Planning the Training

The sport of swimming demands athletes and coaches who are very meticulous in their preparation for competition. In no other sport is the level of preparation, tapering for the big day and rigid control of training intensities quite the same. One aspect contributing to this accuracy in training pace is the uniformity of conditions. Apart from having a warmer or colder pool or one that is 25, 33.3 or 50 metres in length, there is little difference in the training environment. LLet us face it you are all staring at a black line on the pool floor for length after length.

Demands of the sport

There can be a variety within the sport, however, depending on which stroke(s) is your best and you use in competition and on what distance you travel on race day. It means that there is an element of specialisation in swimming, much as Linford Christie and Rob de Castella have somewhat diverse approaches to running. A 25-metre swim would give a similar competition time to the 100 metres sprinter. At the same time, a 200-metre effort could provide a race duration between 1½ to 2 minutes, and an endurance event of 1500 metres may require between 14 to 20 minutes, depending on age, standard and gender.

This range of events means that various forms of conditioning are needed to match the demands of the race event. are needed to match the demands of the race event. Although all swimmers will use a training regimen of mixed paces, the sprinter will log fewer but faster training lengths for preparation. The endurance counterpart will log considerably more lengths at a more sedate tempo.

Phases of training

Planning the perfect peak, to coincide with the most important gala on the yearly calendar is the hallmark of the world-class swimmer and coach. The training year will typically start from the active rest enjoyed at the end of your previous season. The planning of various training phases, however, will work back from the competition day of the following season. The key variables to play with are volume and intensity, while the influence of land work, especially strength training, will also sculpt your swimming fitness for a crescendo on the important race day. This could be anything from the Olympic Games (in which case a full peak would not be possible for the trials) to national championships, county championships or local gala or club event. You must choose when your big goal performance is to be.

You may plan two peaks, one for the short-course season in winter and another for the long course. This double periodisation could mean that you have two general endurance periods, two specific endurance periods, two competition periods, and two taper periods, all within a year. Naturally, these periods will be much shorter than a single periodised year.

How you structure your training within these periods is a matter of preference. Still, there will probably be a greater volume in the general endurance period, followed by a period of moderate to high volume with increased intensity. This is followed by a period of taper, which leaves your body fresh and ready for competition, with lots of training from which to draw.

The training week

A whole host of different training sessions can fit into the week of the swimmer, giving the coach and physiologist many opportunities for workouts of slightly different intensity. The week's structure will vary according to the particular phase, but all aspects must be covered to varying degrees, all year round.

Four major intensities can be established and these, in turn, may well be sub-divided to give a greater range of options. In Base Endurance sessions, you work at very low intensities to enhance the oxidative capacity of the muscles and increase the ability to metabolise fats as an energy substrate. Aerobic maintenance sessions will form a large bulk of the volume, where the intensity is a little harder to give a greater stimulus to the heart and lungs. Threshold work should provide the optimal aerobic training effect, given the right intensity. If you are too fast, there is a more significant contribution from anaerobic metabolism; if you are too slow, you could go faster. Speed endurance, or lactate production and tolerance sessions, are far more intense and need to be done in interval workouts to keep sufficient volume.

Working in the weight room can increase strength and power, a crucial factor in swimming success. Still, it is important to choose exercises that will contribute to an increase in swimming velocity. Added to these conditioning sessions should be flexibility work, before and after pool sessions and in sessions in their own right. Technique work is also vital in a sport where hundredths of a second count. If they are not specific to your sport, then the value of time spent on such work is, at best, questionable.

Training Sessions

Depending on which training cycle you are in, you will often cover varying sessions on endurance/ stamina work and speed/power work. There are hundreds of different swim sets you could carry out through a specific training cycle. Below are examples of what to include in those sessions, at what intensity, and how much rest should be given. These examples are to be used as a "main set" for a single training session. A quality warm-up and "lead-in" set should be completed first, followed by a recovery set and cool-down, depending on the length of the session, training cycle, etc.

Endurance

Any competitive swimmer must incorporate this training throughout their season or given cycle. This will build their physiological aerobic base to develop more specifically for their needs, whether it is fitness or distance-based swims (400 metres or 1500 metres) or sprint-based swims (50 metres or 100 metres).

