One of the questions I’ve received has to do with “Meet Warmups”. Athletes at T2 Aquatics do a few different warmups when at meets, depending on their age and level of experience. At T2 Aquatics, we teach the athletes a routine when they are 10 or 11, and then help them refine it as they grow into top-level swimmers. This ability of an athlete to “do it yourself” is key to high-level performances!
I think it’s extremely important to establish a certain warmup routine that you follow at meets. I do not like the idea of the coach “giving the warmup” to the athlete as the athlete warms up during the meet. Certainly there are times when a coach must adjust a warmup for an athlete (if they look stale or if the coach thinks a change would do the athlete good in any way) – but for the most part, having a consistent routine takes the “unknown” out of an athlete’s meet experience. The more an athlete “knows what is going to happen”, and follow through with a routine – the better an athlete can focus on the race itself.
Often during the season (not at a taper/shave meet), athletes will add a few 100s (5 to 8 100s) descend the last 3 or so. These can be done freestyle, IM, or stroke – or a mix of the three. Sometimes I encourage athletes who compete in a 7-8 day meet like the US Olympic Trials or a major international meet to come up with an alternative warmup – simply to stay fresh and not go through the same thing for a week straight. Often this alternative warmup is 3 rounds of {200 Swim + 100 Kick + 100 Drill + 100 Pull}, plus 3 to 6 100s descend, followed by 3-4 50s build.
I’d like to describe two different warmups; one done by Erika Erndl and the other done by Katie Hoff.
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