Workout Wednesday - 19 February 2014

Since I threw a little endurance your way last week, we're going back to some threshold work this week.

This is a set that I gave my swim club just yesterday.  Short distances with high quality and intensity in the main set.  You'll most certainly want to take advantage of a white board for this session, as the main set is a little lengthy and is much easier to understand when written out.

This is SCY, and will push close to 90 minutes.  As always, adjust the send-off times depending on the base 100 times of your athletes.

Warm up:

200 swim

200 kick

200 pull

4 x (75 - 50)  

75’s easy on 1:15 

50’s hard on 1:00 

Main set:

2 x (100-75-3x25, 100-75-4x25, 100-75-5x25) 

100's descending on 1:40

75's easy on 1:10

25's MAX on :45

2 x (50-50-25, 50-50-2x25, 50-50-3x25)

1st 50's descending on :50

2nd 50 easy on 1:00

25's MAX on :45

Cool down:

200 easy

Total yards: 3850

As you can see, we push some threshold in the main set, but add in a 1 : 2 work-rest ratio for the 25's - focusing on speed.  It's a nice mix, in my opinion, that really provides a good quality session.

I'm a big fan of speed endurance / threshold sets.  Athletes tend to focus more on aerobic endurance and "LSD" sets.  (Long. Slow. Distance).  Not that aerobic endurance isn't important, but most often threshold and speed tends to be the limiter for a lot of athletes.  

Want to discuss this topic more?  Reach out to me!

Workout Wednesday - 12 February 14

I'm throwing a little endurance work back into the mix today.  But, as usual, there's a little speed endurance work thrown in for good measure.

This is a great set to really get some serious yardage in. And I really like it for the fact that it switches gears in the middle of the main effort and utilizes a different energy system.  The main set efforts, for the longer distances, are aerobic in nature. Targeting a 1:20-1:25 base 100 effort, the rest intervals will provide about :20-:30 rest. But the 25's switch things up with a 1 : 2 work/rest ratio and we start to get a little anaerobic.

This set is SCY and will take about 1:15-1:30........

Warm up:

200 yards easy

200 kick

200 pull

Pre-set / Warm up:

10 x 50

1st length stroke (choice) 2nd length free.

1:15

12 x 75 on 1:15.  Cruise efforts 

Main set: 

Speed endurance (Sp/E)  and Endurance. 

2 x (400, 300, 10 x 25, 200)

400 on 6:00, 300 on 4:30, 25's on :45 - max effort., 200 on 3:00

Cool down:

200 easy

4500 yards

Change the send-offs to accommodate your athletes base 100 times, ensuring to keep things aerobic. That means you need to target a send-off that provides :20-:30 rest.  As the main set lasts between 20-30 minutes (depending on the athlete) it's long enough to get the aerobic work in, but short enough to not be boring.  The usual reaction I get from athletes after this set is that they got more yards in the main set than they thought. The 25's keep things fresh and nobody gets bored.

Questions?  Give me a shout!

Workout Wednesday - 05 February 2014

This is a set that I have planned for my swim club tomorrow morning.  Well, that's assuming the weather behaves here in Colorado Springs.

I normally front load the week with speed and threshold work - doing the higher intensity training early in the week with aerobic efforts coming on the weekend.  The reason for this is that aerobic efforts can be done when the athlete is a little fatigued, but threshold and speed work loses a lot of it's benefit when attempted in a fatigued state.

This is a big set.   Lots of threshold work.  Lots of yardage.  It's SCY and takes about 1:30.

Warm up

200 Easy

200 kick

200 pull

4 x (75-100)  

On 1:15-1:45

Main set

4 x 100 @ 1:35  1st 25 sprint   

6 x 100 @ 1:30  Best pace

12 x 50 @ :50  Descend 1-6 

4 x 100 @ 1:35  1st 50 sprint 

6 x 100 @ 1:30   Best pace

12 x 50 @ :50  Descend 1-6 

Cool down

200 Easy    

4500 yards

Again, this is a big set.  You'll have to adjust the send-offs for yourself or your athletes as necessary, of course.  If you need to add time on the send-offs, then adjust the pre-set (the 75-100 sets) to be 50's and 75's to allow for the extra time.

This set is going to work on speed endurance big time.  All efforts here are going to be at threshold effort (or better!)  If you're feeling generous, give your athletes an extra minute rest after the first set of 50's.

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.