How much do you think that mullet adds to Chakarov's squat?
Volume Two
In Volume One, I provided a very succinct -- probably too succinct -- explanation of
"adaptation" as well as a primer on Ivan Abadjiev and his so-called
"Bulgarian Method" (I have included a hyperlink at the bottom of today's post that connects to a translated transcript from Abadjiev on this very subject). The purpose of these posts remains to examine
what elements of the Bulgarian Method may be applied to more traditional
"endurance" sports, with swimming serving as the main counterpoint.
When last we left off, I was explaining why I thought
most swim practices fail to produce the optimal adaptation in the athlete for
racing success. However, based on my discussions with former coaches and peers, alike, I feel I may jumped the gun in Volume One. Therefore, I am backtracking a bit in this post to address some of these issues.
For those who may be unfamiliar with swimming and its
training methods, the average collegiate swim practice lasts at least two hours, with
most of the training focused on building aerobic base. In a typical session,
athletes will usually swim anywhere between 6,500-9,000 yards (4 and 5.5 miles,
respectively), depending on the training group, the coach's philosophy, and the goals of that particular workout. Most college programs,
though not all, also require their athletes to train twice a day, so it is not
uncommon for these athletes to swim upwards of ten miles per day, several days
per week.
I want to make one point crystal clear here -- subjecting athletes to this volume of training is absolutely critical at certain points in their careers, most importantly between
the ages of 12 and 17. At this stage in their respective development, neither
boys nor girls possess a great deal muscle mass, meaning their bodies are
capable of handling, and recovering from, a huge amount of work. Coaches need
to capitalize on this window, and lay a strong aerobic foundation upon which the rest of their "career" can be built. Focusing on events like the 500- and 1,000-yard freestyle, as well as the 200-
and 400-yard individual medley are an excellent long-term approach for
developing well-balanced swimmers. Conversely, coaches who fail to adopt this
long-term view often times place a glass ceiling on their athletes' future
development, limiting their range of events to only the shortest distances and to certain
strokes. I cannot reiterate enough that once this window closes it is very
hard, if not impossible, to make up for lost time. During my own career, I
never saw a collegiate athlete successfully swim a longer event than they
completed at the age group level.
Collegiate and master-level swimmers, however, often times
need to be trained differently than their age group peers, as their changing bodies may not allow them to
grind out huge volumes of aerobic week after week. To begin facilitating this transition, coaches should start shepherding their athletes towards competing at, and focusing on, shorter events, such as the 100- and 200-yard
freestyle, the 100- and 200-yard strokes (backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly,
and the 200-yard individual medley, around their sophomore or junior year of high school. While not all swimmers will make this entire transition, even great distance swimmers need speed for the reasons I mentioned in Volume One. This gradual shift towards the shorter distances will also give high school swimmers a chance to show college coaches their future sprinting potential.
One further point on this issue, an athlete's best event CANNOT be their longest. Why? Because all athletes, irrespective of ability level, "fear" their longest event. Indeed, when an athlete steps up onto the blocks for their best event they need to know deep down that they can finish the race strong, and not let the field come back on them.
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