Training of Top US
Middle Distance
Swimmers
Genadijus Sokolovas, Ph.D.
www.globsport.org
info@globsport.org
Successful Middle Distance Clubs
• Colorado Stars (coach Todd Schmitz)
• University of Michigan (coaches Jon
Urbanchek, Mike Bottom)
• North Baltimore Aquatic Club (coach Bob
Bowman)
Success in Middle Distance
Swimming
• Moderate to high volumes training, especially
at young age
• Anaerobic and strength training in college
• Competition from 10000 swim clubs in US
• Training in short course and long course pools
• Great kicking technique
• Dives and turns
• Efficient swimming technique
• NCAA
Coach Todd Schmitz
(Colorado Stars)
• The most decorated swimmer from Colorado
Stars is multiple Olympic Champion, world
record holder Missy Franklin.
• Besides Missy, there are several National
Junior Team members training at the same
club.
• Missy is the first Olympian from the state of
Colorado since Amy Van Dyken (1996-2000)
Training Environment
at Colorado Stars
• The Colorado Stars is team is the only team
that developed National Team swimmers
without having access to the long course pool
• The team is using 25-yard pool and a 15-meter
bath pool for training
• There is one full-time coach and 4 part-time
coaches
• There are about 170 swimmers on the team
Colorado Stars Training Philosophy
• Swimmers have to have fun every day, at
competitions and at practices
• Swimmers should be engaged in practices
• Kids have to be excited
• Positive attitude
• Coaches challenge swimmers every practice
• Swim fast
Training at Colorado Stars
• Train primarily in short course, sometimes in
15 m pool
• Sundays swim in long course
• Tuesday and Thursday morning workouts
• Trying to be creative – swimming 15 m
underwater in 15 m pool
• “Fun Friday” competition with parachutes,
stretch cords, etc
Underwater Swimming
(Colorado Stars)
• Future of fast swimming is underwater
• Coach uses race analysis statistics to see
improvements in underwater swimming
(breakout times, turns)
• Underwater training is done in 15-meter pool
after the practice
• Emphasis on kicking (with and without fins,
with and without kick board)
Dryland Training
• Strong emphasis on dryland training
• Use a physical therapist to evaluate any
disbalance in the muscles development
• Dryland program is based on athleticism
• Group stretch after the warm up
• Using performance test – “Presidential fitness
test” (shuttle around, sit-and-reach, vertical
jump)
• Core awareness
• Every workout starts with 60 min dryland
Climbing the Rope
• Video
Swim Workouts
( Colorado Stars)
• 6300 yd on average in 2 hour workout (no longer)
• Include high speed sets all the time
• Some kind of sprint every day – kick, pull, 15 m
etc
• Writes workouts the same day or a night before
based on feedback from athletes
• Coach wants athletes to be engaged in every set,
think about every set (for example, work on
breathing pattern, throw 50 fast, stronger kick,
etc)
Swim Workouts
( Colorado Stars)
• Writes workouts the same day or a night
before based on feedback from athletes
• Every day is different warm up
• HR based training
• Competitive environment – race each other
every day
• Kick at the end of the practice
• Keep athletes hydrated
Long Course Training
(Colorado Stars)
• Access to the 50-meter pool only on Sundays
• Sometimes has to drive to Colorado Springs
(90 km) to swim at the 50-meter pool
• Coach thinks that training in long course pool
may lead to sloppy swimming and less focus
• A lot of 50s in long course mixing with kick:
– 8 x 50 fly kick + 6 x 50 desc 1-4 and hold 5-6
• Opportunity to be filmed in Colorado Springs
Examples of Swim Sets
(Colorado Stars)
• Warm-up:
– 400 (75 swim, 25 catch up), 14 x50 1-8 drills/IM 916 (25 scull, 25 underwater)
• XYZ set:
– 6 x 50 on 3:00 or 6 x 100 on 3:00 or 6 x 150 on
3:00
• Swimmers select the distance in the set, the
rest interval is the same for all
• Max quality in this set
Examples of Swim Sets
(Colorado Stars)
• In 15-meter pool: 3 x (6 x 30 on 40s with no
more than 6 strokes + 6 x 30 kick)
• 1 min swim all-out, what distance can cover in
1 min
• Uses parachutes with and without fins, stretch
cords for resistance and assistance
• Swimming with fins, especially when athletes
are tired. It keeps their technique better and
body position higher in the water.
Taper
(Colorado Stars)
• During the taper swimmers swim every day, a lot of
taper is mental, based on feel, asking kids how they
feel.
• If you feel bad 5 days before the race, it is great! You
don’t want to feel great 5 days before the race.
