Set of the Week - October 12, 2007

Sometimes it's hard to integrate the things we learn in a drill... into our real-life swimming stroke. Here's a short backstroke/freestyle set that alternates between drilling and swimming. It's fun for the swimmers, and the lesson of the drill is SO powerful that it's easy to carry it over into the swimming. This would be a good warmup set at the beginning of a workout.

This set involves swimming backstroke while balancing a cup of water on your forehead. If you've never tried this, you should take a few minutes to get the hang of it before you begin the actual set.

Start by filling the cup (or a water bottle) about half full of water. Place it on your forehead JUST above your goggles. Push off gently on your back, with hands at your sides, and try a few lengths of kicking, trying to keep the cup from falling off. Once you can do this, try swimming a few lengths of sloooow backstroke with the cup. When you can do this reasonably well, it's time to start the set.

4 X 75 on a sendoff that gives you approximately 15 seconds rest
Odds: Start with 25 backstroke with the cup, then drop the cup and swim 50 backstroke, keeping your head ROCK STEADY.
Evens: Start with 25 backstroke with the cup, then drop the cup and swim 50 freestyle, keeping your head ROCK STEADY, except when you take a breath.