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The majority of swimming coaches will agree that effective training requires an applied understanding of key training concepts, and implementation of these concepts within the training program. We all use 'common terminology' to describe the way we plan and carry out our methods. A general description of seasonal program development usually sounds like: "Build an aerobic base early in the season and then add more intense work to develop speed and speed-endurance prior to the ‘taper’ (i.e. reduction in workload), which facilitates a super-compensation of accumulated training affects.
 
We use the term 'aerobic base' quite freely, and everyone seems to know what we're talking about, but do we really have a clear concept of: (i) what it means, (2) how it's measured, and (iii) what are the resultant outcomes?

If the term is so widely used, perhaps we should first consult with the acknowledged 'experts' and see what they have to say about the meaning of the term 'aerobic base'? A quick search through several well known swimming textbooks revealed that this specific term has not been properly defined or even referenced. This being the case, I thought it's time we begin to understand what is meant by the term 'aerobic base'.

NextWhat is a swimmer's 'aerobic base'?

 

First, lets assume that most coaches have a clear idea of what we're talking about when the word aerobic is used. That is, they understand that it refers to the process of energy production which takes place in the presence of oxygen. We often use a supply-and-demand analogy to explain this process. When energy supply (in the presence of oxygen) equals the demand from the working muscles, there is no net increase in the metabolic by-products that ultimately limit performance. There are various measures that coaches use to quantify a swimmer’s workload; oxygen consumption, ventilatory response, heart-rate, and blood lactate accumulation are a few of these. There are also less clearly defined descriptions of our aerobic swimming performance, such as 'steady pace', 'moderate effort', 'sustained effort' and 'sub-threshold'. Coaches can certainly tell when their swimmers have exceeded the energy demands of predominantly aerobic, or steady-state work (i.e. lactate build-up greatly increas ventilation and also begins to inhibit sustained high muscular effort).

 

Now, lets combine our notions of what is aerobic with what is a 'base' level of development. Simply, 'aerobic base' is a beginning level of aerobic capacity. A swimmer's aerobic base will reflect many adaptations to the type of training performed. It will change from season to season (and within a season) as a result of current training/detraining influences, as well as growth and maturational considerations. The concept of aerobic base is also used as one of many performance measures from which the coach can make judgements about the effectiveness of the training program.

NextHow can we measure a swimmer's aerobic base?

To determine one's aerobic base some measurement criteria must be applied, but because there are maturational and developmental influences the assessment process must be flexible and individual to the athlete (i.e. this detracts from the precision of the test, but makes it practical). It's generally agreed that steady-state exercise (i.e. aerobic) must be maintained for a minimum of 20 minutes to elicit a training response. On the other end of the exercise continuum if low-level efforts are maintained for very long periods of time (i.e. in excess of two hours), other variables such as muscle glycogen depletion begin to intervene. Therefore, our test of aerobic base will be one which lasts between 20 and 50 minutes of swimming time. The intensity of swims which make up the test protocol should be predominantly steady-state. Therefore, the swimmer will be asked to maintain a 'moderate' pace with minimum variation between fastest and slowest individual swims and constant sub-maximal heart rate. If the test is to be based upon interval swims, the duration of the individual swims will be determined by an appropriate work-to-rest ratio which keeps the workload in the range of aerobic energy demands. Too much rest usually results in the swimmers working at rates that require a substantial anaerobic energy component; heart-rate may fluctuate and lactic acid begins to accumulate in the muscles. If continuous swimming is to be used as a test, the swimmer's splits must be even and the total distance covered must be within the appropriate time frame of 20-50 minutes work. Almost any interval distance can be used, but because this is a 'field test' evaluation that is used by swimmers of different ages, a simple 100m or 50m protocol is suggested. Two sample tests using interval swims are given below.

NextAerobic Base Test for Junior Swimmers (boys under 14 and girls under 13 years).

