Chase Kalisz on Bowman Training: “I’ve done more yardage now than I’ve ever done”

PRO SWIM SERIES – KNOXVILLE

Olympic champion Chase Kalisz is now in his third stint of training with world-renowned coach Bob Bowman. First Bowman was Kalisz’s age group coach in North Baltimore, then Kalisz followed Bowman to Tempe for the 2015-2016 season under a redshirt once Bowman took the head coaching position at Arizona State, and now Kalisz has moved back out to Tempe for the foreseeable future. Surprisingly, Kalisz is doing more yardage now than ever, even in his age group days.

Don’t expect this to continue – coaches like Bowman and Kalisz’s other prominent primary coach, Jack Bauerle, are known for putting in mega-yardage the year before an Olympic year. But for the time being, Kalisz seems satisfied with getting his butt kicked, stating with a smile “I’ve probably had more bad practices than I’ve ever had in my entire life combined… I think this is good. Now’s the time to do it.”

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NCAA>ISL
1 year ago

Imo, Kibler should join the ASU group if he wants to stay competitive in the 100/200 free internationally. Better than training with high schoolers, same focus on volume.

Last edited 1 year ago by NCAA>ISL
Chris
1 year ago

Maybe Kathleen Baker will make an appearance at ASU to train with these people. Has anyone found her yet?

The Original Tim
1 year ago

During my age group career 20+ years ago, I moved all over the States and to my recollection every team I swam on followed the high yardage formula no matter what events you swam. Over the course of my career I went from a sprint breaststroker to a 400 IM/200 fly/200 back swimmer.

Fast forwarding a few decades, even well into my 30s as a Masters swimmer, I tend to do well with comparatively heavy training. I had my all time best season a few seasons ago training with the distance animals on the age group team I coach and set a handful of lifetime PRs that season in 50-200 yard races and was within a few percentage points of… Read more »

Boxall's Railing
Reply to  The Original Tim
1 year ago

Are you Tim Carlson?

The Original Tim
Reply to  Boxall's Railing
1 year ago

Nope

Wayne Alder McCauley
1 year ago

Only did a 1:02.05 for 100 meters LC breaststroke.

dscott
Reply to  Wayne Alder McCauley
1 year ago

Only? Whaddya want. His PB is 1:01.64 from 2018.

Swim2win
1 year ago

Chase Kalisz seems like masochist lol. Dudes been hating on the 4IM for 5+ years but keeps coming back for more

oxyswim
Reply to  Swim2win
1 year ago

You don’t choose the 4IM life, it chooses you.

Andrew
1 year ago

Still waiting for the article recap of the IU vs Michigan meet…

One word: thrashing

Meathead
1 year ago

This type of training will soon be phased out

Overkill

2Fat4Speed
Reply to  Meathead
1 year ago

Interesting that you say that considering that “type of training” produced the fastest 4IMer ever, the defending 4IM champion, and the current best 4IMer in the world. I’d say the training seems to be working well?

Mr Piano
Reply to  2Fat4Speed
1 year ago

Yeah Bob has coached 3 of the top 4 400 IMers lol. I think he knows a little bit more about how to train for it than some swimswam commentator.

Walter
Reply to  Mr Piano
1 year ago

Correction: “some meathead.”

IU Kicker
Reply to  Mr Piano
1 year ago

But for every Phelps, how many kids didn’t reach their potential because they were chronically overtrained or burned out?

Michael Lawrence
Reply to  Mr Piano
1 year ago

The screen name screams

MCH
Reply to  Meathead
1 year ago

For what events?

Andrew
Reply to  Meathead
1 year ago

Hold this L + ratio

Demarrit Steenbergen
Reply to  Meathead
1 year ago

It works, for some events and some people. There is a reason that there has been minimal progress in men’s distance swimming in the US vs the sprint events. I argue it’s because training is less rigorous for most now, the suits just make for it.

100
41.62-ervin-2002
41.49-Draganj–2005
40.92-cielo-2008
40.76-morozov-2013
39.90-Dressel-2017
15 years. -4.132%

500
4:08.75-Dolan-1995
4:08.54-vanderkaay-2008
4:08.42-c smith-2017
4:07.25-grothe-2017
4:06.32-k smith-2020
25 years, -0.976%

1650
14:29.27-Dolan-1995
14:26.62-Thompson-2001
14:24.08-Grodzki-2012
14:23.52-Jaeger-2014
14:22.41-c smith-2017
14:18.25-grothe-2017
14:12.08-finke-2020
25 years, -1.977%

Bub
Reply to  Demarrit Steenbergen
1 year ago

To be fair that 100 record is a huge outlier

Demarrit Steenbergen
Reply to  Bub
1 year ago

100 back:

43.35-urlando-2022
43.49-murphy-2016
44.07-thoman-2013
44.55-grevers-2012
44.60-lochte-2006
44.92-walker-1997
45.43-retterer-1995
27 years, -4.578%

It really isnt

Last edited 1 year ago by Lucas Caswell
turboturtle
Reply to  Bub
1 year ago

Dolan was an outlier too

Mr Piano
Reply to  Demarrit Steenbergen
1 year ago

Dolan would be going 4:05 in a mizuno

Demarrit Steenbergen
Reply to  Mr Piano
1 year ago

Not sure but was pvk in a full body for that 2008 record. I think it’s not even a mater of what type of suit Dolan put on. Put him in anything 2016 onwards and he’d crack that puppy

CMO
Reply to  Mr Piano
1 year ago

And what kind of training did Dolan do?

Michael Lawrence
Reply to  CMO
1 year ago

House of Pain, if I recall correctly

Demarrit Steenbergen
Reply to  CMO
1 year ago

He was urbancheck era so higher volume.

Xman
Reply to  Demarrit Steenbergen
1 year ago

By mid 2000s club coaches noticed two benefits about training kids to be fast at 100s and 200s over 400IM/500/1650 before this a lot of clubs were training kids to be 1650/400 IM swimmers.

1. Most colleges want the kids who can swim all the relays and 100/200 of a stroke. Parents send kids into clubs that send kids to colleges.
2. More kids stay in the sport without house of pain distance yardage. You can have a team with college prospects but to make money you need the kids who just want to make their high school district meet. There’s more of them willing to pay.

Bowman’s way of training, it works for those training to be the… Read more »

Last edited 1 year ago by Xman
Nick
Reply to  Demarrit Steenbergen
1 year ago

The effect of underwater kicking which is now so central to the sprints will be far greater in shorter vs longer events. Thus a time drop discrepancy doesn’t (necessarily) mean distance coaches are falling down on the job.

Meow
Reply to  Meathead
1 year ago

I think what’s pretty obvious is that this type of training works really well for some people and doesn’t work at all for others.

MTK
Reply to  Meow
1 year ago

Probably the case that the most gifted mid-d types can handle this type of training better than others. I would say that if you aren’t a super-elite world class talent though, you might be best served to do something a bit different to maximize your own potential.

ArtVanDeLegh10
Reply to  MTK
1 year ago

Agnel was the best in the world and he got crushed by Bowman’s training.

A few others have said it but there isn’t one specific method of training that will work for every swimmer, even swimmers that swim the same events. The goal is to find a coach/program that works for you and give it your best.

Ultimately if you’re going to be successful in the 400 IM, though, you’re going to have to put in some volume.

About Coleman Hodges

Coleman Hodges

Coleman started his journey in the water at age 1, and although he actually has no memory of that, something must have stuck. A Missouri native, he joined the Columbia Swim Club at age 9, where he is still remembered for his stylish dragon swim trunks. After giving up on …

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