Olympic Gold Speed Training Secrets: A 4-Month Progression by Brett Hawke
This 4-month progression targets different aspects of speed and performance in the water: speed endurance, speed strength, speed power, and speed explosiveness.
Month 1: Speed Endurance In the first month, the focus is on building a solid foundation of speed endurance. This phase is crucial for maintaining high-intensity efforts over longer distances in the pool. Workouts are designed to enhance anaerobic capacity and muscular endurance through longer sets, interval training, and sustained pace efforts. Swimmers work on maintaining speed over extended periods, ensuring they can handle the demands of competitive racing.
Month 2: Speed Strength The second month shifts focus to developing speed strength, which combines swim-specific strength training with in-water speed drills. This phase includes resistance training using parachutes, Power Sox, or resistance bands, along with explosive starts and turns. Strength training outside the pool, such as weightlifting and core exercises, complements in-water sessions to build muscle and improve stroke power.
Month 3: Speed Power In the third month, the focus is on speed power, emphasizing explosive movements and quick muscle contractions in the water. Training includes high-intensity sprint sets, power-focused drills, and work with resistance equipment like fins and paddles with parachutes. This phase aims to increase the swimmer’s ability to produce force rapidly, essential for powerful starts, turns, and finishes.
Month 4: The final month targets speed explosiveness, refining the swimmer's ability to generate rapid bursts of speed. This involves advanced plyometric exercises in water, high-intensity sprint training, and meticulous work on start and turn mechanics. Drills are designed to maximize efficiency and explosive power, ensuring that every movement in the water contributes to optimal speed.
Brett Hawke’s training secrets reveal a structured, progressive approach to developing the key components of elite swimming performance. By following this 4-month progression, swimmers can systematically build their endurance, strength, power, and explosiveness, setting the stage for peak performance and Olympic success.