40 x 50m on a 50 second interval (or approximately 5-10 sec. between swims). If younger swimmers are being tested, select an approrpiate time interval that allows about 5 seconds rest between swims. [note: short-rest swims will not allow the coach to monitor heart-rate every time, so it's important to stress that swimming pace remains in the desired range]

· Record all times, they should be within a narrow range of about 1.5-2 seconds, fastest to slowest.

· Heart-rate should be approximately 40 beats below maximum during the set of swims (a slight drift upward may occur near the end of the set, not more than 5-10 bpm variation).

 

The average time for internal swims becomes the current measure of 'aerobic base' for that swimmer.

 

· Repeated testing should be done under similar conditions (i.e. morning or afternoon session, same day of the week, similar rest/recovery lead-up on days before the test, etc.), using the same interval (or rest between swims) each time the test is given.

 

· Changes in the aerobic base reflect the swimmer's adaptation to lower level economy of energy supply/demand. However, test measures may be sensitive to other factors; such as mechanical efficiency, health status, or local conditions (i.e. wether or water temperature). The coach must use his/her knowledge of the swimmer to interpret results.

 

What is an acceptable aerobic base? This is purely a subjective measure; obviously a faster average swimming pace on successive tests will indicate a better potential for swimming endurance. In other words, the swimmer is capable of maintaining faster swimming paces at a stable, submaximal heart-rate.

 

Aerobic Base Test for Senior Age-Group and Open Swimmers

 

30 x 100 on 1:30 interval (or interval that allows about 5-10 seconds rest) holding a heart-rate about 40bpm below maximum.

· same basic considerations as above

How Does the Aerobic Base Concept Relate to Other Measures of Performance?

We know that an aerobic base measure will indicate some sub-maximal level of energy supply to the working muscles. Another important swimming pace, known as 'individual anaerobic threshold' or ‘critical velocity’ associates a swimming speed with a blood lactate value that represent a specific contribution from anaerobic energy sources. The relationship between key measures of aerobic/anaerobic capacities (Treffene, reference 1) is illustrated in a theoretical model that predicts race pace for 400m to be 103% of critical velocity and race pace for 100m to be 112% of critical velocity. That is, faster race paces that are required for shorter race distances necessitate a larger anaerobic energy contribution, which is difficult to sustain. However, in theory (and indeed in practice) if a swimmer is able to improve the lower levels of swimming economy, then a greater percentage of energy supply (at any given swimming pace) will come from aerobic pathways. Swimming at increasingly faster speeds that do not rely upon significant elevation of anaerobic energy supply reflects an increase in aerobic capacity. A recent review of the concept of lactate threshold (Antonutto and Prampero, reference 2) suggests that absolute blood lactate values are only descriptive if we know whether there is even (i.e. no change in blood lactate, due to balanced production/reduction effects) or uneven (i.e. either increasing or decreasing) accumulation. The authors suggest that rates of exercise that produce relatively high blood lactate may be completely aerobic if blood lactate is constant in time. This lends support to the concept that improvements in sub-maximal energy supply capabilities will influence one’s capacity to function at near maximal aerobic capacity.

