Did anybody see Amanda Weir's SCY workout over at 'Swim Network?'

I won't blow it and steal the thunder by pasting the exact workout but she held 1:05's on everything.

What would be a unique exercise is to take her personal best times in each of those events and average the percentage differences between her bests and the intervals she swam. Then take that percentage and apply it to one's own main set.

Beware, her quote upon finishing such a grueling set was: "...“I feel like I’m going to puke...”

Here is a link to the Amanda Weir's 4,000 main set: [Link]

Here is a great sprint workout

Sprint 3,350 Yards - Designed by Jamie Magin -4/26/07 Santa Monica. I got this workout from the SCAQ website: [Link]

Warm Up (900 yards total yards)

• 300 free

This part of the warm-up is repeated four-times through:

• 50 kick @ 1:00
• 50 stroke @ :50
• 50 free @ :40

Transition (450 yards):

This part of the transition is repeated six-times through:

• 25 dolphin on back @ :35 seconds / 50 free @ :35 seconds

Main Set (2000 yards):

This part of the transition is repeated five-times through:

• 3 x 50 free @ :40/:45/:50
• 2 x 75 free @ :55/1:00
• 1 x 100 free @ 1:05

VNSO Swim Workout

Well, it was distance night tonight. The sky was overcast but the water was inviting. Dimitriy coached and the regular crew was all there.

I bought a digital camera tonight, here is my first photo of the VNSO pool. Of course I was hoping for a San fernando Valley sunset but alas, overcast will have to do.

Warm up: 200 yards

Transitional set:
3 x 100s swim/build/drill by 100s
3 x 100s swim/build/drill by 100s

Main set:
3 x 500s - 1:40 base

Pull set:
3 times through
3 x 75s descend 1-3

SCAQ Workout - Santa Monica swimming today

My swim club, SCAQ, caters to both Masters swimmers and triathletes. If you are a triathlete in need of swim skills it is a great club to learn and develop aquatic skill sets. Today SCAQ had what is called a Ironman set at VNSO for triathletes; (VNSO: Van Nuys Sherman Oaks pool), but I headed over to Santa Mo for one of Dimitriy's mid distance workouts instead.

I don't remember the intervals but I remember the yardage. Oh, and blogger trevr was there. He has a play coming up on April 13. Go to his website and check it out.

200 warmup
6x50s kick/swim
6 x 75s descending 1-3 and descend 4-6 with a more agressive interval
3x300 with a descending interval.
3x300 with a faster descending interval
6x50s warm down

Total: 3050

SCAQ: VNSO Swim Workout

Dimitriy coached a quasi-sprint workout. The only downside was that the lazy-bones, pool attendant forgot to put the covers on the pool after closing last night and the water has been cold. Watr temp was like, 78-79 degrees.

Total workout 2900 yards.

Warm-up:
200 easy

Transitional set, 1050 yards - 20 x 50's total done in this fashion:
5 x 50s moderate @ 1:00
5 x 50s build @ 1:00
5 x 50s descending @ 1:00
5 x 50's descending interval - 0:55, 0:50, 0:45, 0:40, 0:35.
easy 50

Main set, 1650 yards total:
5 x 100s @ 1:30 (Hold 1:20)
easy 50

2 x 100s @ 1:30 (Hold 1:20)
1 x 100 @ 1:25
2 x 100s @1:30
easy 50

1 x 100 @ 1:30 (Hold 1:20s)
1 x 100 @ 1:25
1 x 100 @ 1:30
1 x 100 @ 1:25
1 x 100 @ 1:30
easy 50

Warm down 200

VNSO - (Van Nuys Sherman Oaks Pool) - Workout 2-25-07

Above is a photo of the pool at night. I swam in the day. Mark gave me a pretty fun workout for establishing and maintaining a pace. I made all my intervals for a total of 3300 yards.

12 x 100s: 1:45
100 easy
8 x 100s : 1:35
100 easy
6 x 100s: 1:30
One-minute-and-a-half rest
4 x 100: 1:25
100 easy

If you are having shoulder pain, here is an snippet on a quick shoulder fix by Clay Evans. My comments are at the bottom.

If your shoulder is sore after a workout, try lots of ice - every two hours for 20 minutes. This is what most trainers have told me. The problem is in the pool. Shoulder issues are because of bad technique (unless of course you banged it snowboarding). When you first come back after having a sore shoulder: start slow, warm up long and do easy stretching before and during workout. It is simple; when you are at the wall between swims: stretch, slow and easy.

Now about technique: First of all breathe to the bad shoulder. Most bad shoulders are the shoulder you breathe away from. This is because swimmers use that arm to support the turn of the head to breathe on the opposite side. They tend to do this with a straight-arm catch instead of a correct reaching over the barrel catch.

