements and progress is really motivating!!

When to test?
Generally the best time to be tested is when you are rested. This allows the test to measure your improvement without the influence of fatigue.

Which test to do?
It depends on what you are trying to measure. Let’s look at three popular and widely used swimming tests.

1. Test for Speed

The test:
2 x 25 metres push start on 2:30

You will need:

• 25 metre pool
• Test recording sheet
• Stop watch
• A friend to help you record the information

Test protocol:

• Start in the water.
• Push off and swim 25 metres at maximum speed.
• A friend or team mate records time and stroke count (and stroke rate if available).

Analysis:

• Time
• Number of strokes per lap
• Average of the two 25s
• Difference between the two 25s

What you will learn:
This test is a good basic test of pure speed. Taking the dive out means you are assessing swimming speed rather than diving technique.

As you improve:

• The 25s will get faster (improved speed)
• You will be able to swim at maximum speed with fewer strokes (improved stroke efficiency / technique)
• There will be little or no difference between them (improved speed endurance)
• You will be able to swim faster with fewer (ideally no) breaths per 25 (improved skill and tactical ability)

Variations:
Count breaths – we know that the best freestyle and fly swimmers in the world can swim at maximum speed with only two or less breaths over a 50 metre sprint.

2. Test for Speed Endurance

The test:
6 x 50 metres push start on 2:00

You will need:

• 50 metre pool (if possible)
• Test recording sheet
• Stop watch
• A friend to help you record the information

Test protocol:

• Start in the water.
• Push off and swim 50 metres at maximum speed.
• A friend or team mate records time and stroke count (and stroke rate if available).

Analysis:

• Time
• Number of strokes per lap / stroke rate if available
• Average of the six 50s
• Difference between the fastest and slowest 50
• RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion)

What you will learn:
The key to this test is to aim to swim at maximum speed right from the first 50. Then try to swim as fast as possible until you have completed all six. This is important because the test is trying to measure your “fatigue resistance” by looking at your ability to repeat maximum and near maximum speed swims.

As you improve:

• The 50s will get faster (improved speed)
• The average will get lower (improved speed endurance)
• The difference between the fastest and slowest will reduce (improved speed endurance and endurance)
• You will be able to maintain good technique and skills as you get tired (improved speed endurance, technique and endurance)

Variations:

• In fly try breathing every four or five strokes
• Experiment with underwater start distances (up to a maximum of 15 metres) to see what works for you.

3. Test for Endurance

The test:
7 x 200 Freestyle push start on 5 minutes

Aim to achieve a target pace of:
1st 200 – Personal Best Time Plus 35 Seconds
2nd 200 – Personal Best Time Plus 30 Seconds
3rd 200 – Personal Best Time Plus 25 Seconds
4th 200 – Personal Best Time Plus 20 Seconds
5th 200 – Personal Best Time Plus 15 Seconds
6th 200 – Personal Best Time Plus 10 Seconds
7th 200 – Personal Best Time Plus 5 Seconds

You will need:

• 50 metre pool (if possible)
• Test recording sheet
• Stop watch
• A friend to help you record the information

Test protocol:

• Start in the water.
• Push off and swim 200 metres at the target speed.
• A friend or team mate records time, splits and stroke count (and stroke rate if available), heart rate and other variables.

Analysis:

• Time
• Splits
• Stroke count on the final 50 every 200 repeat
• Heart rate at the end of each 200
• RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion)

What you will learn:
This test is pretty much a universal test for endurance. It is called a Step Test because the speed increases in “steps” and you measure how the body is responding at each step.

As you improve:

• The target paces will get faster (improved endurance)
• Your heart rate will be lower at the same speed (improved endurance)

Variations:

If you need more time to achieve the target pace of each 200, try 7 x 200 on 6 minutes.

Regardless of the test you use, remember the three Golden Rules:

1. Consistency: Make sure you control the controllables – do repeat testing at the same time of day, the same day of the week and with as many of the same conditions in place as possible.
2. Common Sense: Do tests that make sense. Don’t use the 2 x 25 to test for endurance or the 7 x 200 to test for speed.
3. Record: Write down everything. If it can be measured it is probably important!!!

And remember: No one wins the gold medal by having the best test!

Testing is simply a guide to give you feedback on the progress of your training and where you are in relation to achieving a specific goal.

Wayne Goldsmith

1. Am I getting fitter?
2. Am I getting faster?
3. Is my technique improving?
4. Will I be able to race well at my next competition?

