|
Swim Smooth's Biggest Loser Competition: The Blue Riband Swim Set
Challenge yourself and monitor your progress with this classic swimming test set!
Relevant Link: Feel For The Water Blog Post
Challenge Yourself This Autumn With This Classic Swim Set!
Swimming at a sustained speed is great for your swim fitness.
Welcome to Swim Smooth's Biggest Loser Competition: How much time can you LOSE off this classic set of 100m intervals over the next 6 to 12 weeks? As the nights draw in this autumn it's a great time to get focused on your swimming and make some big improvements. We hope to get as many swimmers as possible of all ability levels, all around the world, taking part in the Biggest Loser Competition. Why not join them and report and discuss your results on our dedicated Forum Thread?
The Biggest Loser is a challenge suitable for any swimmer who can swim 2000m or so in a session - even if you've not trained with 'proper sets' before. From beginner through intermediate and up to advanced level swimmers, we have 3 different levels of set to challenge you.
Setting yourself little goals and challenges like this is a great way to stay motivated over the autumn and winter months, so get involved, set yourself some targets and let everyone know how you go on the Forum Thread. If you don't have a logon for the forum yet you'll need to create one - it's easy.
Swimming Fast Is Good For you
Don't worry if you're a technique junkie or lacking a little confidence in your swimming. Fast swimming is nothing to be afraid of! Not only will it boost your fitness but it will also allow you to track your progress. Tracking your progress is critical - how else can you know if your technique work and training is making you any quicker?
The Biggest Loser Competition is based on a classic 'Blue Riband' swim set of 100m intervals. It's a set commonly used by Olympic level swimmers - depending on your ability level we've scaled it down to meet your needs. The set is a classic way to challenge your fitness and measure your progress. You can also use the times you achieve today to set yourself some targets for 6-12 weeks ahead. Use the special calculator at the bottom of this page to do just that.
can you become the biggest loser?
Warm Up: Perform a simple warm up of between 400m and 1200m. Start with easy swimming and follow up with some drill work concentrating on body rotation and feeling smooth in the water. We suggest the 6/1/6 and 6/3/6 drills from our DVD Boxset.
Build Set: Swim 4 to 6x 50m efforts with 10 seconds rest between each one. Swim fast for the first 25m and then slow to easy pace for the second 25m. This will raise your heart rate for the main set.
Main Set: This is a standard test set performed in the world of swimming. Here are 3 levels of the set to suit your individual ability:
Level 1: 12x 100m with 20 seconds rest between each one, or on a 2:15 cycle.
Level 2: 15x 100m with 20 seconds rest between each one, or on a 1:55 cycle.
Level 3: 18 - 20x 100m with 20 seconds rest between each one, or on a 1:40 cycle.
(which level are you?)
During the set, take a mental note of the times you held.
When you perform the 100s, aim to hold your fastest MAINTAINABLE pace. See if you can hold them within 1 to 4 seconds of each other. It is very easy to set off too fast and then fade as the set goes on. Don't set off too fast in the first 25m of each interval either!
Pacing technique is as important in swimming as stroke technique. In future editions of our blog we will look at how to improve your pacing skills.
Cool Down: Following the challenging set above swim a couple of hundred meters at very easy pace and perhaps add in some different strokes to round off the session.
Now Set Yourself Some Targets
What average time did you hold for each 100m during the set? You can now set yourself some target times using the calculator below both for the Blue Riband set and for 400, 1500 and 3000m race distances too:
Goal Calculator
(Revised target for 100s set is 2.5% quicker. From this speed fatigue factors of 2%, 4% & 11½% gives targets for 400, 1000 and 3000m respectively.)
Paul's Thoughts
We all want to know that the time we spend training is proving to be beneficial both for our efficiency in the water and for how quickly we swim. To gauge this we simply have to time ourselves every now and again. Many people get phased at the thought of a test set and build it up into something it's not. Such a training set, or indeed a time trial, is just about taking a snap-shot in time for where you are at right now. Repeating a similar exercise in several weeks time will tell you instantly if you have improved or not. This is nothing to shy away from. If for example you haven't improved over the course of a consistent period of training or technique work, you should then ask yourself "why?" and "what can I do to change this and see some improvement?".
Some of you will improve at a faster rate than the targets from the calculators above, others maybe not quite as fast. That doesn't matter, the important thing is that you have a goal against which you can measure your improvements. Many people fail to set any short term goals or plans to meet them - the old adage of "failing to plan, is planning to fail" often rings true in such cases.
Think of our forum like a virtual swim squad - share experiences with other swimmers and get advice and feedback from swimming coaches.
Cheers,
Paul Newsome
Swim Smooth Head Coach
Let Us Know How You Go On The Forum
We have set up a special Biggest Loser thread on our free forum here.
Why not create a forum account and let us know how you did in the test set and how you go meeting your target times over the coming weeks. It's a very friendly group - you'll get great support from other swimmers and it's really motivating knowing you'll be posting your times when you get home from the pool. It's a bit like being in a virtual training squad!
|
perth coaching
SS
Send this page to a friend