Set Of The Week: Aerobic IM Switching

maya-dirado-400-im-prelims-2016-rio-olympic-games

Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to Swimming World’s Set of the Week! This week’s set is an aerobic IM switching set that focuses on making a habit out of transition turns while training all of the strokes in your swimmers’ IM. Take a look at the set and the description below:

8 x 75’s as 50 kick/25 build IM order by 75 on :20 SR

2 x 200 IM as kick/swim by 25 on :30 SR

9 x 50’s IM switching, fast middle 25 on 1:00

#1-3: fly/back

#4-6: back/breast

#7-9: breast/free

300 IM as kick/drill/swim by 25 on :30 SR

4 x 100 IM order as 50 build/50 fast on :20 SR

Rest ~1:00

400 IM fast

This set begins with 8 x 75’s as 50 kick, 25 build as IM order by 75. This is to get your swimmers’ legs warmed up and have them adjust to each stroke as they move into the rest of the set. Use the 2 x 200 IM’s to warm up the transition turns before going into the 9 x 50’s IM switching.

The point of the 9 x 50’s is to work on each transition turn in as close to race pace conditions as possible. Make sure your athletes are getting up and swimming fast from mid-pool into and out of the turn to simulate what it will feel like in a race as closely as possible. They should be focused on their speed and stroke count into the wall so they are making each transition as efficient and consistent as possible. Following the 50’s is a 300 kick/drill/swim as active recovery before 4 x 100’s IM order as 50 build/50 fast.

The 4 x 100’s are meant to help your athletes find the correct “feel” for pacing each segment of the IM, with the first half building into tempo to negative split each 100. After the 4 x 100’s take roughly a minute rest before going into a 400 for time, trying to put all the pieces of a fast IM together at the end of the set.

This set is a great way to get some thoughtful IM training in while still moving through some good aerobic work, and is also short enough to fit a secondary main set or kick set after depending on your needs and where your team is in the season. Happy swimming!

All swimming and dryland training and instruction should be performed under the supervision of a qualified coach or instructor, and in circumstances that ensure the safety of participants.

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