Reply To: Roadblocks to Adoption
Enjoyed reading all the posts!
A couple things:
Anthony Ervin–6’3″ 170lbs
Vlad Morozov–5’11” 160lbs
Nikita Lobintsev–6’4″ 180lbs
Danila Izotov–6’4″ 180lbs
Tom Jager–6’3″ 180lbs
Matt Biondi–6’7″ 209lbs (20 less than Grevers)
Popov–6’6″ 192lbs
Those are from a quick google search. I think the heavier they are the better their kick must be–and Russians (who rely on more science and less of a talent pool) tend to stay light.
TT vs USRPT–
All great coaches/programs work on technique, and they do speed work at some point to practice or rehearse this speed. Some catch on, some don’t. USRPT perhaps provides the other 2/3 of swimmers the added exposure they need to train the technique. At the same time, Dr. Rushall has recommended athletes train above and below their desired race distances. After reading some excerpts from Swim Coach Bible Vol II where Bob Bowman shares some of his speed work for butterfly…I start to see some of the parallels. Basically, he likes to fatigue them x amount aerobically and then asks for an anaerobic technically sound burst and repeats it several times. Keep in mind Michael Phelps (and Lochte) have lead on that they have horrible diets in order to fuel the training. Maybe their coaches–like so many–are also trying to fight the effects of poor nutrition by adding cardio.
USRPT & Weights–
I see it all the time. The college kid goes home, doesn’t want to swim garbage yardage with younger, more ambitious age-groupers, so he just lifts all summer on a carb-rich swimmer diet and gets fat-strong. When he returns to school, you ask him what position he is going out for on the football team. You suggest he stretch some, which he forgot to include in his plan.
I’d do my homework before installing a 1-ton motor onto my cigarette boat. I’d also be very cautious of how I distributed any extra weight on my boat.
Possible advantages to weights–
Neuro-muscular awareness–applicable to technique awareness/modification
Vertical leap–applicable to starts and turns
Healthy joints–stability can help prevent overuse injuries.
Possible costs–
No valid data indicating where the athlete is in his season
Use your best guess as to what paces should be in relation to season goal times
Individual differences/needs may not be accounted for–some will benefit some may suffer
Headaches of blending USRPT/WEIGHT philosophies
I'm proud of what we've done, but I know 5, 10, 20 years from now I'll wonder what we'd done had we done it 'right'
