I was a former swimmer – so I have a pretty big swimming background – but have basically got by on 8,000-11,000M per week for the past 3 years.
The last 4 weeks I have been able to spend a little more time in the pool. Around 14-15K. I have been doing more aerobic sets: instead of a typical set of 12 x 100’s on 1:30 holding 1:13-15 I might do 6 x 50’s on :50 holding :34 (so a little @ VO2 pace) then right into 15 x 100’s on 1:28 @ 1:18 (don’t ask). What has occurred is my aerobic pace has improved fairly quickly. I cannot find the set in my log, but I know I did the 100’s set on 1:32 @ 1:20 or 1:21 just 3 weeks ago. So a 2-3 second improvement per 100.
My thought is if you are swimming less than 10K per week (or something like that) targeting aerobic sets is futile. You just aren’t swimming enough to make meaningful gains. Stick to the V02 type sets because you will get more bang for your buck. But if you have the time to put in more, you might find some low hanging fruit @ aerobic paces.
Oh and one final thing: my “favorite” set has been:
2x50’s on :50 targeting :34 right into 1 x 400 where the first 50 is @ :34 and the last 350 at aerobic pace. Repeat 3 or 4 times for a 1500 or 2000M set.
6 x 50’s on :50 holding :34 (so a little @ VO2 pace) then right into 15 x 100’s on 1:28 @ 1:18
2x50’s on :50 targeting :34 right into 1 x 400 where the first 50 is @ :34 and the last 350 at aerobic pace. Repeat 3 or 4 times for a 1500 or 2000M set.
I am going to give your set a try.
I am doing something similar 2x (4-8x50 on 1:10 + 400 race pace + 100-200 easy) The 50’s are 1:1 work to rest.
What is the amount of rest (ballpark) you would say that is still a Vo2 pace? My best set is 10x100 on 1:25 The first 4-5 will be easy coming in 1:18-1:22. Then the last five or so will basically be 1:23-1:24s. I do that twice a week. About five weeks ago I could barely do 10x100 on 1:30. For me, that’s the quickest improvements I’ve seen in my two years of swimming. I swim 4-5x per week with average volume of 9-12k.
My thought is if you are swimming less than 10K per week (or something like that) targeting aerobic sets is futile.
I typically swim in the 8-12K range. I always swim my best when I’m doing some long aerobic sets mixed with some hard efforts. If all I do is short, hard efforts, I suck at anything longer than 500 yards because my form falls apart. I didn’t grow up swimming so I don’t have a big base. Holding form and pacing long efforts has always been a big challenge for me, and sets like 4x1000 go a long way for me.
Since you shared your favorite set, I’ll share mine (other than 4x1000):
500 pull/paddles (moderate)
5x100 on 1:30 (fast - hitting the wall in 1:13-1:15 so around 15 seconds rest)
400 pull/paddles
4x100 on 1:30
300 pull/paddles
3x100 on 1:30
200 pull/paddles
2x100 on 1:30
I really think that is too much paddle work, especially for someone who didn’t grow up swimming. Just an opinion.
I’ve been doing that set for years and paddles have never once bothered my shoulders. I don’t use big paddles, though. I either use the Finis Freestyler or Finis Agility paddle.
What is the amount of rest (ballpark) you would say that is still a Vo2 pace? My best set is 10x100 on 1:25 The first 4-5 will be easy coming in 1:18-1:22. Then the last five or so will basically be 1:23-1:24s. I do that twice a week. About five weeks ago I could barely do 10x100 on 1:30. For me, that’s the quickest improvements I’ve seen in my two years of swimming. I swim 4-5x per week with average volume of 9-12k.
I don’t have a specific answer for you but a coach once told me never to swim to failure. Or maybe it was never swim past failure. If you are coming in at 1:18s and then unable to do 1:24 at the end you paced poorly. I would rather see you do them all at 1:21 (and probably keep them on 1:30). Or you can do what I do and do them on 1:28.
To your specific question: that is not really a V02 set. You need a work to rest ratio of 3-1 at a minimum. I wasn’t doing VO2 sets. I was doing just under V02 pace. I cannot hold VO2 pace for very long because I am under trained.
Threshold intervals like that will certainly improve aerobic capabilities. Even better (for Ironman racing) would be 200-400yd tempo intervals (the pros I’ve swam with do a lot of these), but they take up quite a bit more time (and they suck). I think a problem a lot of swimmers (or just myself) fall into is always swimming too hard (working Vo2, and anaerobic no matter how the set is designed) and never really working threshold and tempo enough (or rather when the set is designed for that).