{"id":117429,"date":"2014-12-17T11:22:19","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T18:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=117429"},"modified":"2014-12-17T11:23:29","modified_gmt":"2014-12-17T18:23:29","slug":"efficient-swimming-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/efficient-swimming-training\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Ways for More Efficient Swimming Training"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr. G. John Mullen<\/em><\/p>\n

Every swimmer wants to be elite. Unfortunately, wanting greatness is different than going through all the work. It takes efficient swimming training to get there. It is easy to overlook all the time, effort, wear and tear, time away from your friends and family, and so forth.<\/p>\n

Now, most swimmers are willing to put in the time, this is\u00a0essential for improvement, in any field.<\/p>\n

Overall, swimming is like a business in many ways. For example, you invest resources, searching for a greater return on the investment. Investing resources are not only financial, but also take time and means away from other resources.<\/p>\n

Performing financial forecasting and risk analyzes determine if these investments are worth it. \u00a0If you are new to the sport, simply getting to the pool results in improvement. However, if you are an elite swimmer you must weigh your investments more systematically. Unfortunately, elite swimmers don’t often have the time to do everything by the book, this is where “training efficiency” comes in. Training efficiency maximizes your return on investment.<\/p>\n

Sometimes adding an extra hour in the weight room causes overuse and is a horrible return on investment. Other times, putting in the extra money for a monthly physical therapy session is essential for keeping your training and fresh.<\/p>\n

Two Case Studies:<\/h3>\n

I receive several emails from people trying to improve their swimming. One recent email was from a Masters swimmer at the top of his age group.<\/p>\n

About 1,500 words into the email he breaks down each facet of his training, including counting calories, taking ice baths, and the works.<\/p>\n

After reading this diatribe, I’m certain this swimmer could get 98% of the same results with only 60% of the resources. Also, if he streamlined his training, I bet he’d even swim better.<\/p>\n

I believe elite Masters swimmers are elite because they love to train. Unfortunately, people who love to train often overdo it.<\/p>\n

Now, compare this to someone who maximizes “training efficiency”:<\/p>\n

At a recent conference, I heard Masters World Record holder Glenn Gruber<\/a> speak about performing ultra-short race pace training (USRPT).<\/p>\n

During this speech, Glenn and Alan Bernard discussed their training approach, which centered\u00a0around two sets of 30×50-yard on 0:20 rest, trying to hold ~0:31 seconds. Glenn performed this five times per week while training for his Masters World Records. Combine this with some mental training, and that’s it! No dryland, no foam rolling, no core stabilization, no cool down.<\/p>\n

I’ll now anticipate and respond to your objections proactively:<\/p>\n

\u2022\u2002Would Glenn have done better with more work? Possibly. The point is, look what he did accomplish with so little work.<\/p>\n

\u2022 \u2002Am I saying you should train like Glenn did? Absolutely not. I’m simply showing how at least one Masters World Record swimmer made insanely great progress doing much less training than you do.<\/p>\n

I’m hoping this opens your mind to new possibilities, which may provide you greater or the same results with significantly less work.<\/p>\n

Now, with these two examples behind you, even if you love long sets and hours in the pool, if you could do as well with much less investment, would you consider it? Think about the possibilities for your life, would it improve if you had more time for friends, family, and mental training?<\/p>\n

If you are finishing your college career and entering the workforce, perhaps you can maintain your swimming level with only a hour a day without sacrificing your new career and life. Also, if you could streamline your mental focus on your training during that hour instead of worrying about sleep deprivation, money, or relationship problems, how much better could you train?<\/p>\n

All in all, training efficiency is important. Hera are 6\u00a0tips for training efficiency.<\/p>\n

My 6 Best Efficient Swimming Training Hacks<\/h2>\n

1. Streamline Your Warm-up<\/h3>\n

A good warm-up primes a good workout, while a bad warm-up is a waste of time. The whole goal of warm-up is to warm-up the body, that’s it! Too many people hop in the water and float around like a stone at the bottom of a lake! Either do an intense out of water warm-up or a strong in-water warm-up.<\/p>\n

See this example for an out of water warm-up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Limit Rest Between Sets<\/h3>\n

Oftentimes, teams will sit around and talk shop between sets<\/a>. This can help facilitate recovery after a tough set, but is often a complete waste of time! Instead of hanging on the wall like a leaf\u00a0on a tree, once you’re recovered get right into the next step, don’t let your body cool down.<\/p>\n

3. The 20 – 30 Repetition Range<\/h3>\n

Although we have a lot to learn about motor learning, it seems clear repetition strengthens myelin and motor patterns. Unfortunately, there may be a point of no return. It seems performing repetitions for more than 30 and less than 20 may not have as much benefit as the 20 – 30 repetition range.<\/p>\n

4. Minimize Equipment<\/h3>\n

I always laugh when I see a swimmer spending 10 minutes to dig through their gear bag, throwing to the side three snorkels to find their small alignment board. All this time going through the bag is a waste of time! If you want to improve your training efficiency minimize the equipment for that particular workout, and you’ll save valuable time in the water.<\/p>\n

5. Keep it Simple<\/h3>\n

Sometimes I see coaches and swimmers creating overly complicated sets, trying to “mix it up”. Personally, all this time spent on writing a creative workout or simply training to understand a complex set is a waste of time.<\/p>\n

Instead of having a highly complex workout, think about your goals and work on those goals.<\/p>\n

6. Intensity > Volume<\/h3>\n

The balance between intensity and volume is debatable, but the research and trend towards increasing intensity in swimming training is clear. Simply put, intensity is essential for improvement. The more intense the training, the less you have to do, it is simple as that.<\/p>\n

Now Please Act On What You’ve Learned!<\/h3>\n

I strongly encourage you to take at least 1 of these 6\u00a0strategies \u2013 just pick the one that seems most appealing or logical \u2013 and apply it to your training for one full month.<\/p>\n

There’s really no risk at all because after 30 days, you’ll be rewarded with the knowledge that 1) it works, or 2) it doesn’t work. Either way, you’ve learned something right?<\/p>\n

Then, if your initial experiment paid off (as I believe it will), take another strategy for a month two, and so on. In this way, you keep all variables constant except the one you’re testing.<\/p>\n