The best way to answer all these questions is, of course, by “racing”!

Competition results and meet performances give you valuable information on how your program is going and how much you are improving.

However, coaches and sports scientists often use testing to determine the answers to these questions in training.

The Golden Rules of Testing

There are Three Golden Rules in Testing:

1. Consistency
If you test on a Monday morning this time after having the weekend off you have to repeat the test on a Monday morning after having the weekend off next time. If you test in a long course pool this time – it’s long course next time. If you dive this time – you dive next time. Everything – equipment, pre test warm up etc needs to be standardized as much as possible.

2. Common Sense
The test you use needs to make sense. If testing for endurance – 2 x 25 metres is not the right test to use. If measuring speed, a one hour swim is not the right choice. Decide what you are testing, then select a test which makes sense.

3. Record everything

• Time of day / date
• Warm up used
• Dive start or push start
• Test set details (i.e. repeat distances, number of repeats, stroke, time cycle)
• Time
• Splits
• Stroke count (the number of strokes taken – usually expressed as strokes per lap)
• Heart rate if applicable
• RPE – Rating of Perceived Exertion (a subjective measure out of ten to indicate how hard you found the test.)

A basic test recording sheet may look something like this:

Like any test, it you want to do well, you have to study.

In this case study means you need to learn how to do the test.

This is especially the case in endurance testing when errors in pacing can lead to poor test results which are not really indicative of the subjects actual endurance ability.

A good way to overcome this problem is to include some shorter swimming in the warm up at the target speed of the first repeat to be included in the test.

For example:

If a swimmer was aiming to complete a test of 10 x 100 freestyle on two minutes where the target speed of the first 100 metres of the test was at 1:20 pace, you might include a set like 6 x 50 freestyle on 1 minute holding 40 seconds, i.e. half distance at the same pace, in the warm up.

This gets the swimmer prepared to perform the test as required rather than starting out too fast and being too fatigued to complete the rest of the test correctly.

Example:

John Smith has decided he needs to assess his swimming fitness mid season. He decides that the right test for him is 6 x 200 metres freestyle on 5 minutes.

In of this article, we will look at specific tests for speed, speed endurance, technique efficiency and endurance.

Wayne Goldsmith

And there’s one other magical and mysterious experience: peaking and tapering swimmers.

But what is peaking and tapering?

Peak: Prepare Each Athlete’s Kapacity (capacity) to perform at their best.

Taper: Training Activities that Provide Excellence after Rest.

Peaking is about training swimmers to swim at their best. Tapering is ensuring that the swimmer’s can produce their best on a specific day following a period of rest, recovery and regeneration.

Let’s try to unlock the magic and mystery of coaching swimmers to perform at their best when it matters most.

Peaking

In the famous book Alice in Wonderland, Alice comes across a road which splits and leads off in several different directions. She is faced with a choice of which path to take.

She sees the Cheshire Cat in a tree and asks the cat, “Which path should I take?”

The cat smiles and says, “That depends on where you want to go.”

Alice says, “I don’t know where I want to go.”

The Cheshire Cat replies, “then it doesn’t matter which path you take.”

Swimming can be a little like this. Many swimmers and coaches are working hard – stretching, doing dry-land training, gym, etc – without a clear goal and without a clear time-frame.

Remember a goal is a dream with a deadline.

At the beginning of the season, two critical questions need to be answered:

• What does the swimmer need to be able to do?
• When do they need to be able to do it?

Ask each swimmer in your team to complete this sentence:

I want to achieve …………………. On ……………………….. (date).

For example:

I want to achieve a time of 60 seconds for 100m freestyle on the 15th May 2010.

Your job as coach is to plan a program which gives each swimmer the opportunity to achieve their stated goal.

Having the swimmer state their goal makes planning the program easy!

Tapering

There a lot of tricks, tips, magic and miracles written about tapering but there are six key principles that actually work:

1. Decrease the volume of training in the taper period

The single biggest improvement in performance during the taper period is due to a significant decrease in training volume. During taper, as training volume decreases so too does residual fatigue – meaning the swimmer begins to feel light, fast, energetic and strong in the water.

Hint: Decrease training volume between 15-20% during each week of the taper.

2. Maintain the INTENSITY of training in the taper period

Many swimmers and coaches are afraid to work hard during taper. In fact taper is a great time to work hard as the decrease in volume means that swimmers can often achieve race speeds easily during taper.

