Video feature is courtesy of Chuck Destro, co-founder of the Destro Swim Tower, a SwimSwam partner.
Carmel has always been a swimming powerhouse around Indiana, but this year, they seemed even more dominant the ever. Their most recent state performance left onlookers asking themselves the same question. How is Carmel so fast, every year?
To try to answer this question, I decided to check out one of Carmel’s morning power practices, and what I saw was impressive to say the least.
During the warmup, the practice seemed fairly typical for a high school boy’s elite squad. However, after scanning through the workout, I quickly noticed that it would not continue to be typical. Once warmed up, Carmel started off with what I would call a College level kick set.
- 8x25s KICK w/ Drag Sox on :45
- 6x100s KICK Desc by 2 on 1:40, 1:30, then 1:20
- 6x On Coach (Float, Kick, Max Choice – NO BREATH FR/FL)
The eye-opening part about this set is that every single member of the squad was able to make the 1:20 interval with relative ease. In my experience, this type of kicking speed in a high school program is rare. But why? In short course, over half of the race can be swum with dolphin kicking alone. So why aren’t more high school teams developing their kicking?
Next, Carmel moved into their main set for the morning.
3x
- 8x25s On Destro Swim Towers (Fl/Bk, 11 Dolphins – 1st 4 Restart) (Br, 4 pull – 4 3k1P)
- 4x25s Desc 1-4 N-1 (Work Speed + Efficiency) (Choice)
- 1×50 Dive Max
- 1×100 Ez
I was genuinely stunned when I watched this portion of the practice. As you can see in the video, all the athletes showcased super powerful strokes that is typically only seen at the college level or above. Even more impressive was the team’s ability to sprint with fins and paddles equipped. A problem with most young athletes using fins and paddles is that they are not strong enough to sprint correctly with this gear on. However, for the Carmel boys, this was certainly not the case. Coach Plumb explained to me that their powerful strokes could be attributed to “a combination of dryland and power”.
So how is Carmel so fast every year? In my opinion, the recipe is somewhat simple.
- Develop a great team culture
- Use a combination of land strength training with in-pool power practices
- Kick, Kick, and more Kick
- Old fashioned Hard Work
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Training feature is courtesy of the Destro Swim Tower, the most effective and affordable resistance training tower ever made.
DST: The first step to becoming a champion
The Destro Swim Tower’s adjustable resistance allows coaches to tune their training to an athletes specific needs. Higher resistance training will benefit a swimmers explosiveness, athleticism, power and speed. While, lower resistance will benefit an athlete’s endurance, technique, and feel. Swim towers also create a fun and exciting atmosphere for athletes and allow greater flexibility in a coaches practice strategy.
Coach Approved – Athlete Approved
One of the most powerful benefits for coaches is the ability to handicap athletes relative to each other. For example, a very elite male swimmer may be able to slack off if he is training with a group of less talented swimmers. However, if we make the elite swimmer pull half a bucket, while the less talent swimmers pull a quarter of a bucket, we can even the playing field and increase the competitiveness of the practice environment.
The Destro Swim Tower is beneficial for all types of swimmers.
- Distance Swimmers – Create muscle confusion and additional fatigue on the swimmer to increase endurance.
- Middle Distance Swimmers – Develop a more efficient kick & stroke for improved endurance and speed in races
- Sprinters – Develop massive explosive power for dolphin kicks, pulling, flutter kicks, and flip turns
The Tower Features:
Performance
Smooth Resistance: Our design fixed the ‘jerkiness’ issue seen in the past.
Consistent Resistance: This tower provides consistent resistance over many hours of use
Engineered Frame: As professional engineers, we used only the latest technology and materials
No More Rope Kicking: By changing the rope height, your feet are free to kick water- not rope
No Rust: We used only ultra corrosion resistant hardware and aircraft aluminum to build our tower
Resistance: 0 – 20 Lbs of resistance, adjustable via water level in the bucket
Portability
Dimensions: Collapsed (29 L x 24 W x 45 H) Inches Extended (29 L x 24 W x 69 H) Inches
Weight: Just 35 Lbs
Storage: The tower is super easy to transport in your SUV or truck
Value
Our shipping can be as low as $50 a tower. With further discounts for multiple orders!
We can ship internationally for reasonable rates. Just contact us directly on our website
The Destro Swim Tower provides teams with an affordable option; gone are the days where you need over $3000 to get your athletes the resistance training that they need.
“I graduated from Purdue University in 2014 as a mechanical engineer and swimmer. I was lucky enough compete against and practice with some of the best athletes in the world at the 2012 & 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, and NCAA Div I Championships. Afterwards, I spent several years as a machine designer in automotive and manufacturing facilities. What I learned is that making an athlete is a lot like making a machine. When we build a machine, we use exact measurements, designs, plans, schedules, and conduct trials. After each revision, we quantify performance and make the appropriate changes until we have the perfect performance. This is how swimmers should be training, but we don’t yet have the technology available to train this effectively. I founded Destro Machines so that I could develop the tools our sport needs to escape the dark ages of training. It is my promise to develop the best training technology that the swimming world has ever seen. Machines aren’t just what we make, Machines are who we make.”
― Chuck Destro, Co-Founder
About Destro Machines
Destro Machines is a family and swimmer owned company. We were founded in 2015 when we realized that swimmers and coaches were lacking the effective and affordable training technology required for them to reach their goals. Our team of engineers, has spent months working with Division I College and top tier highschool programs to develop a tower that’s not only less expensive, but also more effective than any other resistance training system available.
Swim training courtesy of Destro Machines, a SwimSwam partner.