Applying the 'Aerobic Base' Concept to Training

Coaches should be aware that the most effective training programs are ones that work toward improvements in all areas of the energy supply spectrum. It's important to improve a swimmer's aerobic base as well as all other energy levels to achieve peak performance. Race pace (regardless of the distance) will be substantially above the aerobic base level, and some coaches feel compelled to train exclusively at higher levels of energy demand. However, an integrated approach to training prescription (Richards, reference 3) that incorporates many performance factors, as well as maturational considerations, should be adopted. Improvement in every swimmer's aerobic base (i.e. as measured by the simple field tests proposed above) should be one, of many, training objectives that also includes improvement in swimming efficiency at speeds more closely related to race pace. The consequences of improved aerobic base and a balanced training program is the ability to swim more efficiently through a range of speeds.
Aerobic training loads will contribute an important part to the total training volume during every stage of the season. In relation to training that demands high levels of energy production, aerobic base training loads become 'recovery', and serve to complement more intense types of training. A general rule of thumb in the prescription of aerobic base training loads is to: (i) maintain submaximal heart rate of about 40-50 bpm below maximum intensity, (ii) swim with minimum rest (i.e. continuous or very short rest interval sets), (iii) sustain the workload over a sufficient period of time (i.e. this must be longer than 20 minutes and may be up to 120 minutes for senior swimmers), and (iv) maintain efficient swimming technique. Most coaches do not recognise the importance of this type of training as an additional opportunity to improve stroke technique and racing skills (i.e. streamlining off the wall, turns, finishes, etc.). When aerobic base swimming sets are correctly performed the swimming is not always easy, because it involves great effort to maintain the type of stroke technique that will be used at race speeds. This includes maintaining the timing, kicking tempo, and body position that is desired during peak performance.

Coaches using an integrated training model (i.e. appropriate amounts of lower and higher intensity work) should see parallel changes in aerobic and anaerobic capacity during the season. If improvements in aerobic base occur without improvements in race performance, then the coach should re-evaluate the amount of work being done at training speeds that require higher energy production. If a decrease in aerobic base is observed, it's often the result of a decrease in overall training load brought on by illness or injury. If training frequency has been uninterrupted, any decrease in aerobic base is usually the result of insufficient training volume over a long period. This may be the result of program design that lacks balance in the amount of low/high intensity work. It appears that the higher (i.e. faster) a swimmer's aerobic base becomes, the greater the residual effects of training (Counsilman and Counsilman, reference 4) and therefore, the longer an individual will retain their training gains when training loads are reduced (i.e. as happens during the competition ‘taper’). Both age and training history are important determinants in this regard.

References

1. Treffene, B. "Heart Rate Sets: What Are They?" ASCA Journal, Nov., 1992.
2. Antonutto, G. and Prampero, P. "The Concept of Lactate Threshold" Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, vol. 35, March 1995.
3. Richards, R. "Future Directions in Coaching" ASCA Journal, Nov/Dec., 1995.
4. Counsilman, B. and Counsilman, J. "The Residual Effects of Training" Journal of Swimming Research, vol. 1, no. 1, 1991.


Additional Reading

Pyne, D. "The Specificity of Training - A Fresh Look at an Old Principle:
using aerobic training to improve both aerobic and anaerobic fitness" ASCA Journal, Jan/Feb., 1995.

· Maglischo, E. Swimming Even Faster. Mayfield Publishing Company, 1993.
(pages 57 - 64).

Appendix A

[Constructing Your Training Pograms]

Begin With a Warm-Up Set

The objectives of your warm-up set are to: (1) vary swimming pace by changing speeds several times, (2) use all muscle groups (this may be done by isolating the kick and pull, or changing strokes), (3) work on skills (i.e. swimming technique as well as turns and finishes), and (4) increase heart-rate and muscle temperature. The volume of a warm-up set will depend upon the age and training capacity of the swimmers (i.e. usually 800m to 2000m total distance). The intensity of the warm-up set should vary (i.e. some short / high speed swimming is recommended), but the overall stress should be relatively low. Much of the work done during a warm-up set is at heart-rates 40-50 beats-per-minute below maximum. Therefore, warm-up sets are actually a type of aerobic workload and may be treated as such in the overall program design.

 

Construct a 'Main Set' (i.e. the focus of the training session)

If the intended purpose of the training session is to place a ‘moderate’ stress on the aerobic energy system (i.e. either as a recovery from more stressful work performed during the training cycle or to maintain/improve aerobic work capacity), then a ‘main set’ of appropriate volume/intensity may be prescribed. Although aerobic workloads include a range of training paces, from base to very stressful endurance loads, the purpose of an aerobic base training set is to accomplish the maximum volume of work at a steady-state intensity with minimum rest. There are several decisions the coach must make regarding the design of a 'main set':

· Work should be done at sustained heart-rates of 40-50 bpm below maximum over a duration of 20 minutes to 2 hours to stimulate a training affect.