Hint: Include a small amount of specific race pace work at every session during the taper. This should include race specific dives, starts, turns and finishes and breathing patterns – race speed plus race quality technique and skills!

3. Maintain the frequency of training in the taper period.

One of the biggest mistakes coaches make when designing a taper is to decrease training frequency, i.e. fewer sessions. The motive is a good one – they want to allow swimmers the chance to rest, recover, maybe sleep in and regenerate.

However, allow swimmers time to sleep in and this is what generally happens:

• They wake up at the same time anyway and can’t go back to sleep.
• They stay up later at night knowing they don’t have to get up early and end up having less sleep than usual.
• Their body sleep / wake rhythms become unsettled leaving them feeling flat, tied and lethargic
• Once they experience a week or two of not getting out of bed at 5 am, they start to like it and may not return to morning training
• All of the above

Hint: Have swimmers attend all morning workouts during the taper period. If you like, give them an afternoon off for some free time / social time with team mates.

4. Make the taper swimmer-specific.

Everyone responds differently to a taper. Even swimmers of the same gender, the same age and competing in the same events will respond differently to a taper.

Hint: Practice the taper at a minor competition several months before the major meet. Encourage each swimmer to keep a “taper diary” throughout the “trial” taper recording how they feel, how they slept, if they experienced muscle soreness, was their energy level high or low and other relevant information. Use this to base the major meet taper upon.

5. Don’t introduce anything new

Another common problem is the desperate need for coaches, swimmers and parents to make the taper more than it is and to start adding new things at the last minute. Commonly this means changes to diet (e.g. adding a new super high performance supplement) or equipment (e.g. new pair of the latest super fast goggles). Keep it normal! Don’t introduce anything new during the taper – keep the environment as normal and simple as possible.

Hint: Don’t introduce anything once the taper has commenced – that goes for nutrition, gym work, technique, skills and equipment.

6. Don’t over-coach

The most successful way to coach during taper is the same way you usually coach! Some coaches feel the need to overcoach, by giving too many instructions too late in the preparation and only confusing the issue. Keep it simple.

Swimmers will often feel confused and stressed during taper and the lead in to big meets. What they want from you as a coach is the three C’s; Calmness, Confidence and Certainty. The best coaches demonstrate the three C’s regardless of the level of competition.

The closer you get to competition decrease the number of instructions and coaching interventions and practice the three C’s.

As a general rule during the final week of taper, give the same number of instructions as there are days before the meet, ie with five days to go, coach a maximum of five specific areas, with three days to go, focus on only three areas and on the final day on just one thing.

For example:

Butterfly

• Five days to go: Work on kick, arm pull, hand speed, hip drive and rhythm
• Three days to go: Work on kick, hand speed, hip drive and rhythm
• Final training session: Think Rhythm

One final comment: It’s not the taper that makes the difference, it’s every session.

The key to successful performance is consistency in terms of quality coaching everyday in all things. No matter how well you plan, prepare and prescribe your taper does not make up for months of poor technique and skills in practices.

Successful swimming is not an accident, it is the result of a carefully planned program implemented with quality, passion, enthusiasm and consistency by talented coaches and swimmers.

Wayne Goldsmith

• Physical: Fitness, speed, endurance, strength, power etc
• Technical: Technique, skills, dives, starts, turns and finishes
• Tactical: Pacing, strategies, racing skills
• Mental: Relaxation, self belief, attitude, focus etc.

Of these four factors, the mental side has the potential to make the biggest impact on overall performance because it has significant influence on the effectiveness of the other three!

Even physical training needs a significant mental component to be effective.

Imagine two swimmers are working on their speed development.

One swimmer stands lazily on the blocks, yawning and not really interested.

The other, stands relaxed but thinking about “exploding” off the blocks and controlling their breathing. They are thinking about making sure their streamline position will be long and strong and tight.

They are imagining how they will start accelerating their feet to top speed as they explode the surface and start their break out stroke.

Which one of these swimmers will get the most benefit from their speed development training????? If you said “the second swimmer”……………good work.

The influence of your mind on the performance of your body can never be over emphasised.

What are the essential mental skills for swimming?

1. Relaxation

Speed, endurance, technique, it all depends on staying relaxed. Tension leads to tightness and tight muscles can’t move fast. Tight muscles fatigue quickly. Tight muscles resist movement. Loose, relaxed muscles embrace movement – that’s what they are made to do – to move.

2. Self belief

Anything is possible. The motivation gurus say this over and over and over in books, on television and on CDs. Why? Because it’s true. Anything is possible.

