I saw a video a few years ago, posted by the US Naval Academy swim team, showing how they have some sets built around their facility to make a fun, yet challenging set. I won’t go into detail here, but it was indeed a challenging and fun looking set! So, I tried to do something with my high school team – but the pool being fairly basic left options limited. I did the best I could. It’s some challenging sets in the main set, a pretty tough workout all around. But it built camaraderie, they all joined together to motivate each other, and listening to the banter afterwards was great.
Our pool is a standard 25y pool for high school. Shallow end and deep end. In the main set, we move to the deep end – you’ll see why. And the main sets are tough. Fast swimming, with some crunches or push-ups breaking up the effort. Not a lot of rest. Looking for :15 seconds. After the kick set, the 100’s with the push-ups … we don’t let them hang on the wall. Treading water. Recovery is now minimized a bit. But the guys had a blast. Again, looking for about :15-:20 rest here. Make sure you leave time for a long cool down.
We also have Brick Boards by Fike Swimming with our equipment. We purchased them a year ago and I love them. There’s a set in main set where we use them. If you don’t have them, no worries. Get creative and use pull buoys instead. But, check them out: https://www.fikeswim.com/products/the-brick
Workout
Warm-up:
800 done as 400 swim, 400 = 50 swim, 50 kick – no board
8 rounds:
50 kick @ 1:00
2×25 swim @ :30. 1 DPS, 1 Build
600 with fins – 15m underwater breakout off each wall
Main sets:
(Move to the deep end)
10×100 done as 50 fast – 10 crunches on the deck – 50 fast @ 1:45 / 2:00
50 Easy
10 x 50 kick @ 1:15 – brick-boards
10 x 100 done as 50 fast – 8 pushups – 50 fast @ 1:45 / 2:00
(Tread water – no holding onto the wall between 100’s)
100 Easy
1×50 from blocks FAST
Cool down:
800 with fins, paddles, snorkel
WORKOUT TOTAL: 6100
This workout was provided by Podium Training Systems Coach Dave Burgess.
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