Swimming Set of the Week - May 7, 2010

We're a couple days late for Cinco de Mayo, but what the heck.  This week's set requires that you can count to 5.

 Here's a way to transform a very ordinary set, e.g., 5 X 50 or 5 X 75 or 5 X 100, or even 5 X 500, into a set that works on bilateral breathing as well as EVF.  Simply swim the set but swim it as 5 strokes with the left arm followed by 5 strokes with the right arm.    The goal is not to race through the set.  Focus on extending the working arm and setting up an Early Vertical Forearm on every stroke.    And try to connect the hips to the hand on every pull.

We've been talking a lot about EVF lately and it's not by chance.  After working with so many elite athletes...from Kara Lynn Joyce to Jason Lezak to Sara McLarty to Roland Schoeman and most recently Fran Crippen...every one of them focuses on setting up an early vertical forearm so that they can grab as much water as possible for the pull.   To see crystal-clear footage of how these athletes execute the hottest concept in swimming, pick up any one (or all) of their DVDs from Go Swim.