Journey to Olympic Trials: Work It Out

Commentary by Jeff Commings, SwimmingWorld.TV associate producer

TUCSON, Arizona, October 22. THIS week saw a few changes in my training, and for the most part, they were all good.

The biggest change was on Monday, when I visited JR Rosania at his Healthplex, where helped Misty Hyman an Gary Hall Jr. win gold medals and continues to shape athletes from all sports get stronger. The last time I visited JR, I was healing from acute tendonitis in my left shoulder two years ago. The physical therapists there helped repair the damage and strengthen the tendons and muscles in my shoulder. It will never be 100 percent, but I never feel pain.

JR was determined to make my muscles hurt like they never have before, and he did a very good job. All of the exercises he did were brand new to me, and all of them had swimming-specific goals, mostly to improve my explosive power.

The week continued with more speed work in the pool. After not swimming all that well in Orlando (keeping in mind I was at the Rowdy Gaines Classic primarily for work), I wanted to make sure I was still on track to have a good end-of-season meet. Some of the sets I did produced good results, but after Friday's workout, I felt like I took a couple of steps back. My times in my sprints weren't very satisfactory, but my coach tried to ease my insecurities by reminding me that this is the middle of the season. However, a 59.6 for a 100 breast from a dive isn't cause for celebration.

Are the guys I will eventually race in Omaha in the 100 breast on June 25 going 59.6 for a 100 breast from a dive at the end of workout? If so, that will make me feel better. If not, I suppose I can think of them as being able to swim close to their shaved times in workout. These guys aren't 37 years old. They can probably do what I did with JR on Monday and not follow it up with a handful of ibuprofen!

You can follow all of my exploits in and out of the pool at my blog, commings.blogspot.com. I post my swimming and workouts there, and any comments, recommendations, suggestions or concerns you have are most appreciated!

Jeff Commings will be the second-oldest man to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials next summer. He also holds Masters world record in the 50 and 100 breaststrokes.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use