If the shoulder problem is worse than "bad" and you have tried technically to fix it you can just not swim with that arm. You do NOT have to quit swimming. Three extremities only can be done. Skip one arm and you will still get a great workout. I did it many times with a shoulder that dislocated often in my college water polo career. That is much better than nothing.

Another option is you can also try to cut the stroke short at the front end. This takes quite a bit of pressure off and you can still get 75% of the arm exercise. You can cut short your stroke at the point of hand entering the water as dramatically as coming in at the shoulder level and not extending any farther forward in front of your head. You get a great push from the shoulder level down and follow through like normal. That is 75% of your pull anyway. It is only at the front first 6-12 inches that shoulders are really hurt by swimming.

All these options will get you burning calories off as much as regular swimming. You might look a little strange and be swimming in slower lanes but who cares about appearances?

The secret is technique, it is not that hard, you just have to be vigilant every single stroke, every single swim, every single workout. Please come to any of my workouts if you have any shoulder issue.

[Note: A sore shoulder is a different animal than an injured shoulder. A sore shoulder could be as benign as strained muscles or fatigue or more a more serious condition that needs attention. If it is the former, a strained muscles or fatigue, I completely endorse the above article. However, a persistent or worsening pain in one's shoulder is certainly a red flag so use common sense. If the pain persists or gets worse; obviously you may be injured so get it checked out by a doctor.

I do believe that in most cases swimming incorrectly, such as crossing over to the front of your head compounded with a bad pull, WILL cause a shoulder injury so technique is vital. VITAL!]

Sunday workout at Santa Mo.

Renee coached and my spies tell me she is a formidable open water swimmer. The exact adjective-and-noun used used to describe her was, "Amazingly fast". So, triathletes of the world, schedule a clinic with her.

Today, we finished faster than we started:

Warm up:
2 x 200s @ 3:15
2 x 200s @ 3:00

More warm up:
4 x 100s stroke drill/kick by 50s @ 2:30?

Main set part A:
1 x 100 - Sprint first 25, easy last 75 @ 2:00
1 x 100 - Sprint first 50, easy last 50 @ 2:00
1 x 100 - Sprint first 75, easy last 25 @ 2:00
1 x 100 - Sprint @ 2:00
1 x 100 - Easy @ 2:00

Main set part B:
1 x 75 - Sprint first 25, easy last 50 @ 1:30
1 x 75 - Sprint first 1/2, easy last 1/2 @ 1:30
1 x 75 - Sprint first 50, easy last 25 @ 1:30
1 x 75 - Sprint all out @ 1:30
1 x 75 - Easy @ 1:30

Main set part C:
1 x 50 - Sprint @ 1:00
1 x 25 - Easy @ :50

Repeat six times through.

The video clinic I had with Bonnie has really helped my swimming. I find that when I am fatigued and completely wiped out, I use less effort to maintain momentum. Let me tell you, it's all about the elbows leveraging a strong catch.

One of Dimitriy's Gulag workouts today at Santa Monica College!

225 yard warm-up because the last 25 yards put us at the opposite side of the pool so the sun wouldn't be in Dimitriy's eyes. The damage that followed:

8 x 75s conducted in this manner:
1 x 50 Backstroke 1 x 25 Breaststroke @ 1:20 interval
1 x 75 Freestyle @ 1:20 interval
Repeat six times.

1 x 300 Freestyle @ 4:30 interval
1 x 100 Freestyle all out sprint @ 2:30 interval
1 x 100 Freestyle easy @ 2:00 interval
Repeat four times through

200 Free warm down.

On paper this looks like cake but in practice when you are holding a 1:20 pace on the 300's the all out sprint thereafter feels like water-boarding torture!

Always hydrate before a workout and keep your blood sugar reasonable or you will cramp!

I dived into the Santa Monica College pool today to begin my 4 PM SCAQ workout and as soon as my body was wholly submerged my foot cramped. I hadn't even done a single pull yet or even a kick but my toes and foot felt like the Marquis de Sade was doing acupuncture on it.

Instead of hydrating like I usually do I chose instead to binge all day on a half- gallon of chocolate milk. (so, enough about my problems.) The fact that I didn't stretch, was physically cold, had obviously tweaked blood sugar certainly explains why the cramp-karma kicked in.

What causes cramps?

The exact cause of cramping is still unknown, but there are several factors that are associated with muscle cramps:

• overexertion
• failing to stretch adequately before exercise
• extreme hot or cold
• dehydration
• salt imbalances after sweating
• low blood sugar

My reference is here: [Link]

"Healing Swimmer's Shoulder by Staying in the Water"

"Healing Swimmer's Shoulder by Staying in the Water"
-- Bonnie Adair

Bonnie Adair is the head Coach of the LMU Women's swim team and co-founder of Southern California Aquatics. In just three years as head coach, Bonnie has turned the LMU program into a contender for the Pacific Coast Swimming Conference Championship. The LMU Lions finished a program-best third in the conference in 2005 and set 16 of 19 school records in a history-making season. LMU earned its first two conference event titles in 2005, winning both the 200 medley relay and the 100 backstroke. [LMU Swimming] 

During her own 13-year swimming career, she set 35 National Age Group records including a 50m freestyle record that stood for 29 years.