But it’s only possible if you believe it is.

Think of it in reverse.

Can you imagine Michael Phelps or Ian Thorpe standing on the blocks thinking:

“I can’t do this. There is no way I can win this race. I can’t break the world record. I am hopeless” of course not. No one can achieve anything thinking negatively.

Self belief comes from confidence. Confidence comes from knowing. Knowing, you can, comes from preparing to the best of your ability every day, in every workout.

Preparing to the best of your ability means you can stand behind the blocks and say:

“I can do this. I work at this every day. I have not missed a workout for ten weeks. I have been working on my turns and I feel fast”.

Starting with “I can” leads to “I will” – the belief in yourself and the confidence it brings. Pretty soon “I will” becomes ”I did”.

Try this simple six word mantra, I can, I will, I did.

3. Resilience

One of the most common mental challenges swimmers face is to develop resilience; the ability to deal with difficult moments and disappointments and come out smiling.

Swimmers will aim to swim a PB time, miss it by one tenth of a second and then start “beating up on themselves”, i.e. “I am a loser”, “I am useless” etc etc and other similar negative talk.

This is pointless, destructive and does nothing more than make you feel even worse.

You are not one swim.

You are not a bad person because of a single performance.

You are a person who has trained hard, given their best and for some reason you did not achieve your goals on a particular day.

However, achieving or not achieving your goals is not a reflection on you as a person – it is a reflection on your preparation and it gives you clear direction on what you need to improve next time.

Use disappointments to drive you and to motivate you to work harder at training and the daily focus on attention to detail in your preparation.

4. Keeping Positive

Negatives: Negative thoughts, negative people, negative attitudes do not achieve anything.

• You can win wearing a hand me down swim suit.
• You can win if your goggles come off at the dive.
• You can win if you swallow a mouth full of water with ten metres to go.
• You can win if you get to the pool late and have missed your warm up.

People can win and have won regardless of the things that go wrong. But negative people can not win even if everything goes right.

No matter how well you plan, something can and usually will go wrong. In fact, at big meets you can almost guarantee something will go wrong. However you choose how something going wrong will affect your performance.

For example:

What happened? “I slipped on the blocks at the start”

Your choice:

Negative: I slipped on the blocks. I was so angry. My race was over. What a waste of time. All that training for nothing.

Your choice:

Positive: I slipped on the blocks. If I work my legs a little harder I can make up the time over the first 25. I have to be patient. No hurry – then I will work it home harder and finish over the top of them.

Same scenario, different approach, different result.

Win or Lose, You Choose!

5. Toughness under pressure and fatigue

Swimming fast hurts. There is no getting around this.

However, knowing this and learning how to deal with it are two completely different things. So what is being mentally tough? Every one talks about it – but what is it?

In swimming it is staying relaxed and concentrating on breathing, technique and skills under pressure and fatigue.

Why is this important?

Because whilst you can’t control pain – you can control your breathing and focus in your technique and skills.

The key to mental toughness is control! By focusing on your breathing, your technique and your skills you have more control over the moment – and when you are in control things like pain, fear and fatigue don’t seem quite so tough.

6. Focus on what matters

When you go to a meet and aim to swim fast there are lots of distractions. The trick is in finding a way of being able to focus on what matters and “screen” out all the other stuff.

Develop a critical focus question. A critical focus question is a neat way of helping you decide what is important and what is not.

Example:

Critical focus question: Will this help me swim fast today?

So if you are in warm up and someone says “Hey let’s go and get a soda” – you ask yourself your critical focus question – “Will this help me swim fast today”. If the answer is Yes – then do it. If the answer is No – avoid it – eliminate the distraction and go back to doing the things that matter. All things are important in their own way but learn to focus on what matters.

Train your body, train your brain: there are no limits to what you can achieve when they work together.

Wayne Goldsmith

Somewhere in the world today, the Beijing Olympic champion in your event got out of bed.

They were given the same 24 hours you were given. They saw the same sun and same sky you saw. But for some reason, they decided to choose to use today to prepare better than anyone else in the world in their (your) event.

My question is, why wasn’t it you who made that choice?

Choosing to prepare better than anyone else in your event is not about money. It isn’t about your coach. It isn’t about the facilities you haven’t got. It is about you making a conscious decision to seize every opportunity – training, eating, sleeping, recovering, resting, gym work, flexibility work, starts, turns, dives, finishes……….everything and do it better than anyone in your event anywhere in the world.

