Over the past few months we have spoken to several 2015 World Championship medalists and their coaches. Several were kind enough to share some of their favourite sets.
Find training sets behind the success of Mitch Larkin, Emily Seebohm, James Guy, Ning Zetao, Cameron van der Burgh and Kevin Cordes.
Mitch Larkin – World Champion 100 & 200 backstroke
(courtesy of Tim Binning, theswimpictures.com)
Two of the sets that Bohl has Larkin perform on a semi-regular basis are as follows:
a) 2 x (4 x 25 on 1.30 fast / 4 x 50 on 1.30 fast / 100 fast + 200 easy)
b) 8 x 100 on 1.45 (holding 61) + 100 easy + 8 x 50 on 60 feet on wall (holding 28) + 200 easy + 4 x 25 from a backstroke regulation start
Emily Seebohm – World Champion 100 & 200 backstroke
(courtesy of Paul Younan)
4 x 35 m at max speed hitting the level of lactate that would match the first 50 meters of her 100.
1 x 100 freestyle hitting the same heart rate that she would have in the first 50 or 100 in her 200 backstroke.
If the set is focused on the 200 they will then do a 100 at the speed of the second half of her race and if they are aiming at the 100 she will swim 50 at the speed of the second half of her race.
James Guy – World Champion 200 freestyle & silver medalist 400 freestyle
(courtesy of Peter Sukenik/www.petersukenik.com)
42 x 50s off a minute, first 16 every 4th at 200 pace, then 12 every 3rd, 8 every 2nd, then 4 all at pace
Ning Zetao – World Champion 100 freestyle
(courtesy of Tim Binning, theswimpictures.com)
a) 3 x ( 3 x 100 kick (LCM) – 1 @ 1:35 – 1 @ 1:25 – 1 @ 1:15)
In this set Ning has gotten down to 1:06 on the final 100 repeat
b) 75s (25 underwater fly kick with a board/25 sit scull/25 fast free kick) – goal is to be under 1 minute
Cameron van der Burgh – silver medalist 50 & 100 breaststroke
(courtesy of Peter Sukenik/www.petersukenik.com)
3 x (5×100,50,50) on 1’50/1’10/1’30
- The 100 on a high lactate threshold
- The next 50 swimming easy with the lactate still in your main stroke
- Then last 50 decending from 200 pace to max in the set
Kevin Cordes – silver medalist 200 breaststroke & bronze medalist 50 breaststroke
(Courtesy of Tim Binning/TheSwimPictures.com)
Carnival
- 8 x 50 on 1’
- 100 easy choice
- 4 x 75 (25 kick-25 Pull-25 swim) on 1’15 + 30-45” rest
- 4 x 100 (25 kick-25 Pull-50 swim) on 1’45 + 30-45” rest
- 4 x 150 (50 kick-50 Pull-50 swim) on 2’15 + 30-45” rest
- 4 x 300 (100 kick-100 Pull-100 swim) on 4’30 + 30-45” rest
- 4 x 150 (50 kick-50 Pull-50 swim) on 2’15 + 30-45” rest
- 4 x 100 (25 kick-25 Pull-50 swim) on 1’45 + 30-45” rest
- 4x 75 (25 kick-25 Pull-25 swim) on 1’15
- 100 easy
- 8 x 50 on 1’
Carnival Festival
- 100 easy
- 2 x 75
- 2 x 100
- 1 x 150
- 1 x 300
- 1 x 150
- 2 x 100
- 2 x 75
- 100 easy
- 8 x 50 FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- 100 easy
*This set is all breaststroke
I really appreciate this post, swimswam. Thank you!
Love this, but would appreciate some ideas from the great 400 IMers (Lochte, Phelps in his prime, Hosszu) and distance studs for the 400-1500 (e.g., Ledecky, Jaeger, Paltrinieri, Cochrane).
Would love to know what course these sets are done in, whether yards, short course meters, or long course.
Cordes is SCY, Ning is long course except of the 75s, van der Burgh is LCM, Seebohm is LCM, Guy is LCM and Larkin is LCM.
Fascinating how the Aussie and European sets are relatively short, and directed at race pace swimming, while Kevin Cordes’s set is 4800 yards long! Neither approach is necessarily wrong, but the difference is notable.
Cordes’ sets are Joszef Nagy sets, right?
Possibly this is classic Sergio! Fun but difficult practices.
That is correct this is the classic Nagy set
Love this stuff please have more!
This is so cool! Thanks for putting this together.