Using A Tempo Trainer

I am committed to being a content-producer, so I rarely repost someone elses work, but TI Head Coach Terry wrote a marvelously concise primer on the advantages of working with a Tempo Trainer and included 5 practice set templates at the end. If you have interest in the TT I highly recommend this essay.

The Perfect 25

THE PIECES OF THE PERFECT 25 No matter how short or how far we intend to swim, it starts one 25 meter (or yard) pool length at a time. The excellence of the whole swim is never greater than the excellence of each part of the swim- so why permit inferior parts? Excellence does not [...]

Slide, Don’t Hammer

I had a great practice set in the pool early this morning- 1600 yards broken into 16 x (4x 25 yard sprints), with a rest interval based on my heart rate*. The objective- holding SPL (at 16) while increasing tempo from 0.95 to 0.83 seconds, using a Tempo Trainer. In the winter I like to [...]

Simple Math Can Swim Fast

It is the basic math of SL x SR that tells us where we are at and where we need to be in order to reach our goal. If I set a target of 17 strokes per 25m, starting with 1.20 second tempo, and I find that is it easy for me to hold optimal [...]

Don’t Burn Rubber

Anyone can crank their arms around wildly in the water. You don’t even have to try to go anywhere. You don’t even have to be a swimmer! Yet the swimmer who increases his stroke tempo* without maintaining a long stroke is like a hotshot who’s spinning out his car, burnin’ rubber on the asphalt. Without [...]

Using A Tempo Trainer- SPEED IT UP!

Using A Tempo Trainer – SPEED IT UP! If you’ve read the previous two lessons then great. Let’s procede. If not, I suggest you take a moment to go back to the Intro and see how those two lessons set the stage for this one. Speed = Stroke Length (SL) x Stroke Rate (SR) GOAL: [...]

Using A Tempo Trainer- SLOW IT DOWN

Using A Tempo Trainer – SLOW IT DOWN! If you have not read the Introduction, I invite you to do so now to get an idea of what I’m trying to explain with these Tempo Trainer lessons. If you know your current normal SPL and SR for your targeted distance event, then you’ll be in [...]

How To Use A Tempo Trainer- INTRO

An Introduction To Using A Tempo Trainer Here are a couple ways that a Tempo Trainer (TT) can be put to practical use in your TI training.  Slowing down the TT tempo past your normal range helps expose Balance and Streamline struggles in your stroke, and give you an opportunity to make corrections and train [...]

Calculate Your Tempo Range

A Method To Determine Your Baseline Tempo Range Technically, Stroke Rate (SR) is in units of strokes per second (or minutes). While Tempo (the settings we use on a Tempo Trainer) is in units of seconds per stroke. Therefore SR = 1/Tempo. Often we will see analysis of elite swimmers given in strokes per minute. [...]

Running In A TI Way

This last year I’ve become curious as to how I might improve my running with the same kind of mindset and tools I use in TI swimming. I picked up a copy of Chi Running some time last year and have been studying the concepts. From what I read from others it was a great [...]