Distance Swimming for Masters 35 and Up
by Anthony Byrne
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I'm excited to introduce to you Anthony Byrne, distance coach par
excellence! Anthony is a USA Coach, an ASCA
Level 3 Coach, a QASA Teacher Level 1 Coach and is the Marietta Marlins Distance Coach. He
himself is a 3-time Australian National Free Champion in the 400, 800 and 1500
meter distances. He was 3rd at the Olympic Trials in 1976, and he is a 3-time Australian
National Surf Lifesaving Champion. I asked Anthony for some of his words
of wisdom for us older swimmer who want to swim middle and long distance, and
he was kind enough to write an article and sample workout for us. |
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Warm ups are an extremely important part of
you practice. All too often warm ups are treated as simply feeling the water
temperature and waking up. They are, in fact, very important to ready your mind
and body for the work to come. If your
mind is not in the game your body will take the easy road. The old adage is – if you, show up, “show up ready”. Additionally, warm ups can be used for stroke
work, turns and finish simulation, breathing patterns, body positioning and a
host of other helpful training aids. Don’t let that 10 to 20 minutes go by the
wayside. Use it or lose it.
Kick
Sets, over the past
20 years, have evolved into elaborate training sets, which have replaced
portions of over distance sets. Kicking, and learning how to kick, is perhaps
the most important part of any swimmer’s training. Elite swimmers and coaches have known this
for 50 years. Keeping the area from your
knees to your rib cage in tip top shape will allow you to start faster, turn
quicker, turn on the after burners when you need to, finish harder, and swim
straighter. Additionally, the muscles
from your hips down to just above your knees are super big muscles and require
enormous amounts of oxygenated blood to operate efficiently. If you haven’t
prepared your legs, buttocks and core
for racing and operating at race pace or better,…..ouch! So when you have a kick set work it and
work it hard.
Main
Sets are used
primarily to put your body into a race-simulated condition and how you can
adjust to time intervals, rest and pace conditions. In a
single paragraph it would be impossible to discuss the million and one
conditions for MAIN sets. Typically for
distance and middle distance, main sets are to aerobically condition the
athlete to compete in a specific race or set of races. However recent studies have indicated that
the body actually gains more through “mixing it up” during main set and have now
started introducing Anaerobic/aerobic/MaxVO2 sets combined. The latest training methods are always in a
state of evolution. Main sets are
extremely important. Simply “swimming” them will only frustrate the swimmer and
the coach. 90% of all main sets are
constructed to improve either conditioning and/or speed.
Pull
and/or Paddle Sets
are used for, in order: stroke work,
strength and aerobic conditioning. If you can combine all 3 in one set…now
that’s what I’m talkin’ about. I am a firm believer in pulling and paddle
sets. Again the elite swimmers around the world use pull and paddle equipment
everyday to improve and refine their strokes. Some, albeit a minority, use
paddles as their only strength training mechanism. Again paddles can be used in just about every
facet of your programs. I should caution
that over use of paddles will lead to loss of feel for the water and could also
cause injury to shoulders and wrists .
Cool
Downs for distance swimmers are a good time to review your
season and to stretch out and make sure your shoulders are good. I like to
finish out seasons with at least a 200 back, really stretching out and
refocusing on the mind more than the body.
Summary:
Long easy
swimming is a way of the past. Specific load targeted training sessions have
evolved as the winning formula. Use your time in the pool wisely and work hard
on improving every aspect of your training. Look at every flip turn as a chance
to improve your streamlining, push offs and pop outs. When asked to finish hard
with your head down, extended with additional emphasis on kicking, focus on
attaining all of them. When the coach ask you for a little extra effort on
sets, find that hidden warrior inside and go for it. Kicking is not a rest
set. Work the hardest in your kicking sets and I guarantee you will
improve. All of these things add up to Personal BEST and PB’s are fun!
Don’t
forget your dry land.
We lose
about 10% of muscle every decade after age 50.
Do something that keeps your core, back and arms strong. The old fashioned sit up and the even more
old fashioned pushup are 2 good places to start. Set moderate goals and adjust
them when you start exceeding them. You
will be amazed at how hard it is to start and even more amazed at how quickly
you can get strong from these 2 simple exercises. Don’t try to do what you did
when you were a kid. Make sure to stop any exercise if you have any pain. NO
PAIN NO GAIN, does not work for us
old folk. It takes way too long to
heal. Good Luck guys!
Sample Practice: Distance to Middle
Distance Age 35 and up
Warm
Up (1000 yards)
·
600
easy Breathing 3/5 or 4/6
·
4
x 100 IM 30sec rest moderate 75%
Kick Set (1000
yards)
(all kicks sets, unless otherwise instructed should be a
race pace or better)
Up and down ladder 50 thru 200
·
50
kick 1:15
·
100
kick 2:10
·
150
kick 3:05
·
200
kick 4:00
·
150
kick 3:05
·
100
kick 2:10
·
50 ALL OUT
110% Feel the burn…yeah!
200 Swimming Free/back Moderate
(relax and get ready for main set)
Main Set (1400
yards)
·
500
Free (odd laps moderate 75-85% and extended / Even laps hard 85-100% all the
way thru turns)
1 minute rest
·
8
x 25 on 60 Speed. Race pace or better
100% (big rest big effort)
Repeat above set
Pull
and/or Paddle Set (900 yards)
·
12
x 75 [( 3 x 75 free 1 x 75 back) x 3] last 25 at 90-100% - hard finish. 30 sec rest
Work on fast/power for last 25 of
each 75
Cool Down 300 -600
200 back 100 free (if you need more
x 2)