Speed Focus

You can't swim very fast without good technique, but good technique alone does not make you fast. You have to include speed sets now and then to swim faster.

What to Watch For

Watch your stroke count. Try to keep your sprinting stroke count within 3 SPL (strokes-per-length) of your CSS stroke count.
Not enough rest between repeats. Be totally rested before starting each sprint repeat.

Speed Focus Workout

There is only one workout in this set.

Group Workout
Key Workout - None. There is no separate key workout. Generally speaking, you should be doing only one speed focus workout per week.
Recovery Workout - None. You should not have a speed focus during a recovery workout. (But you may include short-distance, low-repeat speed sets in all workouts during your taper and recovery periods.)

More Information

Video Clips - Don't look at sprinters going fast. Look at endurance swimmers going fast. Notice how distance swimmers are going very fast (faster than we all swim at top speed) with a 2-beat kick for most of the race. But also notice how they all start and finish with a strong 6-beat kick. Here is a clip of Kate Ziegler vs Laure Manaudou from an 800m race: (you can find more distance race clips on YouTube):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om48QTqzUhE

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