So again, I ask the question, why wasn’t it you who made that choice?

Tomorrow is another day. Make the choice. Seize the day. Choose to be a champion.

Championship Moments

95% of swimming is easy. Be honest. 95% of what you do day to day is easy. Your mom drives you to the pool. You do some training with your friends and other positive motivated people like yourself. You get to feel fit and healthy. You get to visit cool places when you race. Swimming – most of the time is a really enjoyable, fun activity.

What makes you special is your ability and tenacity in the other 5% – those championship moments when things get tough and when everyone else backs off.
You know the moments I mean. The 75-85 metre mark in 100 free. Or the last turn in a 200. Or the final 150 of a 400.

Great swimmers master these moments, they face and overcome the moments when pain, pressure and fear strike.

As you prepare for your next race, learn to chase these moments. Look for them in training and deliberately and purposefully seek them out. Embrace every opportunity to challenge yourself during these moments. Learn to love these moments.

Focus 95% of your efforts on mastering these 5% moments. Make your training more challenging and more demanding than any competitive situation you could ever face.

Why? Because you know 95% of your opposition wont.

Most people avoid championship moments. Most people hide from them. Most people go into a meet not knowing if they will succeed or fail because they have not faced fear in training and learnt to overcome it.

That’s why there’s only one gold medal for each event.

Master Championship moments!

Consistency

Let’s assume the performance you want at your next championship meet is a 10/10. You could be chasing that 10/10 swim at the Beijing Olympic trials to make the team and realise your Olympic dream.

You could be targeting a 10/10 swim to break the State record. Or you want a 10/10 swim to get that PR you have been working for.

A 10/10 swim at your next meet will come from consistency across all areas of your preparation, i.e. 10/10 nutrition, 10/10 mental preparation, 10/10 training, 10/10 gym work, 10/10 flexibility work, 10/10 recovery and so on.

A 10/10 swim cannot come from a program of 4/10 sleep, 5 / 10 recovery, 7 / 10 gym and 2/10 training.

Think about a formula one car. To get a winning result takes a commitment to consistent quality across all areas of the car – wheels, tyres, brakes, steering, engine, gear box, aerodynamics, suspension and of course a world class driver.

Just improving engine performance in isolation, will not make the car perform better. Winning comes from attention to detail and consistency in quality in the preparation of the whole car.

The way you do anything is the way you do everything. The 10/10 swim you crave at your next meet will come from the 10/10 effort you put into everything you do between now and then.

Summary

1. Choose to be a champion. Somewhere in the world today, the Beijing Olympic Gold medallist in your event chose to prepare better than their competition. Why wasn’t it you who made that choice? Make it now!
2. Championship moments. Chase championship moments in training and in lead up competitions. Challenge yourself – but more than that – embrace every chance you get to be challenge and learn to Master those moments.
3. Consistency – “the way you do anything is the way you do everything”

Wayne Goldsmith

The eternal coaching question – how much speed is necessary for endurance athletes?

At the present time in world swimming there are many opportunities for swimmers who are capable of sustaining fast speeds over middle and long distance races. Particularly in woman’s swimming where World and Australian Records have stood for many years, the ability to be fast over 400, 800 and 1500 metres presents a great opportunity for the female swimmer prepared to do a little work and focus on these events.

There is no doubt that endurance is a key factor in these events. However, there is no question that competitive endurance athletes need some speed.

1. In close competitions the ability to sprint fast away from the opposition or to a point in the race is important. In open water swimming for example, a burst of speed might be important to break away from a pack of swimmers, to sprint to a turning buoy first or to sprint from one pack up to another.
2. The ability to explode off the start, in and out of turns and over the final five metres in a tight finish is also important.
3. Developing the ability to swim faster training repeat times over one season or many seasons is dependent on having improved endurance and being faster over a single effort.

In the preparation of middle and long distance swimmers it is important to balance the amount of speed with the amount of endurance in the training program.

For example:

Training goal = 24 x 100 metres on 1:45 Holding 1:10 (best 100 time in competition = 1:09)
In this training set, the swimmer is aiming to hold one minute ten seconds for each 100 metre effort. However, as the swimmer’s best time for a single 100 metre effort in competition is 1:09 it is unlikely that holding 1:10 for twenty four 100’s is possible to achieve.

The principles of Energy system specificity suggest that maintaining 100% maximum for longer than 6-10 seconds is not possible. Therefore, it is logical to say that in most sporting events athletes spend the majority of training and competition working at sub maximal intensities.

