Swimming

Do you use periodization or reversed periodization in season planning? Could you share some examples for a 100 m freestyle?

Maximizing Performance: Traditional periodization key for 100m freestyle

For me Petra, summer traditional period iser. So I like to go bigger work in the winter cycle with short, rest as more of a focus like to add in more arrests in the cycle, from January to April and they're like to get really specialized fast and specific specific in cycle 3. So I've done some stuff we reverse periodization before, I find it a little bit clicky and little bit messy, and I like to just be quite traditional in the way that I period eyes.

I prefer to use a traditional periodization approach in my training, focusing on building strength and power from January to April and then taking a break to rest and recover.

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I prefer to use traditional periodization for season planning. In the winter cycle, I focus on bigger work and incorporate shorter rests. From January to April, I include more rest periods in the training cycle. In cycle 3, I aim to specialize and focus on fast and specific training.

While I have experimented with reversed periodization in the past, I found it to be a bit complicated and messy. I personally prefer to stick with a more traditional approach to periodization.

What's an example set of top speed training? 

Effective Speed Training: Sprint Non-Stop for Top Results

Petrus, the got some great questions, so I think an example of top speed training for me would be I liked. I do. Forty twenty fives all out on 60 and I if they can't hold speed like front end speed then we go an easy one, but the idea is to basically Sprint non-stop for an 1000 meters and I've done that said quite a lot and it's been really successful and I tend to run Three weeks. So you go 4025 all from a dive all out Max on 60. And again, the the target is to kind of try and maintain full on front-end Race speed if I was doing that with my girl breaststrokers. Someone like I said, everybody's, he suited who's a 66, brushstroke, who would be holding between 13:8 and 40 knows someone like, Adam would be holding between eleven eight and twelve ones. And I Hopkin would probably go one on one off and she would go anything from 10-8 from a diverse. His feet, leave time into 11. 12 starts going to love before we kind of go an easy one until she feels she can get on back on place. So, yeah, and it worked really well, because if they feel like they're dropping this, be then, they can just go in easy and recovering that following minute, rather not, and I think during the start and actually just condition the legs on the starters. It works really well. And also, They're only then sprinting really for the 15 meters because obviously the start obviously it's a explosive movement. But the actual streaming is only 15 years of swimming. So and that one works really really well and it gets them quicker quick.

I use top speed training such as doing 40 twenty-fives all out on a 60 second interval. This is done to maintain front end race speed. For my breaststrokers, they would be holding between 11:8 and 12:1 for their times. They would also do one minute on and one minute off until they can get back on pace. This works well to condition the legs on the starters while still only sprinting 15 meters of swimming.

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An example of top speed training that I find effective is doing 40 twenty-fives all out on 60. The goal is to sprint non-stop for a total of 1000 meters. If the swimmers can't maintain their front-end speed, we incorporate an easy one. I typically run this training for three weeks.

For example, if I were doing this with my breaststrokers, someone like Adam would be holding between eleven eight and twelve ones, while Hopkin would go one on one off and her times would range from 10-8 to 11.12. If they feel like they're dropping their speed, they can take an easy one and recover for a minute before getting back on track.

This training not only conditions the legs for explosive starts but also focuses on sprinting for the 15 meters after the start. It has proven to be effective in improving speed and getting swimmers quicker.

What’s your favourite lactate set and what do you look for in them?

Unleashing the Power of Lactate: Top Sets for Production and Tolerance!

Favorite lactate? So I'm presuming you're going for production rather than tolerance here. But my favorite lactate tolerance set would be five 100s all out on 8 minutes. So they go an effort, then you go off 8 minutes, and then you repeat that five times. I prefer to do that short course rather than the long course because I think you actually don't dampen the speed when you do that. Another one of my favorites in terms of production sets would be-- it's more of a 200 pacey kind of set. But for you 200 guys, I stole this from Pellegrini actually, and it's 32 50s. Three on, one off at 200 pace. The three on are on 110, the one off's on 130, and that's 32 of those. And then 24 50s. Two on, one off. The two on are on 120. The one off's on 2 minutes, and then you're trying to get 100 back-end pace on those. You get good production off those kind of sets. And I got that from Matteo, from Pellegrini's coach.

