Gonna (Butter)Fly Now

PHOENIX, Arizona, October 11. 258 days to Olympic Trials!

Journal by Jeff Commings, Swimming World associate producer

Jeff Commings, who will be the second-oldest man to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials next summer, is journaling his daily training regimen on his personal blog. We are reprinting those articles here:

Today's workout:

Time: 5:45 a.m.
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Short Course Yards

400 warmup

4x(3×50 on 1:00)
1: breast pull, 2: 25 fly/25back, 3: 25 breast/25 free

2x(4×125 on 2:00)
1. 50 fly/25 back/25 breast/25 free
2. 25 fly/50 back/25 breast/25 free
3. 25 fly/25 back/50 breast/25 free
4. 25 fly/25 back/25 breast/50 free
(averaged 1:25 per 125)

4x(3×50 on 1:00)
1. kick easy
2. kick/swim easy
3. swim at 200 IM pace
(fly 29, back 30, breast 33, free, 27)

Six rounds:
100 on 1:40
4×25 on :25
(On rounds 3 and 6, did 100 fast. All other times swam aerobic. Round 3: 56.2 for 100 back. Round 6: 1:02.2 for 100 breast)

100 easy (with five minutes stretching)

Total: 3,900 yards (75 minutes)

At the gym:

Five minutes shoulder warm-up exercises

Sitting bench press (12 @ 150, 8 @ 170, 6 @ 190)

Sitting lat pull (12 @ 140, 8 @ 170, 6 @ 185)

Leg press (12 @ 200, 8 @ 220, 6 @ 240)

Leg adductors (12 @ 150, 10 @ 180, 8 @ 200)

4×25 breaststroke strokes (with 5-lb. dumbbells in each hand)

Ten minutes abdominals and stretching

Way too much fly today! I know it is IM day, but some days my body really does not want to do a lot of butterfly. This was one of those days. I am glad I did almost all of it. I will admit here that on the set of 125s, I skipped butterfly only once, and it was only a 25. I thought my heart rate was getting a little high on number six, so I figured not doing butterfly would help a little bit.

I wasn't extremely pleased with the 1:02 for the 100 breast. My stroke felt very good, but not very strong on the last 25. Alan Carter was doing a 100 IM in the lane next to me, and I figured racing next to him would be a good barometer of how fast I was going. I caught him on the third length, and naturally, he went right by me on the final length. I don't know if it was the huge wave he pushed into my lane on the last length, or genuine exhaustion, but it was tough getting to the wall. I think I might have swum the first 50 too fast. My coach said I was out in 29.8, which is a little fast for a 100 breast from a push, at least for me. I should have been about a half second slower on the first 50. You might not think that is much slower, but it does make a difference. I might have gone 1:01.5 if I had split it correctly.

I was surprised how much I did on the leg press at the gym today. I am being very cautious of doing maximum weight in this phase, because I could tear a muscle or tendon very easily. The key, I think, is to start off with an easy five-rep warm-up on each exercise, just to let your muscles know what they are being asked to do. Don't feel like you are going to fail on the set of 12, either.

I was asked by a teammate how much rest to take between each set of the 25 breaststroke strokes. It's a very good question that I didn't have the exact answer, because I don't quantify my rest between sets in the weight room. But, you should treat it as doing one round fairly easy, then three with a fast tempo (and correct technique). Twenty-five strokes for me is a 50-meter breast from a push (though I did 24 when I got my Trials cut), so I treat it as an all-out 50 in the pool. Give yourself adequate time to recover before doing the next one, which should be just as good as the previous set.

Speaking of recovery, it's time for bed! I can barely keep my eyes open. I keep thinking about the five-hour flight I have to Orlando this Friday, and how that will be a good opportunity to catch up on some sleep.

Reprinted from Jeff's personal blog at commings.blogspot.com.

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