· Any of the competitive strokes may be used during the training set (if butterfly is involved it may be necessary to modify the activity into a "drill/swim" combination).

Insist upon correct technique during all swims.

 

· Distances for individual swims may be equal to / or greater than / the competitive distances you are training for, but never less. Training sets may include multiple swims of the same distance, or multiple swims incorporating various distances (i.e. ascending or descending distances). Training sets may also include long individual swims (i.e. well above race distance) at relatively constant speed.

· Rest between swims must be kept to a minimum (usually 10 seconds or less at any break).

 

Construct a 'Secondary Set(s)' that is compatable with other training objectives

If the overall focus of the training session is ‘recovery’, then one or more secondary training set(s) may certainly fit into the aerobic base training zone. This might include kicking, pulling, or drills. It’s important to observe the points listed above so that a low level training stimulus is provided, without ‘overloading’ the swimmer to the point of residual fatigue (i.e. a fatigue state that will reduce the swimmer’s capacity to absorb training effects during forthcoming sessions).

If the main set is structured to provide moderate intensity workload, then an appropriate secondary training objective may target a high intensity, low volume, workload. It’s important to consider how the ‘main’ and ‘secondary’ training effects fit together.

· The accumulated affect of training intensity during the session immediately prior to this session and the intensity of the next session must be considered. Otherwise repeated ‘high intensity’ training sets (as a main or secondary focus) may result.

· The volume of the secondary set is usually only 1/4 to 1/3 the distance covered in the main set.

A secondary set that involves high lactate producing swims should fit into the overall load of the weekly training cycle. Therefore, volume and rest components of the training plan must be carefully considered. For example, secondary sets that involve high velocity, short duration, swims will overload neuro-muscular function without high blood lactate accumulation if the rest interval is sufficiently long. Another option for the secondary set is a focus solely on low level aerobic training loads, either as a recovery mechanism or a base stimulus to complement other training components.

 

 

Appendix B

[Examples of Aerobic Base Training Sets]

 

Set #1 (mixed distance)

2 x [150m / 300m / 450m / 300m /150m] first cycle free & second cycle formstroke or form/free mix, rest 10-15 seconds between swims (check HR)

total 2700m (freestylers who average 1:30 pace per 100m will be able to complete the set in about 33 minutes, formstroke will take a bit longer)

Set #2 (also mixed distances)

2 x [4 x 50m / 3 x 100m / 2 x 200m / 300m] as above, but rest 5 seconds after 50's total 2400m (note that a swimmer using the same pace as in the set above will take long to compete this set, because of more frequent breaks -- keep the rest short)

Set #3 (fixed distances)

10 x 250m or 10 x 300m freestyle, rest 10 seconds between swims, swimmers moving at 1:30 pace will finish this set in about 40-47 minutes

(note the use of "off" interval distances, such as 250m, to add variety to the set)

total 2500-3000m

 

Set #4 (over-distance freestyle)

 

3 or 4 x 1000m freestyle, rest about 15-20 seconds (this could also be done as a pulling set using a pull-buoy) total 3000-4000m

 

Set #5 (over-distance formstroke)

 

5 or 6 x 600 backstroke of breaststroke, rest about 15 seconds (also try this set for breaststrokers using fins and a "wave-dolphin" body motion following each, or alternate 600 breaststroke swim and 600 breaststroke pull with fins)

total 3000-3600m

 

Set #6 (single long swim)

 

3000m straight freestyle swim (a variation could be 15 x 200 IM consecutive swims -- no rest between change-overs) if this type of set is used, take care that swimmers maintain the correct heart-rate range and insist upon correct technique (which includes turns) total 3000m

 

 

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