My favorite lactate production sets are five 100s all out on 8 minutes, and 32 50s with three on, one off at 200 pace followed by 24 50s with two on, one off.

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My favorite lactate tolerance set would be five 100s all out on 8 minutes. This means you swim at maximum effort for 100 meters, then rest for 8 minutes before repeating the set five times. I prefer doing this set in a short course pool because it helps maintain speed.

For lactate production sets, one of my favorites is a 200 pace-focused set inspired by Pellegrini. It consists of 32 50s, with three swims at 200 pace followed by one rest on 110-second intervals. Additionally, there are 24 50s, with two swims at 200 pace followed by one rest on 120-second intervals. The goal for these sets is to achieve a strong back-end pace on the 100s.

These sets are effective for lactate production and have been influenced by coaches like Matteo, who worked with Pellegrini.

What is the most impressive practice performance or set that you’ve ever witnessed? Who did it?

Unbelievable Performance: Swimmer Clocks Insane 54.45 in Final 400m Set

A Rhymer feet while I'm going to, I'm going to go looky green bank here. So I saw him doing a really cool set of, well, probably the best one that he'd done and hit up and see if you can do this one. Be good. If you boys could go at it over the next two years, see what comes out. So he went, we built up to it. But this was this final week before we started the decline into Olympic. So, he went a 100 short rest, backstroke long on 120 cycle than 100 easy. Then he went 100 VO2 and then he went 100 easy and he went six one hundred short rest 100 easy and to 100 VO2 then 100 easy after that, then he went for 100 short rest on 120 cycle, hundred easy. 3/100. Vo, 200 easy, and he went to 100's short, rest 100 easy than for 100 VO2. And on his last 44100, he was suited and he went, I mean, I'm sure you'll be at a pop, this one out as well, but I couldn't believe it and this is no coaching. Liar exaggeration. You went 54 54. A 455 on his last for 100. It was insane. So, get I want done Ryan. Let's see what we can. Pop it out, and then use someone back to us. All right, bring it on.

Ryan went a 100 short rest, backstroke long on 120 cycle than 100 easy. Then he went 100 VO2 and then he went 100 easy and he went six one hundred short rest 100 easy and to 100 VO2 then 100 easy after that, then he went for 100 short rest on 120 cycle, hundred easy. 3/100. Vo, 200 easy, and he went to 100's short,rest 100 easy than for 100 VO2. And on his last 44100, he went 54 54. A 455 on his last for 100. It was insane.

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The most impressive practice performance or set that I've ever witnessed was by a swimmer named Ryan. It was during the final week before the decline into the Olympics. He did a set that was truly remarkable.

The set consisted of a series of 100s with varying intensities and rest intervals. He started with 100 short rest, backstroke long on a 120 cycle, followed by 100 easy. Then he did 100 VO2, followed by another 100 easy. He continued with six 100s on short rest, alternating with 100 easy, and two 100s of VO2 with 100 easy in between. He then did four 100s on short rest with a 120 cycle, followed by 100 easy. Next, he did three 100s of VO2, followed by 200 easy. Finally, he completed two 100s on short rest, 100 easy, and four 100s of VO2.

On his last 4x100, he was wearing a suit, and to my amazement, he swam incredibly fast. I couldn't believe it, but he went 54, 54, 54, and 55 seconds for each 100. It was an absolutely insane performance.

After witnessing this incredible set, I was inspired and challenged myself to see what I could achieve. Ryan's performance was truly outstanding, and it motivated me to push my own limits in the pool.

What are some VO2 max sets that you like?