In reality most athletes have difficulty maintaining more than 90% of maximum for very long.

Should the swimmer’s best time for a single 100 metre swim be 1:02 – 1:03 and importantly they have done adequate endurance training to resist the fatigue of swimming many 100’s, then holding 1:10 is far more realistic.

This, then, is the challenge. To enable the swimmer to swim faster than 1:09 they need do have done some speed training to develop that speed. Yet, to maintain 1:10 over 24 x 100 metres also requires great endurance.

Speedand endurance are in fact two sides of the same coin. Both are needed if the swimmer is to achieve maximum potential.

For example:

If a swimmer’s 100 metre best time is 60 seconds, it is likely and logical that their best 50 metre time is around 27.5-28 seconds. To swim a 27.5-28.0 second 50 metre swim, it is likely that the swimmer can swim around 12.5-13.5 seconds for 25 metres. And to swim 25 metres in 12.5 seconds requires the development of genuine speed.

Three of Australia’s leading male middle and long distance swimmers in recent years are Olympic Gold Medallists Kieren Perkins, Grant Hackett and Ian Thorpe. At a distance of 400 metres these three swimmers are able to swim around 3 minutes 45 seconds or an average time per 100 metres of around 56 seconds. In competition Perkins, Hackett and Thorpe have gone much faster over the first 100 metres (approximately 53-54 seconds) in middle and long distance races.

In order to go out at that speed they must not be at 100% or maximum speed or they would “blow up”. They must have a “speed reserve” and be at a relatively comfortable pace over the first 100 metres or their last 300 metres would be very slow owing to the level of fatigue, lactic acid etc.

When you consider that the 100 metres best time for the three swimmers is around 50 seconds it can be argued that they have a speed reserve i.e. traveling at 56 seconds per 100 metres is reasonably comfortable as it is approximately 6 seconds outside their best time.

In female distance swimming the benchmark is US swimmer Janet Evans whose world records set in the 1980’s still stand. Her world record marks in the 400 and 800 metres freestyle were seconds faster than the winning times for both events at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. Her 400 metres freestyle world record of 4:03 is outstanding. Her 8:16 remarkable. Her endurance capacities are unmatched, yet, if her best 100 metre time was only 1:02, these fast times over longer distances would be impossible. Obviously she had the ability to swim fast and to sustain speed over 400, 800 and 1500 metres.

The Concept of Speed Reserve

The concept of Speed Reserve suggests that the limiting factor in Eliteendurance performance will be speed. This is not to say that speed alone is the key to endurance success.

Endurance training, long aerobic work and steady rhythmic sets are the core elements of the distance swimming program. However, in the end it is not so much the swimmer’s ability to swim long distances but to sustain high speeds for long periods that will win races over 400, 800 and 1500 metres.

A swimmer who struggles to break 1 minute for 100 freestyle, is unlikely to break 2 minutes for 200 freestyle or even come close to 4 minutes for 400 and so on.
However, a swimmer with a 55 second 100 and a solid endurance background has every possibility of swimming sub 2:00 and sub 4:00 because of the speed reserve factor.

Periodisation and Speed Reserve.

Over time, swimmers aim to swim their training sets at faster times.

For example:
Season one: Training Goal = 10 x 200 freestyle holding 3:30
Season two: Training Goal = 10 X 200 freestyle holding 3:20
Season three: Training Goal = 10 x 200 freestyle holding 3:10
In each season the swimmer is getting fitter, stronger, maturing, perhaps growing and improving.

However, swimming faster times in training sets is dependent on two key factors:

• The swimmer’s endurance ability is improving
• The swimmer’s best time is improving.

The trick is to combine the development of SPEED with the much needed ENDURANCE so that over time both improve allowing the swimmer to:

• Do more work
• Do more work faster
• Do more work faster with less rest
• Swim faster in single efforts

Coaching Implications:

Develop real speed in endurance athletes in addition to developing endurance. In the end, the limiting factor to endurance performance will be a combination of speed, enduranceand technical ability (swimming technique and skill).

The optimal conditions for speed development are:

• Glycogen repleted
• Hydrated
• Motivated
• Interested – focused
• Un-fatigued
• Low levels of lactic acid

Within these conditions, swimmers have the ideal physiological and psychological conditions to develop real speed.
These conditions are generally found at the beginning of sessions. However, there is a strong argument to do speed sessions at the end of workouts when race conditions are more closely simulated. That said, it is unrealistic to expect that speed improvements can occur in those conditions experienced at the end of workouts. The emphasis should be on technical proficiency and stroke control at speed when tired rather than on speed alone.

