We have dabbled a bit with Ultra-short Race-pace Training (USRPT) this past high school season in Florida. I feel like we are still in an experimental phase right now with it, to see if its something that works for us.
So this workout is a small example of what we are doing. I read all the articles on this type of training and found that the constant repetition of short bursts became kind of monotonous for our swimmers, so I decided to put a little twist on them. I also still wanted to maintain drill work and some aerobic base. Not quite 100% USRPT, but this worked out great!
Workout
3 times:
1 x 200 Choice 3:30
1 x 100 Choice kick
1 x 200 IM Drill 3:30
15 x 100 Free with Stroke Max Anti Paddles 1:40
4 times:
8 x 25 Free @100 RPT :30
1 x 100 Kick FAST! 1:30
1 x 75 Free FAST! from a dive 1:15
1 x 75 EZ 1:30
1 x 100 Free with Anti Paddles1:45
1 x 200 warmdown
WORKOUT TOTAL: 5400
Further Reading on USRPT:
- Understanding a USRPT set by Brent S. Rushall, PhD
- Adapting to the USRPT Format by Brent S. Rushall, PhD
- USRPT and Traditional Training Compared by Brent S. Rushall, PhD
This free workout was provided by SouthWest STARS Head Coach Justin Correia.
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I hope to provide some constructive feedback, no of the following is meant to sound negative. When it comes to USRPT you can only call it such if you follow it to the t. If you don’t and decide you want to add a “twist” to it, you can no longer call it a USRPT set. Changing the rules on constructing a USRPT means the coach is now developing a belief-based set and is no longer based purely on evidence, which is what Rushall has achieved. Removing the individuality, varying the distances and the changing the task to complete (e.g.… Read more »
Apologies if that didn’t seem constructive – realising your flaw in the set is hopefully constructive enough.
I agree with Stuart. You have good intentions Justin, but one of the major dangers of this approach is for coaches to say “we tried USRPT but it doesn’t work.” One of Dr. Rushall’s most repeated phrases is that mixed training produces mixed results. If we conducted scientific studies in such a manner, we would never have any conclusive results.
Thanks for getting the word out.