Basic endurance

It involves working at a heart rate level of 65 to 75% HR_max for 15 to 60 minutes. Rest within the sets should be between 10 to 30 seconds, depending on tyour swim distance.

Example sessions:

20 x 100 metres, 10 to 15 seconds recovery, 60 to 75% HR_max
5 x 400 metres, 20 to 25 seconds recovery, 60 to 75% HR_max

Threshold endurance

This involves working at a heart rate level of 80 to 85% HR_max for 15 to 45 minutes. Rest within the sets should be between 10 to 30 seconds, depending on your swim distance.

Example session:

10 x 200 metres, 15 seconds recovery, 80 to 85% HR_max

Overload endurance

Occasional endurance sets should involve this type of training, whereby you swim at a heart rate level of 85 to 90% HR_max for a period of 15 to 30 minutes. Recovery within the set should be no longer than 30 seconds, depending on your swim distance. This type of training aims to work for a substantial length of time at a high intensity with little rest to ensure the working muscle groups achieve overload. As you know, without reaching an overload, progression will not occur within a given timescale.

Example sessions:

5 x 200 metres, 15 seconds recovery, 85 to 90% HR_max + 10 x 100 metres, 10 second recovery, 80 to 85% HR_max
3 x 400 metres, 20 to 25 seconds recovery, 85 to 90% HR_max + 4 x 300 metres, 15 to 20 seconds recovery, 85 to 90% HR_max

Sprint

Sprint training adds the anaerobic fitness base to the aerobic base you have developed with your endurance training. It works on two anaerobic energy systems: the creatine phosphate energy system and the lactate energy system. Training involves short, fast repeats with proper rest intervals to ensure you can overload both these energy systems. The additional benefit of sprint training is muscle adaptation to the speed type of exercise and the aerobic benefits trained earlier. Working the fast-twitch muscle fibres will increase their number and size in a given muscle and the speed of excitation..

The following examples of training sets are to be used as a "main set" as with the previous endurance examples.

Lactate tolerance

This type of set aims to exercise at close to maximum but with less rest (between 1 and 3 minutes) for your body to experience exercising with lactate build-up in your system. This, therefore, involves working at a heart rate level of 90 to 95% HR_max.

Example sessions:

6 x 50 metres, 4 minutes recovery, Maximum pace
4 x 100 metres, 5 minutes recovery, Maximum pace

Lactate production

The aim of this type of set is also to exercise at close to maximum but with less rest (between 1 and 3 minutes) for your body to experience exercising with lactate build-up in your system. This, therefore, involves working at a heart rate level of 90 to 95% HR_max.

Example sessions:

10 x 50 metres, 1-minute recovery, Maximum pace
6 x 100 metres, 2 minutes recovery, Maximum pace

Technique Drills

One final area of a training session is swimming "drills". These can form part of the warm-up, lead-in, or recovery set. The aim is to slow the stroke down and to concentrate on and practice the critical areas of technique, whether it be the high area recovery on Freestyle, the symmetrical arm cycle of the butterfly, the timing of the kick and pull on breaststroke or the shoulder roll on the backstroke arm cycle.

Pulling sets can work very well on technique, endurance, and power development in the arm cycle. More specific work can be done using a float and a pull buoy. For example, kicking drills with or without flippers/with or without a float, speed or endurance kick sets depending on your current training cycle. Again, these sets could be used as part of the warm-up, lead-in, or recovery set.

Strength

To optimise strength and power, competitive swimmers need to supplement their pool training with land-based training in the gym. For best effect, the program of strength training exercises should replicate the actions in the water as closely as possible.

Tapering

A common practice used by swimmers and coaches is the well-established technique of tapering, whereby the volume of training is reduced before a competition. When planning a tapering program, consider the following points:

Reduce the training volume by 60 to 90%
Undertake high-intensity work - 90% VO₂ max
Reduce the frequency of training by no more than 20%
Duration of 7 to 10 days - due to individual responses to tapering, you will need to identify the optimal period for the athlete

Article Reference

The information on this page is adapted from Dunbar (1994)^[1] with the kind permission of Electric Word plc.

