07/08/04 CCB Masters Phelps Practice

Don't miss the August issue of Men's Journal! It features a lot of America's top male athletes and Olympic hopefuls, including several US swimmers -- Brad Schumacher, Gary Hall, Jr., Scott Tucker, Michael Phelps, Erik Vendt, and Lenny Krayzelburg. Included in the magazine is a swim workout designed by Phelps's coach, Bob Bowman. It's notched down a bit for mortal swimmers, but I did the workout this morning with the team, and can attest that it's tough enuf.WARMUP: 400400 your choice on your own.WARMUP SET: 600Swim three rounds of the following. We did the kicking with a pull buoy between the legs. We took approximately 10 to 15 seconds rest between each 50. These are at a moderate pace. Just stretch out, point your toes, and STREAMLINE off the walls.50 Pull50 Kick50 SwimPYRAMID MAIN SET: 1000Do the first four reps at an easy/moderate pace. Do the last four at "tempo" pace -- fast but controlled. Take 30 seconds rest between each rep. We did an EZ 50 recovery between the first four reps and the final four reps. Most of the team did all the reps as freestyle. I did the 50s and 150s as backstroke; the 100s and 200s and breaststroke.EZ/Moderate Pace50100 [1:37 breast]150200 [3:17 breast]Tempo Pace200 [3:07 breast]150100 [1:30 breast]50 [:43 breast]50 EZ recoveryBREATH-CONTROL SET: 300300 freestyle pull with pull buoy, breathing only four times on each length. INTERVAL SET: 250Sprint 25 yards, then ease back to the other end. Take approximately 10 seconds rest after the EZ length. Repeat five times. WARMDOWN: 200200 EZTotal Yardage: 2850