Set of the Week - 3/16/07

This week's set has to do with pinpointing where and how you make your strongest connection with the water, and then using it. It also has to do with the idea that, in swimming, the faster you go, the more work you're going to have to do. It's easy to say, "If you reduce your resistance, you don't have to work so hard," but that's a given. You STILL need to know how to connect with the water and how to apply power in order to go fast (as in reach your potential).

This is a fun little group practice that incorporates parachutes. There are 3 stations. First is the baby bear station, which requires NO chute (but to make this all happen seamlessly, all swimmers should be wearing the belts that come with the chutes; just disconnect the chute). The 2nd station is the Mama Bear station, or the smaller yellow chute. The 3rd station is the Papa Bear station, or the BIG BLUE chute.

The set is a series of 50s on an interval that will allow about :15 rest, or enough rest to allow for everyone to change stations. These 50s will be done in sets of 3. After EACH 50, each swimmer rotates to the next logical station. One goes to two, two goes to three, and three goes to one.

Here's the set:

15 X 50 on 1:00.
All 50s are to be swum at the SAME speed. The 1st station will be thinking of length, and glide. The 2nd station will be thinking about the initial connection, and hooking into the water. The 3rd station will be thinking of SPRINTING AND SURVIVAL.

Make your switches quick, and stay organized. We've found it's better to drop the chute, and rotate the swimmer, rather than having the swimmers trade the chutes. These particular chutes have a quick release on them, so it's easy to unhook them and let them float while the other swimmer grabs and connects.

Bonus Set
The linked video is a fun little set we did called BIRTHDAY CHUTES!  This is how we decided to celebrate our swimmer's birthday. It shows the chutes, but also how much fun a 1,000 breaststroke pull can be. Enjoy.

Birthday Chutes Quicktime