Tuesday, January 29, 2013
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, January 29th, 2013 at 05:44 PM (1057 Views)
SCY@Fort Myers Aquatic Center
Air temp of 75, pool at 80, 100% water clarity.
Sunny skies with humidity at 67%
Warm up
200 FR DPS ABPT
300 FR Kick
500 FR as 5(1x50 Kick on :50, 2x25 Swim on :20)
- 50 Kicks were 45-43, 25s were 14s, last two 13
*Set 1*
400 BR Kick as 100/bd, 100/snorkel
300 BR 50 Kick/50 Swim w/snorkel
6x50 BR on :20 rest 25 K/bk, 25 Swim DPS ABPT
*Set 2*
400 BK Kick as 25 steady/25 FAST w/8-10 SDK
200 BK as 50 Double Arm (DA) DR/50 Swim w/strong kick
200 BK Swim as 25 steady/25 FAST w/agility paddles
2(4x25 BK on :40, 1:00 rest)
- 16-15-15-15
- 14-14-14-14
300 DPS FR ABPT w/agility paddles
*Set 3*
400 D Kick as 100/bk, 100/bd
4x150 FLY on :30 rest as 25RA/25LA/50DA-on-bk/50 Swim
---1,3 w/agility paddles - 2,4 without
2(4x25 Fly on :30, 1:00 rest, then on :40)
---each round; 2x25 w/agility paddles, 2x25 without
- 14-14-14-14
- 13-13-13-13
300 DPS FR ABPT
*Set 4*
3x300 FR on 1:00 rest w/snorkel-agility paddles
steady state swimming ABPT
*Set 5*
8x25 FR on :20
- 13-13-13-14-14-13
3x50 FR on 1:30
- 28, 28, 27
Warm down
400 BK DPS ABPT
Comments:
Disclosure - below are rambling long comments, so feel free to skip if found to be tedious, boring, nerdy and self centered.
Sore from speedwork with/without paddles during the recent seven days, dryland was mostly core, stretching, bands, and some maintenance strength, but no heavy stacks. Returned to the full dryland program last night, which along with yesterday's swimming workout led to some soreness and fatigue coming in to today's swimming session. Frequent brief band sessions, stretching, managed nutrition, and good sleeping certainly help to minimize what could be far more soreness and fatigue.
Warm Up - The 500 FR with 50 kick then 2x25 on :20 was challenging and fun to do and will do more variations on that. The increase in kicking sets during last several weeks was obviously to get stronger and faster in kicking, but the real mission is more than just fast kicking in itself, but to use that kick consistently when doing the full stroke. A strong steady kick makes my overall stroke more effective, efficient and faster - also at a cost of more energy, so at least for the 1650 and down, training to use a solid kick all the way.
Set 1 - While my breaststroke is basically good form, in no way am I a natural at the stroke. I could not do it in high school, and it was only after playing two seasons of college waterpolo, then club polo for several more years, that I became proficient in BR kicking. Today I did BR drills, moderate swimming, but no BR speedwork. That is because this last weekend in the little community pool, when starting some fast 12.5 BR bursts after doing a lot of FLY bursts, I went too hard with too wide a kick on the first one. It was not very smart, more like a novice - should have known better. The result is one minor subtle strained groin in the right leg. I have been fortunate over the years to avoid most kinds of swimming related wear and tear on the body, but I know how these things can linger. So now doing a very narrow BR kick being careful not to engage that vulnerable area, along with stretching it, rubbing in muscle relief lotion before, during, and after the workout.
Set 2 - My backstroke continues to improve even though I do not work on it during the weekends in my little pool. However my SDK capacity is not any better and it was a struggle to even get to 8 SDKs off the wall. I will have to write some specific SDK into the program more consistently. Did the 25s without any paddles, not having done BK speedwork recently. The first round of 25s doing 15 was good, then after 1:00 rest, it was all 14s on the second round - and they were not 14s turning to 15s, but 13 coming in with 14 at the touch - an excellent effort. Somehow this year I have found a way to engage a bent elbow catch or EVF as soon as my arm slides in the the water.
Set 3 - The agility paddles are the only paddles I have ever been use to swim butterfly. These paddles, with careful focus, can really help set up the EVF catch with elbows near the surface without excessive undulation. They slow down my tempo a bit for now, but over time I expect to come closer to the tempo without them. Today the 25 times were the same with/without because without the paddles the tempo more fluid and faster. But the paddles really facilitate the hand feel for a fast quick high elbow catch. Have said all that, today was also the first fly speedwork (other than 12.5 bursts on the weekends) in a long time, so while the 14s were good, the 13s made me smile.
Set 5 - On the days with more speedwork, doing lots of carefully managed warm down between sets prevents the quality of the next set from being diluted with too much residual fatigue. A good warm down really does clear the body more than hanging on the wall. The little freestyle set of 8x25 on :20 followed by 3x50 on 1:30 is designed to do FAST swimming for speed with quality form when tired and weary accumulated over the workout. The warm down after that is very important to leave the pool only when the stroke feels good at the ABPT level.