Swimming: Killer Swim and Start Workout by Bill Bowman and Michael Phelps

Dick Moss, Editor, Physical Education Update.com

Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps' swim coach of 12 years, has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He's a master at adding subtle variations to workouts to increase their difficulty.

Here is one example. He has Phelps perform 100-meter repeats in which Phelps must lift himself out of the pool at the half-way mark of each repetition and initiate the next 50 meters by performing a block start.

Effects of the Variation
Being forced to pull yourself out of the pool half-way into each repetition interrupts a swimmer's rhythm, adds an additional strength component, and increases the level of difficulty and aerobic component of the swim. Phelps hates this workout but Bowman loves it. "One of my favorite sets," he says.

Adapt it to Your Students
In Phelps' case, he performs 30 such repetitions in a workout. Of course, this wouldn't be appropriate in high school situations. If you use this workout, you'd have to adapt the number of repetitions to the fitness level of your swimmers.

Reference: Susie Casey" Gold Mind." Sports Illustrated, August 18, 2008. www.si.com

To download the pdf version of this
article, click here: Download Now