01/18/05 CCB Masters Challenge Test Set

I heard about this test set from Guy Edson, ASCA's Technical Director and Job Service Coordinator, as well as an age-group coach. He described it at an ASCA seminar on how to write practices, and Guy uses it on a regular basis with his age-group swimmers. He keeps track of each swimmer's fastest sendoff for the 6 X 100, and the whole thing becomes an ongoing competition within the team. I tried it this morning for the first time with my Masters team. They liked it so much that I tried it later in the day with our age-group team, and they liked it, too. You can throw the test into any practice. WARMUP: 400400 your choice, on your own.MAIN SET #1 12002 X 300 IM with fins3 X 200 with pull buoy:1st 200: IM -- alternate 25 kick/25 swim in stroke2nd 200: IM -- alternate 25 scull/25 swim in stroke3rd 200: freestyle pull with paddlesCHALLENGE TEST SET: 6006 X 100 freestyle on the fastest sendoff you can manage and still make all 6 X 100. I had swimmers on everything from a 1:25 sendoff to a 2:15 sendoff. Typically, they got 5 to 10 seconds rest on the first few 100s, and 1 to 5 seconds rest on the final 100s. I.e., their times dropped off a bit during the set. That's ok and to be expected. The goal is to make your sendoff for all six.WARMDOWN SET: 2008 X 25 silent swim, your choice of stroke. Take 4 to 5 bobs between each 25.Total Yardage: 2400