Using the Tempo Trainer with The Olympic Training Plan
by CoachBrian
Following is an e-mail exchange I had with a coach in Idaho:
Hi Brian,
I have a swim school in Boise ID. I have been a long time follower of TI and love the philosophy. I also went to school and swam in your back yard..the Air Force Academy. ;o)
I just purchased your Olympic distance tri training book from TI and wanted to get some suggestions from you as to how we might incorporate tempo trainers into the workouts as well. We have just started using the tempo trainers and would like to incorporate the use of them in your workouts if possible.
Any suggestions you might have would be awesome.
Thanks in advance for all your time and consideration.
Hi Shannon,
Thank you for purchasing my training plan. I hope it will serve you and your training group well.
Incorporating Tempo Trainers is a great addition to the plan. It creates certainty regarding the formula for speed: Velocity = Stroke Rate times Stroke Length. Although the temptation is to use it only to increase Stroke Rate, it can also be used to create a longer stroke.
The practices are generally broken into four parts: Stroke Tune-Up, Stroke Building, Main Sets, and Cool Down. The Tune-Up and Stroke Building parts are designed to help the swimmer imprint a longer, more efficient stroke, and identify the stroke rate that will best suit the swimmer’s ability at that time. Since we are focused on continual improvement, the swimmer’s ability to hold a particular stroke rate or stroke length should improve. The swimmer is also asked to explore a higher stroke rate, pushing the envelope of ability.
During the stroke tune-up (drilling mixed with swimming) the Tempo Trainer can be used to slow the stroke rate to a pace that allows the swimmer to feel the value of the drill or swim. This can be especially important during a group swim, where the competitive spirit pushes some swimmers to try to out muscle their lane mates, rather than focus properly on building skill. It may be a bit cumbersome and require some experimentation, so I’m not a big fan of using it during Stroke Tune-Up, except for those who have difficulty slowing down on their own.
Stroke Building in the plan uses stroke count to develop longer strokes, and faster strokes while maintaining stroke length. Here’s a common set:
Swim an easy 100, counting your strokes. This will establish your SPL for the remainder of the set. Your average SPL = N.
Swim 5 rounds of 2 x 25 at the following stroke counts. Rest as needed between lengths to achieve the stroke counts:
1 – 2. N-2 strokes per length. If you didn’t quite make the stroke count, repeat this one time.
3 – 4. N-1 SPL
5–6. N SPL
3 – 4. N-1 SPL
5–6. N SPL
7 – 8. N+1 SPL
9 – 10 N+2 SPL
Swim 100 at N SPL. How does your time compare to the first 100?
During this set, use tempo to help achieve the stroke counts. For example, if the first 100 is swum at a tempo of 1.25 seconds per stroke, the N-2 round can be swum at a tempo of 1.45, much slower. Increase the tempo for each subsequent round by 0.1 seconds per stroke, but have the swimmer try not to add strokes as tempo increases. (As the athletes become more accustomed to this set, they will learn to determine their own starting point and increments for the tempo settings.) For the last 100, the swimmer chooses a tempo, based on the preceding rounds, that seems most comfortable and efficient for a longer swim.
On other stroke building sets, you might ask swimmers to dramatically slow their stroke rate in increments (perhaps as low as 1.9 or 2.0 seconds per stroke) to develop better balance and "stroke choreography".
The main set asks the athlete to swim at a sustainable pace, the best combination of stroke rate and stroke length, for longer distances. These are typically two or more "broken 750’s" – 6 by 75 plus 3 by 100, for example. With the Tempo Trainer, the swimmer can hold the same tempo and strive to hit the same stroke count for each length. With the same tempo and stroke count, speed has to be the same throughout the set. That is exactly what sustainable pace is. The Tempo Trainer takes the guess work out of half of the equation, freeing the mind to focus solely on the skills required to execute each length in the right number of strokes. Habitual coordination is the result.
I also like to increase tempo during the latter half of a main set, provided that it doesn’t result in fatigue and more strokes.
It’s also important to develop a feel for tempo. Even if your athletes intend to use a Tempo Trainer during a race (it’s allowed in triathlon, but illegal in masters swim races) there is always the possibility that it may malfunction or be lost during the race. Some time should be devoted to replicating the desired pace without the Tempo Trainer.
Swimming is always a series of compromises. Keep an open mind, and don’t get rigidly locked in to specific numbers. Experiment, assess, re-plan, and try again!
I hope that helps. Best of luck with your team, and let me know how you get along.
Brian Vande Krol
Candidate
Colorado House District 35
