Workout Wednesday - 29 January 2014

While it's certainly not an across the board epidemic, I'm still seeing and hearing of a lot of athletes who think that the best way to prepare for the swim leg of a triathlon is to just swim the distance required - non-stop - every time they're in the pool.  Newsflash: The theme of "just get through the swim" or "just survive the swim" is a thing of the past.

Why not get out of the water efficiently and quickly?  Using less energy than before and being better prepared for the back-half of your race?  Work with your coach, have some video analysis done, and ensure that your stroke mechanics are solid.  Then, work on your limiters.

If you need some speed endurance, then do this set.  It's SCY and takes about an hour, so it's a great mid-day workout if you need to get a workout in over lunch.

Warm up:

200 swim easy

200 kick
200 pull

Pre-set / Warm up:

10 x 50 Free

1st length build up, 2nd length hard.

On 1:00

Main set: 

3 x 75 on 1:15 or 1:20
1 x 75 on 1:20

3 x 75 on 1:10 or 1:15

1 x 75 on 1:20 

3 x 75 on 1:05 or 1:10 

1 x 75 on 1:20 

3 x 75 on 1:00 or 1:05 

1 x 75 on 1:20 

3 x 75 on :55 or 1:00

1 x 75 on 1:20 

3 x 75 on :50 or :55 

Cool down:

200  easy

The main set is only 25-30 minutes long depending on the send-off.  You can, of course, adjust the times depending on your athletes and their base 100 time.  As you can see, the set begins at a very easy pace, but quickly moves towards threshold.  It's an easy set for athletes to maintain, however, as there's a slower 75 every 3 reps to allow for a little recover - ensuring the ability to maintain the effort.

Workout Wednesday - 22 January 2014

Great set yesterday with the Podium Swim Club.  I wanted some speed-work done, but I also wanted to include some threshold work in the workout as well.  The below workout is what transpired.

It's SCY, and takes about 1:15 to complete.  As usual, the send-offs will vary depending on you or your athlete's base 100 time.  The goal in the main set is to work the 50's and 25's at max effort.  The 100's are high Zone 3 effort - or at a cruise pace.  The 50's don't give you a full recovery - a little bit is gained back on the 100's, but there's a nice 1 : 3 work / rest ratio on the 25's.

Warm up:

300 easy.

300 pull

12 x 50 on :45

4 x 75m on 1:15

Main set:  

6 x (50 - 100 - 4 x 25)  

50 hard.  100 cruise.  25’s max

On :40, 1:35, 1:00

1 min rest after each round.

200 cool down.

Total yardage is 3,200 yards.  This is a great quality set that incorporates a couple of different energy systems.  

Podium Training Systems is here for you - the athlete and the coach.  Questions?  Please contact me and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Workout Wednesday - 15 January 2014

I had the pleasure of working with one of our Vanguard Endurance athletes yesterday morning.  He's here in Colorado Springs for two months preparing for the upcoming ITU season.  He's swimming with me at my local swim club while here, and after yesterdays practice we were talking about some of our favorite sets.

This one came up in his memory banks from his time swimming at the Olympic Training Center.  He recalls being a bit delirious at the end, but it's really a great workout.

Originally this was a set done in LCM, but as I'm going to have my folks do this one next week, I've adapted it to be SCY and I've changed the rest intervals / send-offs.

This should take about 1:15 - 1:30 in time.  It's a tough main set if done properly.  It's all threshold effort.  Enjoy the lactic acid tolerance.

Warm up:

300 easy

200 kick

200 pull

8 x 50 on 1:00

Descend 1-4, 5-8

5 x 100 on 1:40

.

Main set: 

400 @ Tempo pace / effort.  :30 rest

4 x 100 on 1:35

300 @ Tempo pace / effort.  :20 rest

3 x 100 on 1:35

200 @ Tempo pace / effort.  :15 rest

2 x 100 on 1:35

Cool down:

200

You'll have to adjust the send-offs to accommodate your athletes.  For the 100's, you want approximately :20 rest between each effort.  And if so desired, you can give an extra minute of rest after each set of 100's.  This is a fantastic set for lactic acid tolerance.

Workout Wednesday - 08 January 2014

I think it's time to revisit the fun that's lactic acid tolerance - cleverly disguised as a speed endurance / threshold set.  Yes, these hurt, but they're oh-so-good for you.

No fancy fanfare here.  Let's just get right to it.  This is a big set, and takes about 1:15 - 1:30 in time. This was written for SCY, and as you can see has very aggressive send-offs.  It was written for a couple athletes in my swim club that maintain a repeat base-100 time of around 1:10.

Basically, it's base + :25, :20, :15, :10 for the 100's.  And for the 50's, take your (or your athletes) hard 50 time and add :20, :15, :10, :05.

Enjoy!

Warm up:

300 easy.

4 x 50 kick on :30 rest

200 pull

4 x (50-75-100)

On 1:00, 1:15, 1:40, 1:45

Main set: 

5 x 100 on 1:35

5 x 50 on :50

4 x 100 on 1:30

4 x 50 on :45

3 x 100 on 1:25

3 x 50 on :40

2 x 100 on 1:20

2 x 50 on :35

4 x 150 pull on 2:20

Cool down: 

200

4600 yards.

Should you have any questions on the workout posted here - or on any of the previous workouts we've provided - drop me a line and I'll get back to you.

Workout Wednesday - Happy 2014 Edition

Happy New Year!  We here at Podium Training sincerely hope that everyone has had a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season.

Now, let's kick off 2014 properly - with a steady state high end aerobic workout. You'll get your HR into Z4 on this one..... almost threshold here.  This is a great set to work on the aerobic energy system.

If you recall, last week we talked a little bit about energy systems.  This set will get the HR up, but you have to be sure that you, or your athletes, keep tabs on HR between efforts.  If heart rates start to creep up towards threshold, then the send-off is too tight and you'll need to adjust.

This workout is written for SCY and will take just about an hour.  It's a great set for a mid-day, or before work session.

Warm up:

300 easy

200 kick

4 x 100 pull on 1:40

Main set:

7 x (150 - 250)  

1:55 / 3:20  -  2:10 / 3:30 

Cool down:

200 easy.

3500 yards

As always, if you have any questions on any of the sets here, please let me know.  I'll get back to you ASAP.

Happy New Year!