VO2 Max Sets: Simple and Effective for Optimal Performance

Hey, Kelly, one of vo2max sets that I really like is quite simple. Actually, in depending on the capability of the athletes. I would go 2021 hundreds on to and just go one on one off. I quite like that one. For my 200 guys will probably go to on one-off. Mix it up in terms of the recovery. Another vo2max set that I like would be 875 s where you would go three on one off and then I would go. Probably 650 s almost like back ends be, which is just out of that. And then I would go back to the 875 s and back to the backend speed, another video to one that I quite like, but sort of teachers between thresh and back end, but it's 150, VO2. And then a 250 is one easy one back end speed times 8, so quite like that one, as well.

I like two particular VO2max sets: 2021 hundreds on-off and 875s with three on one off. I also like a set of 150s VO2 and 250s one easy one back end speed times 8.

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One VO2 max set that I really like is quite simple. Depending on the capability of the athletes, I would go for 20-21 hundreds with a one-on, one-off pattern. I find this set effective. For my 200-meter athletes, I would go for 2-on, 1-off, and mix up the recovery. Another VO2 max set that I like is 8-7-5s, where you go for three minutes on and one minute off. Then, I would do 6-5-0s, almost like back-end speed. After that, I would go back to the 8-7-5s and back to the back-end speed. Another VO2 max set that I enjoy is a mix between threshold and back-end speed. It involves 150 meters of VO2 work followed by an easy 250 meters, repeated 8 times. I find this set quite effective as well.

How can you quickly remove lactate in between sets? After main set? After practice?

Removing Lactate: Swim Sets & Bursting Legs for Quick Recovery

I see lactate as when you know when you fry sausages, and when you fry sausages, it's like lose fat. And then when the sausage heat goes down and just turns into like horrible lard, lactate is the same. So when you're swimming down, if you're going too slow and you heat's too much down, and you create this lard. It's all about keeping that warmth and keeping that heart rate up at a decent level so that it can be distributed around the body and got rid of. And to me, a good set in terms of removing lactate would be four 100 at 40 beats below, eight 50s with a burst on 1, 3, 5, and 7, and make that burst kick. And then four 100s, one at 30 below, one at 40 below, one at 50 below, one at 60 below. And then I would suggest take your lactate after that and see if that's worked. It all depends on how high your lactate is, what your event was. I would suggest that. A swim down would work really well for a 200 or 100 event. In terms of the 50s, it might be a bit different. It does depend on the individual and how much lactate they produce. But the basic principles are keep the body moving, keep the heart rate at a decent level so that it can distribute and disperse all of those nasty things that our bodies produced. And burst the legs out. Get up there.

Lactate is created when your body gets too hot and the heat has to be dispersed. To reduce lactate after a race, do a swim down with four 100s at 40 beats below, eight 50s with a burst on 1, 3, 5, and 7, and one of each at 30, 40, 50, and 60 below.

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To quickly remove lactate in between sets, after the main set, or after practice, it's important to keep the body moving and maintain a decent heart rate. Think of lactate like the fat that forms when frying sausages. If you swim down too slowly and let your body cool down too much, it's like the fat turning into lard.

To remove lactate effectively, try a set like this: four 100s at 40 beats below, eight 50s with a burst on the odd intervals (1, 3, 5, and 7), focusing on kicking during the bursts. Then, do four 100s at descending heart rates: one at 30 beats below, one at 40 below, one at 50 below, and one at 60 below.

After completing this set, it's recommended to measure your lactate levels to assess its effectiveness. Keep in mind that the specific approach may vary depending on individual factors such as lactate production and event type. For events like the 200 or 100, a swim down can work well. However, for the 50, the approach might differ.

The key principles remain the same: keep the body moving, maintain a decent heart rate to distribute and disperse lactate, and incorporate bursts to engage the legs.

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Coach to Olympic World Record Holder Adam Peaty and coach to 6 Olympic Medals in 2020+1. 4x British Coach of the year. Life’s for living 

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