Race Pace Training vs Traditional USA Swimming - Which One is Right?

Race Pace Training vs Traditional USA Swimming - Which One is Right?

Michael Andrew - mention that name to some people and they have no idea who you're talking about, but bring it up in front of traditional USA Swimming coaches, and many of them will roll their eyes and simply say, 'oh.......him'.

If you don't know who Michael Andrew is, simply Google his name and you're likely to see many articles and videos which discuss and showcase his swimming talents. Michael has been one of most decorated age group swimmers in the history of USA Swimming. He's broken (and set) over 85 National Age Group records and has recently put his name at the top of some Junior World Records as well, all before hitting 20 years old.

I've known the Andrews family ever since Michael was 11. We met them when our sons competed against each other in our home town, and we were curious as to how this family (then living in South Dakota) could have such a fast swimmer, who trained in a makeshift pool the father built in a converted bar. 

When we saw Michael in person for the first time, he appeared to be a normal size kid, but it was evident he came from an athletic family and it seemed within reason that if he stayed with the sport, he could one day become a force in the sport, although we questioned how this could be done swimming by himself, trained by his father, in a makeshift pool.

Still curious, we wanted to know about the Andrew family, so we invited them out with our family for dinner after the meet and before they headed back to South Dakota. It was at that time we learned more about their style of training and more about USRTP. What they said made a lot of sense, but would it really translate to him being a dominant force in the sport of swimming one day? o

From all accounts, Michael became a "test sample" for a gentleman named Dr. Brent Rushall, who completed the research and coined phrase Ultra Short Race Pace Training. Dr. Rushall's program was based upon scientific data which determined that the development of fast twitch muscle fibers were critical in the development of athletes, especially athletes who relied on their lungs and motor movements. You can read more about USRPT at USRPT.com.

Peter and Michael met with Dr. Rushall, and Dr. Rushall made Michael one of his projects to prove his theory at the time actually worked, and over the past 8 years, Michael has illustrated that training at a higher degree of intensity for a finite amount of time provides more evidence backed data than all the yards age groupers, high school swimmers, and national swimmers feel they "need" to swim in order to help them achieve their goals.

This is not to suggest that USRPT is the ONLY way that a competitive swimmer can have success in the pool. Most swimmers who have attained greatness in the sport have trained followed the "traditional" training sets that many USA Swimming coaches oversee. While there were some variations, the fact remained that most coaching today relies upon the success that came from others years and in some cases decades earlier, so you can't set aside the questions when they arise about whether USRPT and Michael's success is a trend or a fad.

In the years that I've utilized USRPT, I have ALWAYS had success with my athletes. USRPT is an evidence based form of training. This means the "evidence" that is gathered at each practice "proves" that the training will make you faster and help you achieve faster times.

USRPT is designed to put the onus on the swimmer to know exactly how fast they are swimming in practice and to work with their coach to make adjustments in technique in order to improve their drag/power coefficient. Having swimmers simply work on technique during slower laps does not help them "hold" the same technique when they are swimming at race speed. It's like asking a track athlete who runs the hurdle to "slowly" go over the hurdle in order to get the "feeling" of how high he should jump or how long he should extend in order to clear the hurdle and set his stride up for the next jump. Some things need to be done at pace.

This is not to say I agree with ALL aspects of USRPT, I believe certain types of dryland training which continues to develop the fast twitch muscle fibers and strengthen the core and legs can be beneficial to the swimmer and provides them with some time away from intense pool time, but the results that come from training far outweigh any potential disadvantages.

Other than the obvious benefit where swimmers avoid "garbage yardage" when the coach has you swimming sets which provide zero benefit towards your goals, other benefits include:

1. Having more time at home or with friends.

2. Unnecessary early morning practices.

3. Achieving times in practice that provides the confidence they will be able to achieve desired cuts during competition. 

4. Planning laid out which details how times will be achieved over a season.

5. Swimmers taking ownership over their practices and results. 

6. Every meet matters - no more going to a meet and wondering how well you will swim.

7. More time for dryland, meditation, goal planning, and success driven activities.

8. Everyone competing to swim their best everyday. Practicing for a purpose and seeing the results.

9. Establishing a goal plan which is constantly moving them forward in the sport and in life.

These are just a few of the benefits that can come from a program such as Race Pace Training which trains the body to "race" at a particular "pace" so it adapts to pushing itself in order to perform when the mind calls upon it to act.

I hope in the future traditional coaches will begin to implement some of its training and put the interest and well being of their swimmers ahead of simply collecting fees.