Speed development Workout Structure (Optimal Conditions)

• Warm up
• Stretch

Speed development

• Easy Swim
• Stretch
• Easy, relaxed swim session
• Swim Down

Speed Training at the End of Sesions(see T.U.F. Training)

• Warm up
• Stretch
• Skills / Technique
• Fitness / Main set

Speed training – emphasis on technique and distance per stroke

• Swim Down
• Stretch

The development of real speed is very much neuromuscular (nervous system and muscles working together). What type of training activities stimulate neuro muscular development?

• Short distances
• Long rests
• Limited reps
• Stimulating environment

Develop speedand relaxation at the same time. Young swimmers in particular tend to “tighten up” and tense their muscles when asked to go fast. “The faster you want to go, the more relaxed you have to be”.

The latest thinking on overspeed work, i.e. pulling or pushing swimmers at faster speeds than they can go under their own power to try and force an improvement in speed, suggests that technique should not be compromised for overspeed training. The old “spinning arms” drills for freestyle and backstroke should be abandoned!!!!!Overspeed training should not be more than 1% – 2% faster than the swimmer can travel under their own power as at faster speeds, technique breakdown is significant. In a race, swimmers win by maintaining excellent technique and stroke control at maximum speed.

When developing speed in age group swimmers, often the trick is to keep their attention and maintain some order and discipline during the sets. Speed development sets are by their nature (long rests, short distances, stimulating environment) an open invitation for age groupers to lose focus and misbehave. It is important to have a range of sprint games on hand to maintain control of the workout.

Active recovery is the practice of doing a slow controlled swim between fast efforts. For example:

10 x 50 as Explode the first 15 metres, easy recovery swim 35 metres on 1:30 is an example of a speed development set with a fast explosive effort (15 metres) followed by an active recovery (35 metres).

The active recovery allows the swimmer to break down lactic acid and blow off carbon dioxide and provides the opportunity for the swimmer’s nervous system to recover. Active recovery is essential when doing repeated explosive speed intervals to ensure that the swimmer is capable of producing maximum speed each time.

Mark short distances on the side of the pool (5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 20 metres). These are important short distances for speed development work. By having them marked on the side of the pool (or even better marked with colored tiles on the bottom of the pool if you have an understanding pool owner) the coach can standardise the distances of speed intervals so they can be accurately recorded and tracked over time.

Speed development training can start with relatively young athletes. We know that the physiology of the young swimmer is capable of learning to swim fast. At around age 10, most athletes will possess:

• An almost fully developed aerobic potential (i.e. the potential to handle aerobic training loads and easy, low intensity training)
• The ability to learn new skills and learn complex co-ordinated movements
• The ability to produce fast movements through the co-ordination of the nervous system and muscular system.

However at the same time, we know that children do produce lactic acid but have difficulty dealing with it!

In coaching practice this means:

• Kids can do easy aerobic work.
• Kids can do stroke development work, technique work and skills work.
• Kids can do short sprints.

Kids will struggle with long, sustained sprints and in practice training sets such as 6 x 100 at Maximum speed with long rests / 8 x 50 at maximum speed with long rests etc should be avoided in young swimmers.

Like all swimming training activities, speed development is multi disciplinary. Maximum racing potential is achieved when the swimmer:

• Has a great technique
• Has excellent skills
• Has an excellent distance per stroke
• Has a strong desire to succeed and the motivation to go fast
• Has done the necessary strength, fitness and flexibility work
• Has maintained a high performance diet.

Having the physiological capacity to produce speed without the skills, attitude, technique etc to support that capacity will not produce optimum results.

