Swimming Set of the Week - April 27, 2012

Our set of the week is short, intense, and a chance to work on many things.

This set works well for warmup because it gets your heart pumping without having to do a lot of aggressive swimming.  It also works as a breath-control set stuck in the middle of a main set.  Don't do the set on a tight sendoff!  Give the swimmers 15-20 seconds rest on each 25 so they can focus on technique.  Here's the set:

8 X 25 yards on :40
Odd 25s:  Swim half a length butterfly (or three strokes max), then finish the length with easy freestyle
Even 25s:  Double underwater breaststroke pullout, with one stroke of breast, then finish the length with easy freestyle 

It's easy to swim through this set and let your mind wander.   To avoid that, here are some ways to focus your mind...
1.  Don't breathe on the fly strokes.
2.  If you breathe on the fly, get your face back in the water before your hands enter.
3.  Start the fly with at least (you pick the number) 3, 4, 5, or 6 underwater dolphins.
4.  Make your fly strokes feel "effortless" and light.
5.  Calm yourself on the breaststroke underwater pullouts.
6.  Don't rush the pullouts.  Think about setting up the catch, shrugging the shoulders, staying level, and sneaking the hands up the torso.
7.  Make that one breaststroke stroke an "important" one...authoritative
8.  Note how far you get on your first double pullout, and try to reach the same point (or farther) each time.
9.  Start each length with a tight streamline.