References

DUNBAR, J. (1994) The sport that requires the most precise preparation of them all. Peak Performance, 40, p. 5-6

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (2003) Planning the Training [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/swimming/swimplan.htm [Accessed


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In no other sport is the level of preparation, tapering for the big day and rigid control of training intensities quite the same. One aspect contributing to this accuracy in training pace is the uniformity of conditions. Apart from having a warmer or colder pool or one that is 25, 33.3 or 50 metres in length, there is little difference in the training environment. LLet us face it you are all staring at a black line on the pool floor for length after length. Demands of the sport There can be a variety within the sport, however, depending on which stroke(s) is your best and you use in competition and on what distance you travel on race day. It means that there is an element of specialisation in swimming, much as Linford Christie and Rob de Castella have somewhat diverse approaches to running. A 25-metre swim would give a similar competition time to the 100 metres sprinter. At the same time, a 200-metre effort could provide a race duration between 1½ to 2 minutes, and an endurance event of 1500 metres may require between 14 to 20 minutes, depending on age, standard and gender. This range of events means that various forms of conditioning are needed to match the demands of the race event. are needed to match the demands of the race event. Although all swimmers will use a training regimen of mixed paces, the sprinter will log fewer but faster training lengths for preparation. The endurance counterpart will log considerably more lengths at a more sedate tempo. Phases of training Planning the perfect peak, to coincide with the most important gala on the yearly calendar is the hallmark of the world-class swimmer and coach. The training year will typically start from the active rest enjoyed at the end of your previous season. The planning of various training phases, however, will work back from the competition day of the following season. The key variables to play with are volume and intensity, while the influence of land work, especially strength training, will also sculpt your swimming fitness for a crescendo on the important race day. This could be anything from the Olympic Games (in which case a full peak would not be possible for the trials) to national championships, county championships or local gala or club event. You must choose when your big goal performance is to be. You may plan two peaks, one for the short-course season in winter and another for the long course. This double periodisation could mean that you have two general endurance periods, two specific endurance periods, two competition periods, and two taper periods, all within a year. Naturally, these periods will be much shorter than a single periodised year. How you structure your training within these periods is a matter of preference. Still, there will probably be a greater volume in the general endurance period, followed by a period of moderate to high volume with increased intensity. This is followed by a period of taper, which leaves your body fresh and ready for competition, with lots of training from which to draw. The training week A whole host of different training sessions can fit into the week of the swimmer, giving the coach and physiologist many opportunities for workouts of slightly different intensity. The week's structure will vary according to the particular phase, but all aspects must be covered to varying degrees, all year round. Four major intensities can be established and these, in turn, may well be sub-divided to give a greater range of options. In Base Endurance sessions, you work at very low intensities to enhance the oxidative capacity of the muscles and increase the ability to metabolise fats as an energy substrate. Aerobic maintenance sessions will form a large bulk of the volume, where the intensity is a little harder to give a greater stimulus to the heart and lungs. Threshold work should provide the optimal aerobic training effect, given the right intensity. If you are too fast, there is a more significant contribution from anaerobic metabolism; if you are too slow, you could go faster. Speed endurance, or lactate production and tolerance sessions, are far more intense and need to be done in interval workouts to keep sufficient volume. Working in the weight room can increase strength and power, a crucial factor in swimming success. Still, it is important to choose exercises that will contribute to an increase in swimming velocity. Added to these conditioning sessions should be flexibility work, before and after pool sessions and in sessions in their own right. Technique work is also vital in a sport where hundredths of a second count. If they are not specific to your sport, then the value of time spent on such work is, at best, questionable. Training Sessions Depending on which training cycle you are in, you will often cover varying sessions on endurance/ stamina work and speed/power work. There are hundreds of different swim sets you could carry out through a specific training cycle. Below are examples of what to include in those sessions, at what intensity, and how much rest should be given. These examples are to be used