Reply To: Location and USRPT Status
Hi Lyle, when I originally started training USRPT, the transition was rough. Slowly, I started to make more repeats while decreasing the target time. I’m a backstroker since childhood and having gone through the traditional training method, both as a club athlete and in college, it seemed like too little volume to get myself prepared for my biggest meet in the last 5 years. I’m happy to say I was mistaken.
One aspect that really helped me was instituting a pre-warmup dynamic stretching routine that includes myofascial release and mobility exercises. This has made a huge difference in how I feel in the water during pool warmup. I have been able to drop the length of my warmup to 300 to 500 meters. Once I get the desired feel-for-the-water I jump straight into the 1st USRPT set. I recommend you get a copy of Dr. G. John Mullen’s “Mobility for Swimmers” ebook. You won’t regret it!
Another aspect that has worked well for me, and it comes straight from Dr. Rushall’s “playbook” is trying not to think how many repeats I have swam and how many more I have until the set is finished (well, you are not expected to finish the set). Now, easier said than done, specially when you start to pile on the repeats.
Finally, I have taken the principle of specificity seriously. Although I can “hold my own” in all three backstroke distances, I decided to concentrate in the 100 backstroke. 90% of my USRPT sets are designed to work exclusively on 100 bk race-pace.
Those things have put my ahead of schedule as far as my preparation for World Masters. Now I look forward to work on the visualization aspect of my races and on the fine-tuning (starts, turns and underwaters).
Hope that helps to stear you in the right direction. You can contact me via email at tomasbisono@gmail.com or via Skype: tomas_bisono.
