This Workout of the Week is a 1,200 yard workout I completed with MySwimPro on the Apple Watch. In this article I’ll overview the workout’s strategy and walk you through a set-by-set analysis of all the data captured in this USRPT inspired MySwimPro workout!
Workout Statistics:
- Distance: 1,200 Yards
- Duration: 28 Minutes
- Focus: High Intensity Race Pace Training
USRPT stands for “Ultra Short Race Pace Training”. The premise for this training methodology is that race-specific high intensity swimming will yield the optimal performance results and fastest times in competition. The overall goal is to simulate a racing situation in a workout to better prepare an athlete’s body for the actual race. Read more here.
Workout Strategy
This workout was completed in a 25 yard swimming pool. I wrote the workout using the MySwimPro app synced the workout to my Apple Watch. The training session was run continuously with 30 seconds rest between the set-groups and 15 seconds rest between the sets. You can learn more about workout and set structure here.
This USRPT inspired workout is a fantastic way to engage your body in a very short period of time. The goal of USRPT training is to simulate Race Pace speed in training. My 100 IM time is 54 seconds so the goal of the set was to average that pace or faster on every 25 fast so the broken IM adds up to 54 seconds or less. The Main Set is three rounds:
- 4 x 25 IM Order @ :30 RACE PACE
- 1 x 50 FR Easy @ 1:00
- 4 x 25 IM Order @ :30 RACE PACE
- 1 x 50 FR Easy @ 1:00
Round 1: All Natural
Round 2: Fins
Round 3: Fins & Paddles
Round 1 I averaged about 60 second broken 100 IMs, Round 2 I averaged about 48 second 100 IMs, Round 3 I averaged 46 second 100 IMs. USRPT is tough because you have to go fast from the start. My only warmup was a 200 free and foam rolling before that. I kept all my 25s with fins to 10m underwater off the push. I know I’ll never go under 50 seconds in a 100 IM, but I think 52 or 53 is realistic. It’s fun but painful to go fast! 😅
Workout Analytics
Using data to help you understand your swimming performance is one of the most efficient ways to help you improve in the water. With advances in wearable technology, the most important metrics can be tracked automatically and used to your advantage. Checkout the stats from the first round of the Main Set:
4 x 25s IM Order @ :30 may sound relatively simple, but when you’re trying to hit race pace, it’s much more difficult. You can see the average heart rate per segment, strokes per lap and lap splits all recorded automatically on MySwimPro Apple Watch App. Looking at the heart rate data, you can clearly see the three rounds of the main set and break for the 50 freestyle easy in between sets.
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”
Personalize The Workout
This same workout can be adapted to meet different speeds and skill levels. For example, instead of doing the round two and three of the main set with equipment, no equipment could be used. The set could be 8 x 25s IM order instead of 4 x 25s IM order. The 25s could be 50s, or the interval could be adjusted. There are many ways to personalize the workout in the App to make it 100% customized to you! Here’s an example of a variation:
- 4 x 50 IM Order @ 1:30 RACE PACE
- 1 x 100 FR Easy @ 2:00
- 4 x 50 IM Order @ 1:30 RACE PACE
- 1 x 100 FR Easy @ 2:00
Round 1: All Natural
Round 2: Fins
Round 3: Fins & Paddles
How To Swim Faster
Swimming fast comes down to two things: Increasing propulsion and decreasing drag. Swimming efficiently will help you decrease drag and this is much faster (and easier) to improve than improving propulsion. To increase the efficiency of your workout, you’ll need to add structure and variation to push your body in new and innovative ways. This workout is just one example of how you can do this.
If you’d like more creative sets and training plans like this, checkout the MySwimPro app. New workouts added daily (Workout of the Day) along with over 10 training plans that the MySwimPro app personalizes to you and are designed to help you meet your goals!
Be sure to download the MySwimPro app in the App Store for iPhone and Google Play Store for Android!
