Elevate Performance Swim Academy

Understanding what drills are intended for is imperative

When the idle arm is forward and swimmers have to breathe with the hand in front

They will always always
- [ ] Pause during the breath
- [ ] Kick deeper because of the pause
- [ ] The hips will sink
- [ ] Stop all momentum going forward through the weak point / sticking point (at the widest point of the recovery)
- [ ] The head will stay up too long through the center of mass shifting forward
- [ ] The recovery arm will not be able to get into extended/ lengthened position (finger tips to toes)
- [ ] Loose any and all natural rhythm of the stroke

And so much more.

If the goal is to teach correct breathing and single arm control - put the idle arm down and allow the swimmer to
- [ ] kick the hands out
- [ ] To use momentum to throw the hands forward

I’ve talked about this for years.

It’s something I constantly discuss with parents, coaches, and swimmers because it’s one of the most overlooked principles in long-term development.

The recycling of skills and energy systems never changes.

The only thing that changes is the length of each phase.

Whether you’re working with an 8-year-old learning body position, a national-level swimmer developing specific racing skills, teaching a squat in the gym, or progressively increasing resistance training in the pool…

The process is the same.

➡️ Introduce the stimulus.
➡️ Allow time to acclimate.
➡️ Accumulate quality work.
➡️ Then Utilize it.

Every new skill/ Energy System Development follows this cycle.

Too many programs abandon a skill or Training Phase (limited Stimulus) before it’s developed—or chase constant novelty instead of clear progression and overload.

The athletes who improve the most aren’t doing magical workouts. They’re spending enough time (and allowing for movement mastery) in each phase to fully adapt before moving on.

Development isn’t about constantly changing the plan. It’s about knowing when to change it. That’s how skills become performance and how training cycles stack year after year for continual improvement.

Aerobic Power isn’t just “hard swimming.” It’s a specific physiological target.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is trying to improve everything at once.

The objective of the day should dictate the design of the set—not the other way around.

Too often we see:
• Random intervals.
• Random rest.
• Pace targets that don’t match the intended adaptation.
• Efforts that athletes simply can’t reproduce.
• Sets that become survival instead of quality.

Prescribing the correct effort is just as important as designing the right set.

Within my system, intensity is built around repeatable physiological zones:

🔵 Fast (Blue) → HR 28–30
Critical Speed. Sustainably fast.

🟣 Faster (Blurple) → HR 30–31
Above Critical Speed. Higher aerobic power with increasing fatigue.

🟪 AFAP (Purple) → HR 32
Maximum repeatable effort.

The term Critical Speed, popularized in swimming by Bill Sweetenham, sits just above Threshold. It isn’t all-out swimming—it’s the fastest speed an athlete can repeatedly sustain while maintaining technical quality.

That’s why “swim fast” isn’t a useful coaching cue.

If the prescribed effort doesn’t match the athlete’s ability, they’ll either underload the system or exceed the intended physiological target. Either way, the adaptation changes.

Every variable matters:
• Rep distance
• Rest interval
• Pace prescription
• Prescribed effort
• Total volume
• Recovery strategy

When those variables align, athletes spend more time in the physiological zone you’re actually trying to develop.

More work doesn’t automatically create better adaptations.

Better prescription creates better adaptation.

The workout isn’t the stimulus. The stimulus is the combination of intensity, density, duration, and ex*****on.

More or “fancier” isn’t always better.

In training, complexity can often dilute the very thing we are trying to create: a high-quality stimulus.

When movement patterns become too difficult to execute at speed and intensity, athletes spend more energy solving the exercise than producing the adaptation.

The goal isn’t to find the fanciest drill.

The goal is to find the right movement challenge that allows:
✅ High-quality ex*****on
✅ Repeatable effort
✅ Consistent overload

Movement Quality + Effort Repeatability = Expected Results

Great training creates a stimulus athletes can reproduce, progress, and build upon.