as a "main set" for a single training session. A quality warm-up and "lead-in" set should be completed first, followed by a recovery set and cool-down, depending on the length of the session, training cycle, etc. Endurance Any competitive swimmer must incorporate this training throughout their season or given cycle. This will build their physiological aerobic base to develop more specifically for their needs, whether it is fitness or distance-based swims (400 metres or 1500 metres) or sprint-based swims (50 metres or 100 metres). Basic endurance It involves working at a heart rate level of 65 to 75% HR_max for 15 to 60 minutes. Rest within the sets should be between 10 to 30 seconds, depending on tyour swim distance. Example sessions: 20 x 100 metres, 10 to 15 seconds recovery, 60 to 75% HR_max 5 x 400 metres, 20 to 25 seconds recovery, 60 to 75% HR_max Threshold endurance This involves working at a heart rate level of 80 to 85% HR_max for 15 to 45 minutes. Rest within the sets should be between 10 to 30 seconds, depending on your swim distance. Example session: 10 x 200 metres, 15 seconds recovery, 80 to 85% HR_max Overload endurance Occasional endurance sets should involve this type of training, whereby you swim at a heart rate level of 85 to 90% HR_max for a period of 15 to 30 minutes. Recovery within the set should be no longer than 30 seconds, depending on your swim distance. This type of training aims to work for a substantial length of time at a high intensity with little rest to ensure the working muscle groups achieve overload. As you know, without reaching an overload, progression will not occur within a given timescale. Example sessions: 5 x 200 metres, 15 seconds recovery, 85 to 90% HR_max + 10 x 100 metres, 10 second recovery, 80 to 85% HR_max 3 x 400 metres, 20 to 25 seconds recovery, 85 to 90% HR_max + 4 x 300 metres, 15 to 20 seconds recovery, 85 to 90% HR_max Sprint Sprint training adds the anaerobic fitness base to the aerobic base you have developed with your endurance training. It works on two anaerobic energy systems: the creatine phosphate energy system and the lactate energy system. Training involves short, fast repeats with proper rest intervals to ensure you can overload both these energy systems. The additional benefit of sprint training is muscle adaptation to the speed type of exercise and the aerobic benefits trained earlier. Working the fast-twitch muscle fibres will increase their number and size in a given muscle and the speed of excitation.. The following examples of training sets are to be used as a "main set" as with the previous endurance examples. Lactate tolerance This type of set aims to exercise at close to maximum but with less rest (between 1 and 3 minutes) for your body to experience exercising with lactate build-up in your system. This, therefore, involves working at a heart rate level of 90 to 95% HR_max. Example sessions: 6 x 50 metres, 4 minutes recovery, Maximum pace 4 x 100 metres, 5 minutes recovery, Maximum pace Lactate production The aim of this type of set is also to exercise at close to maximum but with less rest (between 1 and 3 minutes) for your body to experience exercising with lactate build-up in your system. This, therefore, involves working at a heart rate level of 90 to 95% HR_max. Example sessions: 10 x 50 metres, 1-minute recovery, Maximum pace 6 x 100 metres, 2 minutes recovery, Maximum pace Technique Drills One final area of a training session is swimming "drills". These can form part of the warm-up, lead-in, or recovery set. The aim is to slow the stroke down and to concentrate on and practice the critical areas of technique, whether it be the high area recovery on Freestyle, the symmetrical arm cycle of the butterfly, the timing of the kick and pull on breaststroke or the shoulder roll on the backstroke arm cycle. Pulling sets can work very well on technique, endurance, and power development in the arm cycle. More specific work can be done using a float and a pull buoy. For example, kicking drills with or without flippers/with or without a float, speed or endurance kick sets depending on your current training cycle. Again, these sets could be used as part of the warm-up, lead-in, or recovery set. Strength To optimise strength and power, competitive swimmers need to supplement their pool training with land-based training in the gym. For best effect, the program of strength training exercises should replicate the actions in the water as closely as possible. Tapering A common practice used by swimmers and coaches is the well-established technique of tapering, whereby the volume of training is reduced before a competition. When planning a tapering program, consider the following points: Reduce the training volume by 60 to 90% Undertake high-intensity work - 90% VO₂ max Reduce the frequency of training by no more than 20% Duration of 7 to 10 days - due to individual responses to tapering, you will need to identify the optimal period for the athlete Article Reference The information on this page is adapted from Dunbar (1994)^[1] with the kind permission of Electric Word plc. References DUNBAR, J. (1994) The sport that requires the most precise preparation of them all. Peak Performance, 40, p. 5-6 Page Reference If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is: MACKENZIE, B. (2003) Planning the Training [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/swimming/swimplan.htm [Accessed