After his 3rd Olympics in 2021, Cam McEvoy was burnt out with swimming and retired, thinking that was it for his swimming career. After 2 years of studying high performance within weight lifting, track, and cycling, McEvoy wondered if principles from each sport could be applied to swimming.
The sprint star decided to give swimming one last chance, but he was going to do it on his terms. When he proposed his training plan to many coaches, many turned him away. But once he found Tim Lane through fellow Australian swimmer Bobby Hurley, the pieces fell into place.
Over the next year and a half, it was trial and error while McEvoy and Lane completely revamped what swim training could look like. Cam was barely counting yardage with many workouts not cracking 1,000 meters. But he was putting in work and the results came, with Cam registering more sub-22 50m freestyles in that year than he had in his entire 13-year career combined.
Listen to what “The Professor” of swimming says about how we train in swimming and what worked for him in his pursuit of Olympic gold.
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In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.
Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com
He’s done the work. He’s developing the baseline physical parameters outside of the pool and swimming enough for his body to learn how to apply it in the water. Work works.
Revolution? No. Great contribution to the body of knowledge? Yes. McEvoy’s path to success is great for the sport and the greater understanding of training, sprint or otherwise. Michael Andrew’s path also benefitted the sport. Doc Counsilman (lift propulsion) changed things. Ernie Maglischo (precise threshold training) changed things. Time and perspective have revealed the limitations of all of the “breakthroughs”. The best coaches just increase their knowledge and understanding when others take take a deep dive (risk) into something specific…what a gift they provide by sharing it with us!
Part of the problem with our sport is that athletes and coaches tend to work at the extremes. The reality is that the truth always lies somewhere in the middle. Some… Read more »
I don’t know if athletes and coaches actually tend to work with the extremes, or if the people who prefer the extremes tend to suck the oxygen out of the room because they’re the most interesting to the public, and because they’re the most willing to promote their version of it.
Who are the most successful NCAA coaches of the last decade? The top 4 list is probably Durden, Reese, Meehan, and DeSorbo, right? Add in Holloway and Capatani and Albiero in the next tier? As I understand, none of those coaches work in the extreme. But because they don’t work in the extreme, it’s harder for them to brand, package, and sell their programs. Instead, they just…win stuff.
Good point, it’s wrong to say that most work in the extremes. And you’re right, the ones that do are the most vocal and draw the most attention.
Honestly, the people who don’t appreciate the value of what he’s saying are being wilfully blind at this point. He’s putting specificity at the centre of his training, like they do in other disciplines. We’re so obsessed with volume as a sport that even now people are arguing about the volume he’s doing like that’s the most important aspect of this approach he’s taking. This approach is universal, but the rep scheme and intensity will vary by event.
This.
kyle is always my king but cam is my pope
I love that Cam talks about this training being something that can give him longevity in the sport. This is what swimming has failed (and never even really attempted) to do for so long. Track and field athletes seem to love their sport into their 30s and beyond far more than swimmers do, and I think it’s at least partly because the coaches and athletes have done more collaboration when it comes to trying new things. People that love swimming shouldn’t have to either put up with long, grinding workouts, or quit.
As a retired sprinter I think this was a fascinating interview. Sometimes I find SwimSwam cuts interviews way too short and they end just as the discussion gets going. I’m glad Coleman gave this one the time to breathe.
Pan mentioned in an interview that his daily regime for training is twin sessions totalling 15km..
got a link to that inteview bud?
I think Cam paid his dues by putting in the volume when he was young..his training now is specific to one event..it would not have worked a decade ago..but now, it works for him..plus his near perfect technique doesn’t hurt!
Why doesn’t it work for MA? Poor technique..ok..really poor, hard to look at technique!
you think the distance practices he did when he was 16 helped him for a 50 when he’s 30+?
they probably helped develop his good technique
Yep
Well he was certainly better off than someone starting fresh as a 30yo, even just physically and putting technique aside. Training aerobic through adolescence and puberty sets you up with big lungs, a strong heart, and wide shoulders
Yes
MA training doesn’t work because what McEvoy does in a day MA tries to do doubles or triple sessions of that and McEvoy explicitly explains the body can’t handle the neural fatigue of doing that much volume of 90%+ intensity. So MA may be trying to go max each time but he is gradually reducing what his max is due to the on set of fatigue.
The aerobic volume McEvoy did in his earlier years isn’t impacting him now because the body never taps into the aerobic system during a 50. He even states he refined his technique to suit a 50. Anyone who says the aerobic work he did when he was younger is the reason for his… Read more »
Well, he is the fastest American to ever swim the 100 meter breaststroke. Sorry haters, he’ll be back, especially for the 50s at the world championships. Still young for a 50s swimmer. Agreed his technique could improve.