I recently did a PB (or at least very close to it) in the 50 yard butterfly. My time was :25.2, which broke a PB I did in 2000. It is the first time I have gone under :26 in over four years. I am turning 31 in a few days, so I thought I’d share a few changes I made in my preparation that enabled me to go that fast.
The sprint was timed by my wife, and I went off her “Go!” She was not reacting to a gun, thus the disparity the start was at least largely erased. My wife’s timing thumb is extremely consistent (we’ve been married for seven years, so it had better be:)) So while the time is not “electronic accurate”, it is as close as I can get, and much more accurate than a hand time reacting to a gun.
Here are the things I did differently:
1. No lifting after GPP phase.
I have finally decided that sprint swimming is primarily a nervous system activity, and have stopped lifting while sprint training. I just can’t handle both stimuli at once, and this always resulted in overtraining. I have had some epic bouts with overtraining in the past, and I chalk it up to refusing to back off the weights.
So leading up to this race I had not lifted at all for over two months, excluding external rotator and upper back work for my shoulders.
2. Applying Auto-Regulatory Principles.
I rested at least three days between every sprint session, and kept careful tally of the percent dropoff I incurred during each sprint session. I know some have been very skpetical of the ubiquitous “DB Hammer” and his AREG principles, but I can tell you that this stuff worked for me. Due to Charlie Francis’s work I am hypersensitive to the nervous system anyway.
Utilizing a planned drop off at each session I was able to do times in workouts that were almost foreign to me. 1:07 100 meter freestyles (short course) from a push, :30 50 meter butterfly, etc. I know that may not sound like much to some but these are times I rarely, if ever did, before the application of AREG.
3. A solid aerobic base.
For the first time in years I spent a good four weeks and did nothing but aerobic training. I kept it light - never more 2000 meters in a day. But I decided that I wouldn’t be afraid of some intermediate work (75% - 85%) during the GPP phase. I think this helped somewhat down the road in the SPP phase. How aerobic work physiogically aids the sprinter I don’t know, but I believe it kept me from plateauing early, and increased my work capacity.
4. Proper warmup before the race.
I warmed up more before this race than I ever have before. After years of my first race being substandard, I decided to dramatically increase. I did a slow 400 yards, 2-3 50’s at 90% plus, and 1 or 2 all-out 25’s. Then rest for 45 minutes, stretching every muscle out before the race.
I know many will disagree with stretching, but I think for swimmers it just isn’t that big a deal, since swimming is a neural-rate exercise and not neural magnitude.
5. Use of Spike 1.5 hours pre-race.
For me this works without the shakes, tenseness, or fatigue of coffee. I note a discernible difference. It can be purchased at biotest.com. It has some caffeine but not too much, plus the Spike formula that Biotest is rather secretive about. They promise that it is not against the rules of any sport, and I trust them.
I do not recommend this supplement or any other for teenagers. You have all the “get up and go” you need. Save your money for Charlie Francis’s books and DVD’s.
Comments would be welcome.