Many swimmers and triathletes of all levels have succombed to the pain of "swimmer's shoulder," an impingement syndrome caused by repetitive shoulder rotations. A typical Masters or fitness swimmer swimming three 1-hour workouts each week will do between 10,000-11,000 rotations compared to a professional tennis player who will do approximately 1,000 rotations.

The standard Rx: ice the involved area, take an anti-inflamitory medication and give the shoulder a rest. In short: stay out of the water! This may be good advice for that occasional flare up of shoulder pain caused by extra activity or heavy lifting, but it is not the desired treatment plan for those with chronic shoulder pain who do not wish to interrupt their training regimen by skipping workouts each time that nagging shoulder ache returns. Thus, we designed this workout to allow you to continue your training while correcting poor stroke mechanics and building strength in the vulnerable area.

In our program at SCAQ, we train over 1,500 swimmers each year and are confronted almost daily with complaints of shoulder pain from swimmers of every level - ranging from new fitness swimmers and first time triathletes to aging competitive swimmers still seeking that personal best.

We employ a 3-step approach to eliminating shoulder problems:
(1) Correct technique: If you have chronic shoulder problems, chances are you have a flawed stroke which causes excess pressure to be placed on your shoulder structures. By making a few simple stroke adjustments, we find that we can quickly eliminate shoulder pain in 90% of our swimmers that are having repeated "flare-ups. If you are one of these, ask your coach to look at your stroke or, better yet, sign up for a video clinic if one is available to you.

(2) Strengthen: We strongly recommend that all swimmers, not just those with shoulder problems, incorporate a series of dryland shoulder strengthening exercises into their weekly training schedule (3-4 times/week).

(3) Relax: learn to relax while swimming.
However by staying in the water and slightly modifying your standard workout, you also can strengthen this vulnerable area, something not being done when you are continuously "giving it a rest" by skipping weeks of workouts waiting for the pain to subside. And the good news is that the modified workout we recommend actually accelerates your heart rate and provides a great conditioning workout. So here it is!

Warm-up: Easy 400 - Alternate breathe to even out stroke. Relax.
Warm-up #2: 4 X 100 freestyle increasing effort each 100 but only to 80% on 4th 100.
Warm-up #3: 4 X 50 - 3 on a short rest interval providing 5-10 sec. rest, the 4th 50 is easy. Repeat set 3 more times with 30 seconds rest in between each set for a total of 12 X 50. Stay between 80-85% effort. These are not sprints! [Total 1200 yards]

Main Set: 6 X 200. If you are having a "bad shoulder day" we recommend that you use a short fin on this set and follow this pattern. #1: Do the first 150 yards using a "catch-up" or "touch-stroke" to stretch out and relax the arm cycle. Put your kick into overdrive, which will increase your cardiovascular output. The last 50 is in your regular stroke cycle. #2: The first 100 is "catch-up" stroke, the second 100 regular cycle.#3: The first 50 is "catch-up," the remaining 150 regular cycle#4: Same as #1; #5: Same as #2; #6: Same as # 6
[1200 Total]

Kick set: 25 - 50 - 75 - 100 - 75 - 50 - 25. Repeat. [Total 600] Do not use kickboard as this will cause extra stress on your shoulders. Instead try kick on your side, alternating between right and left.

Sprint set:4 X 25 @ 30 sec. 2 breaths maximum each 25, loosen 25 4 X 25 @ 35 sec. 1 breath maximum each 25, loosen 25 4 X 24 @ 40 sec. no breath Until you are asymptomatic for 3 months, we recommend that you substitute breath control for "sprints." Stay below 90% effort but put your kick in overdrive to create.

Warm-down: 200 "catch-up" stretch out and relax.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:
Extend your warm up: At least 1/3 of your swimming workout should be in the "warm-up" phase. Gradually increase the effort, never exceeding 80% until you are well into the middle of your workout. You are still getting a good cardiovascular workout at 80% and are strengthening your upper body structures without tearing down the shoulder area by sprinting too soon. Save the 100% effort for another day when you have rehabilitated your shoulder to a point that it is pain free.

About pulling: we recommend that you don't pull in workout until you have been pain free for at least 3-months. Instead substitute "catch-up" stroke with a short fin when your coach gives pulling sets. Most importantly - stay away from paddles! If you must, use an undersized paddle which will still satisfy your "paddle addiction" without breaking down your vulnerable shoulder structures. Again, it is better to put the paddles away and use a short fin until you are asymptomatic for a minimum of 3 months.