CYCLE COUNTS AND GOAL TIMES BY DAN MCCARTHY//NATIONAL TEAM HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAM Most swimmers go into races of 200 meters or longer with split goals; however without having a corresponding stroke cycle target, an athlete’s work is incomplete. A perfect example of how focusing on just race pace can go wrong is seen every weekend at competitions around the country when the pace lane opens. An athlete swimming the 800 with split goals of 1:00.0 can achieve those splits with many different strategies; however, the only one that is going to work is if the athlete repeats the pace and cycle count they expect to have during the race. Practicing a 1:00.0 pace with two or three more cycles per 100 than they are able to physically maintain in a race will not properly prepare an athlete for competition. Additionally, holding a faster pace than an athlete’s goal with a high cycle count that they cannot maintain will have them all out of sorts during the race. Race pace sets in training are the perfect opportunity to train not just the pace, but the stroke cycle count as well. Once the goal stroke cycle count has been established for an athlete, the set can be designed to make maintaining the goal split and stroke cycle count progressively more challenging, but consistent with the overall race strategy. Below is an example set for an athlete with a pace of 1:04 per 100 meters and 40 stroke cycles per 100. Swim two or three rounds: 1 x 50 @ 1:00 hold :32 and 20 stroke cycles 1 x 100 @ 2:00 hold 1:04 and 40 stroke cycles 1 x 50 @ :50 hold :32 and 20 stroke cycles 1 x 100 @ 1:40 hold 1:04 and 40 stroke cycles 1 x 50 @ :40 hold :32 and 20 stroke cycles 1 x 100 @ 1:20 hold 1:04 and 40 stroke cycles
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 10:35:44 +0000
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