Ten Speed Development Sets for Age Group Swimmers

1. 10 x 10 x 10. (Ten times 10 metres in ten minutes). Swimmers have ten minutes to produce 10 maximum speed swims over 10 metres. These can be from a wall outward or swimming in towards a wall. (TIP: When doing explosive starts that end mid pool i.e. not on the wall, have the swimmer finish with a race type finish and pretend (visualise) finishing on a wall. Having no wall is not an excuse for practicing sloppy finishes.
2. 15 x 15 x 15 (Fifteen times 15 metres in fifteen minutes)
3. 10 x 50 metres as 15 metres explode start, easy 35m with excellent technique
4. 10 x 50 metres as easy 35 with excellent technique – 15 metres explode finish.
5. Odds and evens of above (i.e. on the odds 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th repeats first 15 metres are Explodes on the even repeats 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th Explode the final 15 metres).
6. Half way Hots – (short course) Explode to half way. Rest 45 seconds. Explode to the other end. Repeat x 12.
7. Jump starts – Stand at half way (short course). Sink to the bottom, then spring quickly and powerfully up and forward. Use the momentum from the jump to help pick up speed. Explode to the wall.
8. Nine stroke power swims. Swim nine strokes at maximum speed in free and back. Note where you finish at the ninth stroke. Easy swim back to the start then try again. Goal is to see how far you can go on nine strokes at maximum speed. (Teaches distance per stroke at speed). For fly and breast try six strokes.
9. Super speed with a friend. Have a teammate put on fins and grab a kick board. Side by side race to the 15 metre mark. Change over. On the way back to the wall, you use the fins and board and your team mate swims. Motivating. Develops team spirit. Develops fast swimming and fast kicking.
10. Dive explodes. Just as it sounds – dive in and explode for 10-15 metres. Swim slowly to the other end of the pool. Repeat x 8-12.

Speed Reserve Summary

Distance swimmers need to have a program that is based on endurance training and aerobic development. This type of training helps develop the physiological and biomechanical factors that lead to efficient movement. It also helps develop rhythm and relaxation – two crucial factors in swimming successfully over the longer distances.

However, the emphasis needs to be on endurance and speed. Being able to swim 100 x 100 metres at a speed 5 seconds off your best time does not in itself guarantee being able to swim well over longer distances IF your best time is not very fast.

The aim at elite level is to be able to swim as close as possible to maximum speed for an extended period of time. If maximum speed is not very fast, then all the swimmer can do is sustain mediocrity. A swimmer not capable of breaking one minute for 100 freestyle is unlikely to come close to two minutes for 200 freestyle or four minutes for 400 freestyle, etc etc.

Whilst it is difficult to develop enduranceand speedsimultaneously, all programs should include a logical mix of both.

My thanks to Track and Field Sprint Coach and Sports Scientist Adrian Faccioni and leading Australian Distance Running Coach, Sports Scientist and author Dr Dick Telford for their inspiration for this article.

Wayne Goldsmith

A common mistake made by many masters swimmers is to do their slow work too fast and fast work too slow.

The reason behind this often lies in the lifestyle of the masters swimmer. Masters swimmers usually have limited time for training owing to work, study, family and other commitments so they like to come to the pool, train for an hour and leave feeling fatigued and believing they have done a real workout, i.e. they want to feel tired.

For most masters swimmers, this means they are doing the majority of their training at or close to what might be termed threshold as it is the fastest possible speed they can maintain for the duration of the training time available.

Whilst this may seem to be a good training strategy and it may appear that the swimmer is working hard, in reality it is an inappropriate intensity level for most masters swimmers as it does not really develop the five key elements of competitive swimming or T.E.S.S.T:

• Technique: Good technique, long strokes.
• Endurance: The ability to sustain high speed throughout the race and be “fatigue resistant”.
• Skills: Breathing, timing, feel – swimming fundamentals.
• Starts: Fast, strong, powerful, explosive and with great streamlining.
• Turns: Aggressive, fast, powerful and with great streamlining.

Swimming at the appropriate speeds and intensity levels allows the swimmer the opportunity to develop these elements. Always swimming at threshold tends to reinforce poor skills and inefficient technique as the body is constantly under pressure and fatigue and only serves to compromise racing success.

Successful competitive swimming is the ability to maintain good technique and excellent skills at high speed when fatigued and when experiencing race pressures. Achieving this requires a balanced program which focuses on the development of all the elements of competitive swimming, ie not just the ability to swim at threshold.

Sorting out this training zone stuff

There have been a lot of things written about training zones and training intensity levels but the majority are too complicated for the reality of everyday Masters swimming.

Training sets with these training zones include:

Summary

1. Masters swimmers should take time to develop a balanced training program using the T.E.S.S.T. principles: Technique, Endurance, Skills, Starts, Turns.
2. The intensity of training is the key to the whole thing – masters swimmers should have a strong understanding of training intensity and how it applies to their training program – remember: understanding Pace makes a great Race!
3. Keep training zones simple, the four basic zones outlined here will help you achieve your competition goals.

Wayne Goldsmith