50m - 100m Events...

 

There are many coaches who refuse to accept the science which is published regarding swimming – no topic more so than training for 50m – 100m distances. I for a long time was one of them; believing that you could prescribe endurance training – developing the swimmer’s aerobic base, as well as expecting those athletes to develop their speed for 50m /100m events by initiating limited sprint sets a few times a week.  You just cannot do it as the swimmers anaerobic metabolism is hindered by endurance training therefore, mixing the two (sprint and endurance training) is a contradictory idea.

 

Out-dated Thinking

 

Today we still have swimmers wrongly involved in programmes which have declined their ability to perform in the 50 metre – 100 meter events. These swimmers are included in the general program covering unacceptable distances during their session. Coaches have excused this by providing those sprint swimmers with a break between training and competition; however, this only returns their speed to an innate level – that is, if they receive a long enough taper – rather than any improved sprint ability.

 

The most common mistake in developing 50m-100m swimmers is the coach using sprint sets constructed of repeated 25 and 50 metre distances, with the idea that swimmers will be forced to work through high-levels of fatigue to somehow seek physiological improvements in the swimmer. Further to this, common practice has been to finish off a training session with ‘sprints’. Both of these are physiologically wrong because the body is unable to tax the capacities required for increasing speed when under these stressed and fatigued states.

 

Neural Function in Sprinting

 

Although, the above paragraph describes the detrimental effects on the body physiology, there is a more important element to consider – neural function. Acceleration improvements are primarily neural rather than physiological. What implications does this have on how we train sprinters?

 

Well firstly, coaches training 50m / 100m swimmers must ensure they create a program in which neuromuscular patterning, i.e. skill takes great precedence. It has commonly been asserted that if skills are to be performed when an athlete is tired, then learning those skills whilst fatigued is the best procedure.

 

However, this practice in fact inhibits the formation of neuromuscular patterns due to the increase of + Hydrogen ions within the supporting physiological environment – making it very difficult, or indeed impossible to learn skills.

 

Despite the evidence, many coaches still accuse those with this view of committing blasphemy! Skill acquisition should not be performed under the same physical stress as experienced in a race; however, it should be undertaken at desired race speeds. An efficient sprint performance depends largely on the number of times the skill is performed at the goal pace.

 

The current way of developing acceleration in swimmers, by the majority, is neither allowing for increases in velocity nor allowing for any great skill attainment.

 

This is why our acceleration program was developed. Contact us now if YOU are really serious about improving your swim times.