Hi! Thanks for coming by!
FitOldDog’s great swim coach and friend, Rick Fee, at Johnny’s in Carrboro NC USA.
Here is a great swim set I learned from Rick, my swim coach and friend. It’s called 300 broken. You break up the 300 yard sets more and more as you go along, but you have to maintain your chosen overall 300 set time. This results in an increasingly faster pace whilst swimming, combined with more and more time on the wall. For instance, if you choose 5 min total time for each 300, you’ll see what happens.
- 300 (off the wall on 5:00 every time!!) - available swim time 5 min.
- 150: 10 sec rest: 150 - available swim time 4:50.
- 100: 10 sec rest: 100: 10 sec rest: 100 - available swim time 4:40.
- 75: 10 sec rest: 75: 10 sec rest: 75: 10 sec rest: 75 - available swim time 4:30.
- 50: 10 sec rest: 50: 10 sec rest: 50: 10 sec rest: 50: 10 sec rest: 50: 10 sec rest: 50 - available swim time 4:10.
As you can see, on the last set you have to complete the 300 yards in 4:10, which for me is pretty fast. It becomes hurry up and wait!
This workout keeps you on your toes, and during the rest intervals of 10 seconds for broken sets the clock actually seems to slow down as the set progresses. You can’t wait to get off of the wall and complete the set. This shows the power of the mind over your perception of the outside world. Normally, when you’re completing a hard set, time on the wall is a real gift. You have a chance to get your breath back and relax those lats. However, because you want to stay on the wall, which is clearly ‘not your friend’ during such training, as it tries to lure you in like the Sirens of mythology, the clock seems to speed up during rest intervals as the workout progresses.
Today, Rick gave me broken 500s. Kicked my ass!
In the swim, it’s all about conditioning and the clock!
-k @FitOldDog
Important Note: These posts do not provide medical advice. You should always consult your physician before undertaking or significantly modifying an exercise program.
Copyright © 2010 Kevin T. Morgan aka FitOldDog, Old Dogs in Training, LLC.
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I tried the broken 300s today in the pool. Didn’t do them on 5 minutes (in my dreams), and forgot the 75s, but it was a fun workout. Workouts like this help the older brain keep track of the # laps swum. Thanks
Yep! I like this set. Rick usually puts them at the beginning of a 4500 to 5000 workout. The 500s broken were as follows: 400 warmup; 500 straight; 500 broken on 250; 500 straight; 500 broken on 125; 500 straight; 500 broken on 100; 500 straight loosen out long and steady. Could add 6-10 100s speed work if you want. Happy New Year when it arrives. Cheers, Kevin