Help with training in super short pool

[xvandish]

Hi, I’m a high school swimmer that for the summer only has access to probably a 12.5 yd pool or maybe a touch smaller. I have to do a flip turn to do around a 25 and two flip turns to complete a 50. I was wondering if any of you had advice on how to train for the 50 and 100 free, fly and butterfly. I know in USRPT 12.5 25 and 50’s are utilized, but since flip turns are involved for the latter two distances I’m not quite sure about how I should structure my practice. I should note I have complete access to this pool so I can practice multiple times a day.
Thanks, Rodrigo.

[xvandish]

I really want to start training, anybody have any opinions on what I should do?

[Andrew Alatorre]

I would do 12.5m sets of USRPT, such as 15 12.5s @ 50 pace, problem is 12.5ms is only for 50s training in reality, and since you have to do flip turns to do anymore than a 12.5, that push off will change your time on any race.

[xvandish]

Thanks for the answer, I’ll probably end up doing that and just concentrate on 50yd instead. One event per meet here I come 🙂

[MSchuber]

This is what I would do. I don’t know what your pool looks like so perform at your own risk.

Short Course swimming is all-about skills. If you miss your start, you are done. If you miss your turn, you lose. If you short stroke your finish, that might be enough to miss the time/place you want.

Mark up your pool, so that you can legitimately practice and time a proper turn without lifting your head and looking at the wall. Put cones or something that won’t move on the bottom to consistently signify when it is time to execute your turn. It is horrible crashing into a wall–either head-first or heals on top.

Then start your workout with 4x[4×12.5s] on 20sec. Within a month or two you should be doing 4x[6×12.5s]. One session, do them all freestyle. The next session, do them all butterfly. Get ample rest in between each round.

Then, since you have marked the bottom of the pool and learned how to do a turn without lifting your head, do 20-30 25s on 30-40s at your 100 freestyle/100 butterfly race pace. If you miss your pace, skip out one. If you miss on the 25 after you skipped out, you are done.

If you do not have a reliable clock, you could purchase a “GymBoss” and put it in a plastic bag. In the meantime, you will need to perform these by feel, which is kind of the point anyway.

These are the basics, unfortunately, your technique is the most important part of this training. To counteract not having a knowledgeable coach deck-side, I would set up my i-pad to a pool-side television and download a “video delay” app. This way, you can see what you look like after every repeat.

Hope this helps.

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'

[xvandish]

I completley forgot to check back for replies, so sorry about the delayed response. And thanks, I will try to implement all your advice.

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