One training session I carried out during the latter stages my programme was an interval training session in the pool.  This consisted of doing 20 x 40m laps with a 15s rest interval in between each lap.  The 20 laps were split into 5 x 4 sets.  Some sets consisted of full stroke work, some were arms only and some legs only.  I also varied the stroke between sets.  As my main objective was to improve my performance in a T.15 swim for front crawl, this stroke made up the majority of my programme but I also included other strokes to add variety, reduce boredom and increase my levels of motivation and concentration.

One advantage of this was that it was activity specific which allowed me to do conditioning work and carry out technique and fitness development together.

The format of interval training was appropriate as it allowed breaks where I could receive verbal feedback from my teacher on points to improve.  The break also allowed me to check my pulse regularly to ensure I was working in my target training zone.

Before starting the session I took my resting pulse.  This served two purposes.  Firstly, I monitored my resting pulse each week, which allowed me to see if my resting pulse was being reduced, which could be an indicator of fitness levels improving.  Secondly, I could calculate after finishing my session, how long it took for my pulse to return to resting.  This would show me how quickly I was recovering after my session and could also be used as a weekly indicator to monitor my fitness.

I started by doing 4 x 40m frontcrawl with 15s rest between each lap.  I was working at the upper end of my aerobic training zone as I had developed my fitness throughout the programme and tried to get my heart rate to 85% of my maximum.  I monitored my heart rate by checking my pulse after every 4 laps to ensure I was working in the target training zone.  The short rest period ensured I was never fully recovering and always working under some degree of fatigue to try and develop my stamina.

I then did 4 x 40m resistance kick.  This involved holding a kick board vertically with half the board submerged in the water providing a resistance to push against.  This is higher intensity work than kicking with the board held flat and was introduced later in my programme when my fitness levels improved.

I then did 4 x 40m choice stroke.  I always did a stroke other than frontcrawl during this set to provide some variety to the session and avoid boredom.

This was followed by 4 x 40m resistance pull.  This involved swimming wearing a drag tow, which is a belt with a long tail and a parachute attached.  This provided drag in the water and increased the resistance I was pulling.  Again, this was an exercise which was higher intensity and was introduced in the latter stages of the programme when my fitness improved.

I finished with a final set of 4 x 40m frontcrawl and took my pulse when I finished.  I continued to take my pulse at 30s intervals until it returned to resting to calculate my recovery time.

I logged the session along with my thoughts and internal feedback in my training diary, which I used to monitor the effectiveness of my training.

When planning my training programme it was important to consider the principles of training.  I carried out an 8 week training programme, which consisted of 3 sessions per week of interval swimming training. 

Below are examples of 3 sessions I completed, one from week 1, week 4 and week 8 of my programme:

 

WEEK1

Distance            Set                                Intensity                                                Rest

3 x 40m             Full stroke                     65% max HR (130-135bpm)                    30s

1 x 40m             Kick (legs only)              65%                                                     30s

3 x 40m             Full stroke                     65%                                                     30s

1 x 40m             Pull (arms only)             65%                                                     30s

3 x 40m             Full stroke                     65%                                                     30s

Total distance – 440m

WEEK 4

Distance            Set                                Intensity                                                Rest

3 x 40m             Full stroke                     75% max HR (150-155bpm)                    25s

2 x 40m             Kick (legs only)              75%                                                     25s

4 x 40m             Full stroke                     75%                                                     25s

2 x 40m             Pull (arms only)             75%                                                     25s

3 x 40m             Full stroke                     75%                                                     25s

Total distance – 560m

WEEK 8

Distance            Set                                Intensity                                                Rest

4 x 40m             Full stroke                     80% max HR (160-165bpm)                    20s

3 x 40m             Resistance kick              80%                                                     20s

4 x 40m             Full stroke                     80%                                                     20s

3 x 40m             Resistance Pull               80%                                                     20s

4 x 40m             Full stroke                     80%                                                     20s

Total distance – 720m

Throughout the programme, I progressively overloaded my training which means I gradually increased the demands of my programme which allowed me to improve my fitness levels. 

Each week I increased the duration of my training, which meant I trained for longer in each session.  I did this by increasing the amount of 40m sets.  From week 1 to week 8, I increased my overall distance swum from 400m to 720m.  This meant in week 1 I worked for 15 minutes in my training zone, whereas in week 8 I was working for 25 mins in my training zone.

I also progressively overloaded by increasing the intensity of my programme.  I did this by ensuring I worked nearer the higher end of my training zone as my fitness improved.  To monitor if I was working at the correct intensity during each session, I took my pulse at the end of the last 40m in each set.  I also increased the intensity by doing resistance kick and resistance pull sets to work specifically on my muscular endurance. 

After week 3, I increased the frequency of my training to 4 times per week and then to 5 times per week in week 6.  Rather than adding in more swimming sessions, I did land based training for my extra 2 sessions.  I did a circuit training session once per week and an interval running session once per week.  This also added variety to my training to help reduce boredom and increase my levels of concentration and motivation.

I applied the principle of specificity by ensuring the training I carried out was specific to the activity of swimming, specific to the aspect of fitness I wished to improved and specific to my current levels of fitness. 

By doing a pool based session it allowed me to do conditioning work to develop both my fitness and technique at the same time.  This also meant my training simulated the demands specific to the activity such as having to hold my breath for short periods of time and having to pull against a resistance, i.e. the water when I started encounter muscle fatigue. 

I ensured my training was specific to improving CRE by working within my aerobic training zone (60-85% of my maximum heart rate) and to improving my LME by doing kick and pull sets which isolated my arms and legs to work against the resistance of the water.  I ensured the training was specific to my level of fitness by gradually increasing the demands as my fitness improved.

Reversibility occurred after week 4 of my training due to an injury, which meant I did not train for one week.  I felt this caused my fitness levels to drop slightly so I repeated the programme from week 3 to try to build my levels of fitness back up.

After the final week of my training I redid by T15 test.  As I wanted to be at peak physical condition and not suffer any effects of fatigue, I did tapering sessions in my 2^nd and 3^rd sessions of the final week.  This meant I worked at a lower intensity than normal that I knew my fitness levels could comfortably cope with without feeling any effects of fatigue.