• Normally taper is 7-9 days
• Duration of taper based on the number of races
during the meet, athletes recovery, muscle mass.
Michigan University Swim Team
• Head coach Mike Bottom – sprint coach
• Former head coaches Bob Bowman and Jon
Urbanchek – distance and middle distance
coaches
• Currently, good mixture of sprint and distance
program
• Women and men programs are combined
since 2010 (coach Jim Richardson retired)
• Michigan University team won NCAA title in
2013
Swimming Volumes
(Michigan University)
• 10 swim workouts a week
• Coach Mike Bottom started to
write training plans when working at Michigan,
training plans even for sprinters
• Coaches have to changes plans based on
swimmers’ feedback
• Swimming volumes for middles distance
swimmers 40-50K a week
• 6-9K daily volumes
Training Environment
(Michigan University)
• It is important to build team training
environment
• All athletes train together, sharing their
strength, learning from each other
• Aerobic conditioning is important background
for speed and performances in shorter and
middle distances
• In college, swimmers don’t have as much time
to develop aerobic conditioning
Training Equipment
(Michigan University)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Using the bands (stretch cords) hooked to the blocks
Different types of fins and paddles
Swimming with broken kick board as a paddle
Use of tennis balls keeping them in hands
Chutes, Power Racks, buckets as resistance training
Mirrors on the bottom of the pool to watch technique
Towing machines are very good or assisted swimming
Technique Development
(Michigan University)
• First, it is important to identify necessary
improvements in technique
• Second, build right muscle strength and power
• Third, to put technique in the water, develop power in
the water
• Doing a lot of underwater video analysis, including
Swim Power tests
• Variety of drills to improve swimming technique
• Most of work on technique is done at the beginning of
the season
Kicking
(Michigan University)
• Kicking is a primary area of improvement in
college
• Swimmers don’t have too much time to
improve aerobic conditioning
• There are at least two kicking practices with
2000-3000 yd kicking sets:
– 20 x 100 kick, 10 x 50 kick + 10 x 100 kick + 10 x 50
kick, 2 x 400 + 2 x 300 + 2 x 200 + 2 x 100, etc
• Kicking against resistance (cords, Power Racks)
• Kicking with fins at the end of the practice
North Baltimore Aquatic Club
• Founder of the club Murray Stephens (strong
believer of long distance training)
• Current owners are Bob Bowman and Michael
Phelps
• Two 50-meter pools – an indoor and an
outdoor. Indoor pool can be converted to two
short course pools.
• Strength training facilities (strength and
conditioning coach Keenan Robinson)
North Baltimore Aquatic Club
• Bob Bowman and his coaching staff are strong
believers in structured training plan and sport
science support
• Doing many tests, such as lactate test, blood
screen, underwater video, and muscular
balance
• Hydration and energy bars
are always present during
the practices.
North Baltimore Aquatic Club
• Bob Bowman assembled strong international
squad to train for 2016 Olympics:
– USA – Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt, Chase
Kalisz, Tom Luchsinger
– France – Yannick Agnel
– Denmark –
– Tunisia – Ous Mellouli
– Turkey – 5-10 swimmers
• Swimmers from other US clubs are visiting
NBAC for camps (Megan Romano, etc)
North Baltimore Aquatic Club
• Bob Bowman loves altitude training
• NBAC swimmers train at altitude in Colorado
Springs 2-3 times a year
• Duration of every altitude camp is 25-26 days
• Training volumes at altitude may reach up to
110-120 K a week
• Strong aerobic background
• Strength training and body balance on land
Kicking at NBAC
• Swimmers at NBAC practice kicking 3-4 times a
week.
• Good powerful kick improves body position.
Kick is more important than pull – fishes don’t
have arms to pull.
• Kicking sets against resistance:
– Vertical kick with and without weights
– Kicking against stretch cord underwater and on the
surface
– Kicking against vertical kickboard
Training Volumes
(NBAC)
• The number of weekly swimming practices –
11-12. It depends on the phase of season.
• Total weekly swimming volumes – gradual
increase from 60K to 90K (may reach 100+K at
altitude).
• Total number of weekly strength practices on
land – 3. It doesn’t include daily stretching
before and after practices.
North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Middle
Distance Swimmers (Fall-Winter)
100000
90000
80000
70000
60000
50000
40000
Competition/
Recovery Weeks
30000
Peak Competition
20000
10000
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Middle
Distance Swimmers (Spring-Summer)
Total volume (Meters)
100,000
Increase Volumes
90,000
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
Competition/
Recovery Weeks
30,000
20,000
Summer
Nationals
10,000
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
Dives at NBAC
• Use a track start by placing stronger leg forward
• Lean forward on the diving block if you are not
explosive and powerful (younger athletes)
• Lean back and lift hips high on the diving block if you
are explosive and powerful
• Don’t jump high and too far. Dive has to be short.
