Coach’s Intel: Northfield Swim Club’s Gunnar Teigen Shares a Couple Sets

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Gunnar Teigen, who is going into his first year of head coaching at the Northfield Swim Club in Northfield, Minnesota shares two different sets in this afternoon’s Coach’s Intel:

The first set is for when we split up into stroke specialty.  We really will only split up into specialty when we are in the middle of an anaerobic phase in our season.  The other strokes have their own sets as well but this one I like to use for the breaststrokers.

The 4x100s serve as a chance for athletes to warm up their breaststroke for the 8x50s.  The goal of the 8x50s is to simulate the last 25 of a 100 or 200 breast and focus on maintaining a strong and powerful pull out which leads into a sprint 25.  We end with just a couple sprint 50s off the blocks.

Set 1 (for breaststrokers)

4x100s as 50 fr/50 breast (free easy effort, breast moderate effort) @ 130/145

8x50s @ 115

25 as Underwater Pull outs rest :05

25 as Sprint breast on top

75 EZ to other end

2x50s All Out from blocks

125 EZ

Set 2

The second set is something I call Record Board Relays.  This set works great for most age and skill levels.  Athletes follow the high school record board and do the whole board as a relay.  Athletes figure out their order at the start and then must stay in that order the whole way through.  The relay is continuous.  For example, after an athlete does the 50 free spot, someone will do a relay exchange off of them and then do a 50 fly.

Below are how the relays are split up:

200 medley relay= 4x50s

200 free relay= 4x50s

200 individual medley= 4x50s

50 free= 1×50

100 fly= 2x50s

100 free= 2x50s

500 free= 5x100s

200 free relay= 4x50s

100 back= 2x50s

100 breast= 2x50s

400 free relay= 16x25s

Ideal number of kids per team is 5 (depending on age/skill level).  That way they each need to do a 100 in the 500 and towards the end, it hopefully gets pretty tiring.  A hopefully fun and different way to do relays to mix up the training while also giving the kids a chance to work on relay exchanges.