Mike Keeler
sent in the following question: With your
experience with swimming, how would you go about apply your "reverse
periodization" to our sport? First let me start with a brief rant. I abhor
the term ‘reverse periodization” it is either periodization straight forward
and up and up or it is not. I have no idea where this stupid term started. Periodization
to me refers to the timing and sequence of the training stimulus. As far as swimming
dryland I approach it with basically the same concept as other sports with different application
based on the distance and the stroke. Get strong first, build a good structural
foundation for the greater volume of work to follow. Once you are strong you
can get fast. Now once you are fast you can swim fast enough to get specifically
fit. Then get specific, fine tune your racing and then compete. It is important
to recognize that these are not each separate distinct phases, they all
overlap. I also recognize that competition will begin for some teams as early
as the end of the get strong phase. That is OK, because those meets do not
count. It is also important to understand that all components are trained during
all phases just in different proportions. All of this is highly individual. One
of the biggest mistakes with the whole periodization issue is that people want
to think of periodization as a model, when in reality it is a concept. It is a
tool to help the coach predict adaptive response. I think Jim Richardson, the
women’s swim coach at University of Michigan understands how all this fits
better than anyone in American swimming at the present time. On the world scene
I think Stephan Widmer really understands this. If you take a step back and
look at the big picture this concept is not that revolutionary. Ultimately it
is about swimming fast! Why spend a huge period of time learning to swim slow
and then unlearn that to try to swim fast? It is not the heart and lungs, it is the brain. Read Tim Nokes ideas on the Central Governor Theory.
3 Comments
Jonathan Hewitt ATC
My instinct tells me to disagree but then I think about marathon runners and how they are capable of averaging a 5-6 minuute mile for 2+ hours. So what’s the answer?
Jim Richardson
Thanks for the props Vern… just when I think I’ve really got a grip on it all, that’s when it jumps up and bites me you know where! Although the term “reverse periodization” can beget a lot of ideas, the process is what Vern describes. In swimming, if you have taken a 2-3 week “break”, once you return to training you should be able to begin with some of the kind of sprint quality work usually reserved for the end of the season. The theory is that you are still “tapered” and capable of doing some high quality training. I think the nature of that training needs to be alactate (i.e. top end speed durations of :07 to :15). We have found that this blends nicely with the initial strength work in Vern’s dryland program. By doing this speed/strength work, I think we are able to do our aerobic developmental parametric sets at a higher level from the very beginning.
Paulo Sousa
Just wanted to say I fully agree with this 🙂
http://thetriathlonbook.blogspot.com/2007/12/reverse-periodization-can-you-please.html