Set Of The Week: IM Transitions

elizabeth-beisel-400-im-prelims-2016-rio-olympics

Welcome to Swimming World’s Set Of The Week! This week’s set is an aerobic IM set that is designed to focus specifically on fast transition turns. Take a look at the set below and the explanation that follows:

10 x 75 “IM’s” from mid-pool on 1:10

ALL: 12.5 fly, 25 back, 25 breast, 12.5 free

1:00 Rest & regroup

4 x 250 “IM” w/ a floating 100 of fast stroke on 3:40

#1: 100 fly, 50 back, 50 br, 50 free

#2: 50 fly, 100 back, 50 br, 50 free

#3: 50 fly, 50 back, 100 breast, 50 free

#4: 50 fly, 50 back, 50 breast, 100 free

1:00 Rest & regroup

9 x 50’s descend groups of 3 on :50

#1-3: 25 fly/25 back

#4-6: 25 back/25 breast

#7-9: 25 breast/25 free

This set mixes up IM work by incorporating non-traditional distances that maximize the number of turns a swimmer does throughout the set. While it may require strategic use of lane space and lane set-up, starting with 10 x 75’s from mid-pool allows swimmers to get in three IM transitions per 75. Having a turn come every 12.5 or 25 keeps your athletes on their toes and forces them to focus in on having fast, aggressive turns. As a coach, it also gives you the opportunity to see a lot of different transitions turns in a short amount of time. This gives you plenty of opportunities to give feedback to your athletes and tweak their technique as you get into the set.

Moving into a set of longer repeats with the 4 x 250’s, the challenge next is to hold high quality transitions turns over a longer distance. With each 250 “IM” a 100 of stroke floats one spot down, starting with the butterfly and ending with the freestyle. While the focus is having a fast floating 100 in each 250, swimmers should also be going in and out of their walls fast on each transition turn. The set ends with 9 x 50’s that descend in sets of three. Each set of three should be a different IM transition, and will give your swimmers the chance to end the set with some fast stroke work.

At 2,200 yards this is a decent volume set that can be included in the early season as you begin to move into specific group work or hone in on the finer points of IM race technique. During peak yardage it can also easily be made into a two round set, bringing the total to 4,400 yards. Regardless of when it is implemented, this set is a fresh way to build in some thoughtful aerobic IM work with your teams. Happy swimming!

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