I read a few comments on the dara torres thread and noticed someone mentioned USRPT. I come from a swim background as a kid and had never heard of it, so decided to do a bit of research. It’s quite interesting, especially in that you are aiming to fail to complete the set properly. I saw somewhere something about how it can be used for longer distances as well as sprints. I’m trying to find more detail on this but assume it would refer to a set like 15 x 100m on a short send off? Or am I completely wrong on that?
I can actually remember training for 100m free as a 12 year old in a similar way - lots of 25m reps on 30 seconds. Also did something similar as a 13 year old but I can’t recall the specifics.
Anyway, would be great to get a discussion going on this as I’m sure lots of triathletes are keen to get the biggest bang for their buck in terms of swimming…
My intuition is that it seems pretty good, but may be unmanageable to really use in a squad/ team setting, because people will always be stopping sets at different times. I think there are some general principles that can be taken from it, especially the importance of training at race pace.
Most good programs already incorporate the usrpt principles, but in a different manner because they are trying to train 30 people at once, not just 3 or 4.
For triathlon, too many triathletes treat the swim like they treat the bike or run, ie get in for 2000 straight. That isn’t the most effective use of time, IMO.
Its the real deal for me. Lots of 25-50-75-100-200 reps. I was using these principals as a self coached masters swimmer / triathlete without knowing the name for it. Its the shiznit.
Tomorrow am is gonna be 16x100 on 1:30 or 1:40, trying to hold 400 target pace (1:10). That’s 4 secs faster per 100 than I’ve done in comp this year. Might get ugly.
The masters group I swim with uses it a bunch. Sounds easy at first but it gets tough, quick. I’m sure SnappingT will chime in anytime now as he’s our coach.
From shiznit to shuzbut in 5 short minutes? If it was working for you (and something certainly is, based on your results) why did you give it up so quickly?
Using USRPT principles in a 50LCM pool as you’ve indicated, I would expect to see:
Short WarmUp
800FR Set
up to 40 x 50 (800 RP) on Send Interval giving ~20" Rest
Recovery activity designed to prepare for the next set
400FR Set
up to 30 x 50 (400 RP) on Send Interval giving ~20" Rest
Recovery activity designed to perpare for the next swim session
I don’t think either set you proposed has much in common with USRPT programming other than short(ish) reps.
Mixing speed stimulus (800RP & 400RP) within a set? Not USRPT
100 intervals for 800FR training? Not USRPT
Extra 30" Rest after 5? Not USRPT
I’m not knocking your proposed workouts (or your results for that matter), but USRPT is more restrictive in some ways than is commonly understood. That said, within the USRPT programming shell is more than enough freedom for the individual swimmer focused on high performance standards.
Using USRPT principles in a 50LCM pool as you’ve indicated, I would expect to see:
Short WarmUp
800FR Set
up to 40 x 50 (800 RP) on Send Interval giving ~20" Rest
Recovery activity designed to prepare for the next set
400FR Set
up to 30 x 50 (400 RP) on Send Interval giving ~20" Rest
Recovery activity designed to perpare for the next swim session
I don’t think either set you proposed has much in common with USRPT programming other than short(ish) reps.
Mixing speed stimulus (800RP & 400RP) within a set? Not USRPT
100 intervals for 800FR training? Not USRPT
Extra 30" Rest after 5? Not USRPT
I’m not knocking your proposed workouts (or your results for that matter), but USRPT is more restrictive in some ways than is commonly understood. That said, within the USRPT programming shell is more than enough freedom for the individual swimmer focused on high performance standards.
In swimming circles that’s all just called “pace work”.
Exactly, in swimming circles a workout like that is just called pace work because it’s just a small piece of a program. But when it’s “race pace work (almost) every time, (almost) all the time” the program as a whole gets branded and sold because that’s not normally done in swim circles. Many of the swimmers and coaches who claim to be using USRPT simply are not, and it’s not even close. They may do a set or two per week that fits (sometimes very loosely) the general guidelines, but USRPT is not about a set here or there. It’s an over-arching philosophy of training with methods and guidelines that are simply not the norm for most programs. I’m not advocating for USRPT or making any claims about it’s applicability for triathletes competing in any distance races. I just don’t see the utility in discussing a unique program like USRPT if we all are talking about completely different things and talking past each other.
Exactly, in swimming circles a workout like that is just called pace work because it’s just a small piece of a program. But when it’s “race pace work (almost) every time, (almost) all the time” the program as a whole gets branded and sold because that’s not normally done in swim circles. Many of the swimmers and coaches who claim to be using USRPT simply are not, and it’s not even close. They may do a set or two per week that fits (sometimes very loosely) the general guidelines, but USRPT is not about a set here or there. It’s an over-arching philosophy of training with methods and guidelines that are simply not the norm for most programs. I’m not advocating for USRPT or making any claims about it’s applicability for triathletes competing in any distance races. I just don’t see the utility in discussing a unique program like USRPT if we all are talking about completely different things and talking past each other.
At the risk of seeming like a Neanderthal, I just think this USRPT philosophy of “all race pace almost all the time” is a recipe for guaranteed burn-out. I think it is somewhat telling that the most famous devotee of this system is a 15 yr old kid. Certainly, he has done incredible things so far but will he even be able to stand the thought of getting in the water in 5 yrs??? We’ll see…
You might be right. I’m curious about the underpinnings of your opinion as stated here. When you read the primary source material on the USRPT mechanisms in place which might mitigate the risk of burn-out, did you come to the conclusion they are ineffective or otherwise not robust enough?
You might be right. I’m curious about the underpinnings of your opinion as stated here. When you read the primary source material on the USRPT mechanisms in place which might mitigate the risk of burn-out, did you come to the conclusion they are ineffective or otherwise not robust enough?
I just think if anyone asked me to swim race pace 2 workouts/day, 6 days/wk, I would burn out very quickly. Maybe I just have too many slowtwitch fibers, having always been a 400 m and up swimmer and being a relatively decent runner, but I’ve always, always, always burned out and become way overtrained when trying to swim that hard every day. I understand that you just stop when you miss making your goal time twice but just the thought of having to try to swim that fast twice a day, every day, would fill me with dread. Also, I have to swim at least 30-45 min before I can even attempt race pace work, whereas the USRPT protocol only allows something like a 10 min warm-up, IIRC; this alone would screw me from the start:)