Last Updated on November 8, 2022 by admin
In this article, we will provide advice, hacks, sets and tips as an introduction to the benefits of negative split training.
During events lasting for more than sixty seconds, swimmers cannot sustain a high race pace for long, before they are forced to slow down by the build-up of lactic acid.
- Many competitive swimmers often start their races too fast.
- This often results in them slowing down quickly towards the middle or at the end of the race.
- That’s why swimmers should build sufficient endurance.
- An effective method of building endurance is negative split training.
- Which can also help a swimmer to learn how to correctly pace themselves.
The objective of Negative Split Training (N/S) is to swim the second half of a training repetition (rep), set or a race faster than the first half.
- It is a simple technique in theory, but in practice performing it correctly takes dedication, discipline, determination and endurance.
The benefits of negative split training
- Many of the world’s top swimming coaches believe that negative split training can provide swimmers with many physical and psychological advantages. These include,
- Developing a swimmer’s race strategy, patience, confidence and control during competition.
- By teaching them when it is best to use bursts of energy during their race
- Enabling them to perform a strong finish
- Helping to develop a swimmer’s endurance and overall conditioning.
- Even if not employed during their racing, negative split training can help develop a swimmer’s overall endurance and conditioning.
Developing your negative split training
For many swimmers, it can take time to adapt to the demands imposed on them during each stage of negative split training. For example.
The first half
For some swimmers resisting the temptation not to go at full speed off the block can feel strange.
- Although swimmers need to race from the start
- By taking advantage of their start off the block (the quickest part of any race)
- They should learn to not go out too fast and adopt a more relaxed stroke focusing on great technique and at a controlled stroke rate.
- They should swim at a controlled pace, but at the same time allows them to be competitive with the rest of the field.
- A term that more experienced swimmers sometimes refer to as ‘Easy Speed’
The second half
Some swimmers struggle to swim faster in the second half of a negative split training rep, set or race
- Many swimmers feel that it is ineffective
- That they are putting in more effort in the second half of the rep or race only for their stroke rate to remain the same.
Coaches should therefore ensure that they regularly incorporate negative split training into their training programmes, to achieve the benefits this type of training can provide.
- However negative split training can be tough and grueling for many swimmers, therefore the intensity of this training should be increased gradually.
- Coaches should also ensure that while performing negative split training, it’s important that the swimmer maintains a great stroke technique throughout.
Negative split training drills
Listed below are some of our favourite introductory drills, to help develop your negative split training.
- Ideally, introductory forms of negative split training should be performed by swimmers at an early age.
Swim builds
Purpose: Swim builds are excellent drills for developing a swimmer’s skill to swim at gradually increased perceived levels of effort.
How to perform this drill: The swimmer should start this drill with a streamlined push and glide from the end of the pool.
- They should proceed by swimming at approximately 50% of their maximum swimming speed
- They should gradually increase the speed of their swim over one length/lap.
- The swimmer should be swimming at approximately 75% of their maximum swimming speed at halfway.
- Without deterioration of technique, the swimmer should be close to reaching their maximum swimming speed as they approach the finish of the length/lap.
- The swimmer should ensure that they gradually increase both their arms and leg speed to increase the speed of their swim.
- Increasing their leg speed should naturally increase their arm speed.
- While performing this drill, the swimmer should maintain a great stroke technique throughout.
- Younger and inexperienced swimmers may find it useful to use fins when first learning this drill.
Drill progression: Once the swimmer has mastered the above drill, the swimmer can progress to a more advanced swim build set.
How to perform this progression: This progression is performed in the same way as the drill above but performed over a series of repetitions.
- Swimming over an appropriate distance and number of reps, the swimmer performs each rep with an increasingly perceived level of effort.
- For example, Rep1 @60% of maximum effort, rep2 @70% of maximum effort, rep3 @80% of maximum effort and rep4 @90% of maximum effort.
Descending Training Sets
Purpose: Another simple but effective way of developing negative split training is descending training sets.
How to perform this drill: Descending training sets require the swimmer to perform each repetition faster than the previous.
- For younger and inexperienced swimmers, ideally, this should, descending 2 seconds faster than the previous 50m rep.
- Every 100m descending rep should be 4 seconds faster than the previous.
- Target times should ideally be set to start at around 75%-80% of a swimmer’s max effort.
- Example 1, 10 x 50m on 1:00: Descend 1>10 requires the swimmer to swim ten 50m’s each one faster than the previous.
- Example 2, 10 x 50m on 1:00: Descend 1>5, 6>10 requires the swimmer to descend reps 1-5 and reps 6-10.
- Rep 4 should be performed slower than the 3rd
- With reps 3 and 6 the fastest in the set
Perceived effort set
Purpose: This is a simple, but effective set to help swimmers to further develop swimming at increased levels of perceived effort,
How to perform this set: Swimmers complete a descending series of reps, at a greater level of perceived effort. For example,
8 x 50m
(@60% of maximum effort, 10 Sec RI)
100m e-z BK recovery
6 x 50m
(@70% of maximum effort, 15 Sec RI)
100m e-z BK recovery
4 x 50m
(@80% of maximum effort, 20 Sec RI)
100m e-z BK recovery
2 x 50m
(@Max effort, 30 Sec RI)
100m e-z BK recovery
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Endurance Development Set
Introduction: To perform effective negative split training requires the swimmer to develop and understand their level of endurance capacity.
- To help them to train or race at an effective pace
- Which will enable them to swim at a relatively easy speed at the beginning
- Allowing them to be fast and strong at the end
How to perform this drill: This drill should be performed as 10 x 100m
- For age groups swimmers as five pairs of reps on 2:00 at the same target times
- For example: 2 @ 1:40, 2 @ 1:35, 2 @ 1:30, 2 @ 1:25, 2 @ 1:20
- For more experienced swimmers target times based on their personal best times can be more effective
- For example: 2 @ PB+12 Secs, 2 @ PB+10 Secs, 2 @ PB+8 Secs, 2 @ PB+6 Secs, 2 @ PB+4 Secs
Notes for Coaches
Please note: These times above are only suggestions and should be adjusted to the swimmer’s capabilities.
- For coaches, it’s important that as their swimmers develop a better understanding of how to conduct these sets and that their endurance improves
- They should work towards developing sets where the swimmers feel comfortable swimming early reps at between 75-85% of maximum effort
- Then being able to increase their efforts during the later reps.
- Negative split training is not easy.
- However, the benefits of this form of training are that it will highlight the level of the swimmer’s endurance.
- Enabling the coach to further develop their negative split training to help improve this situation.
- Once the swimmer has mastered their negative split training techniques in training, they should be ready to implement them in competition.
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We have produced a related article on swimming race tactics development. You can view it by clicking this link: swimming race tactics development
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Takeaways
In this article, we will provide advice, hacks, tips and sets as an introduction to negative split training.
During events lasting for more than sixty seconds, swimmers cannot sustain a high race pace for long, before they are forced to slow down by the build-up of lactic acid.
- Many competitive swimmers often start their races too fast.
- This often results in them slowing down quickly towards the middle or at the end of the race.
- That’s why swimmers should build sufficient endurance.
- An effective method of building endurance is negative split training.
- Which can also help a swimmer to learn how to correctly pace themselves.
The objective of Negative Split Training (N/S) is to swim the second half of a training repetition (rep), set or a race faster than the first half.
- It is a simple technique in theory, but in practice performing it correctly takes dedication, discipline, determination and endurance.
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