• Always watch down during the jump
• Gain horizontal velocity, but not vertical
• Keep your arms and body strong/
rigid when entering the water
Dives at NBAC
• Keep arms still and start generating fly kicks at a small
amplitude, Larger amplitude kicks create more drag
because of bending knees too much.
• Emphasize up-kick during the underwater dolphin kick.
• Stay underwater as long as your speed is higher than you
speed on the surface. Most of swimmers are faster
underwater than on the surface during the first 15 m.
• Match breaking the surface with the end
of the first stroke.
• Keep your head low and neck extended
during the underwater kick.
Turns at NBAC
• Approach the turn fast with strong kick. The faster
you will swim before the turn, the faster you will
leave the wall.
• Compact rotation (flip turn or open turn)
• Be in streamline before feet hit the wall
• Push down slightly to stay longer underwater if you
are good underwater kicker
• You are faster if deeper
• Open turn: lead arm bent, other arm goes close to
the head, seeing the ceiling before push
Practicing Finishes
at NBAC
• Swimmers often missing the finish because they
don’t match arms extension and touch of the wall,
especially in short-axis strokes (butterfly and
breaststroke).
• Practice finish from various distances for fly and
breast.
• Start finish from 8-10 m to know the number of
strokes to the finish (fly and breast).
• If you have a goof dolphin kick, you finish backstroke
with a dolphin kick.
Training After Trials and Before
Major Competition (NBAC)
• Goal is to improve times at an international
competition after stressful trials
• Most of US coaches agree that Trials are more
stressful than World Championships or
Olympics Games
• It is important to have detailed structure of
training, logistic, and mental preparation
• Check with home coaches what their
swimmers need to do between Trials and
major international competition
Training between Trials and
Major Competition (NBAC)
• Swimmers needed about 3 day recovery after
trials
• They still swim during these 3 days of recovery
• Back to training immediately (water and
dryland)
• For women, it is important to start dryland
right after trials
• Intensity is low for the first week after trials
Training between Trials and Major
Competition (NBAC)
• Start with hard kicking in the SCY after trials (3rd day
after trials) + weights, varied the training course (SCY
and LCM)
• Mainly aerobic training (10 x 300) + technique for the
first 5 days
• Lactate: 16 x 50 on 45s every 4th fast, 12 x 50 on 50s
every 3rd fast, etc
• Endurance: 4 x 300 descending 1-4, 8 x 50 drills, 4 x
200 descending 1-4, 8 x 50 drills
• Power: 4 x (30 kick in the wall on the back + 25 kick
fast)
Training between Trials and Major
Competition (NBAC)
• Too much rest between Trials and Olympics (World
Championships) may lead to disastrous results (we learnt
from mistakes in 2000 and 2004, when sprinters swam
lower at Olympics than at Trials)
• Build 75% of your volumes with normal intensity from
the peak in the last season (Phelps and Schmitt reached
8,000 m a day during the pre-Olympic camp in 2008)
• Vary training groups and environment during the preOlympic/World Championships camp
• Two days a week big threshold training with various
groups, mentally easier
Training between Trials and Major
Competition (NBAC)
• Two days a week all stroke swimmers trained together
(flyers with flyers etc.)
• Athletes have to enjoy their time together, smile most of
the time before competition
• Keep athletes happy and smiling
• Do visualization every day (watch videos of your races,
start 6 weeks before the competition), visualize what to
do when the race doesn’t go as expected
• Set 1 week before meet: 3 x 100 fly + 200 ez desc 1-3,
lactate clearance protocol, 300 abdominal
Training before Travel to Major
Competition (NBAC)
• More rested before Olympics/World
Championships than during the previous
competition (Trials)
• Last quality work 7 days before the first race
• Remove pressure from athletes before the
competition (taper) , more happy swimmers
• Don’t transmit nervousness to your athletes
• Easier practices 2 days before the trip and 2
days after the trip, only easy workouts
Preparing for the Trip
(NBAC)
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•
•
•
•
•
Detailed plan for each day, including logistics
Manage and prepare for the trip
Be ready for any challenges (logistics, training, etc.)
Be flexible and adaptable
Prepare your biological clock before the trip
Get on the time zone as soon you arrive (or on the
plane)
• Team environment, all athletes and staff support each
other
• THANK YOU
FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!