In a previous issue of Swimming Research News (Volume 1-2, March 2004), we showed how significant cutbacks in "conventional training (sometimes called "tapers") could produce large enhancements of performance. In this article, we continue with that theme and also describe how upswings in swim intensity, rather than volume, can lead to faster times in the pool. As you are well aware, you have three basic tools at your disposal for making your swim training more difficult (and thus for inducing physiological adaptation and improved performance). INTENSITY Vs VOLUME DEBATE

You can increase your volume of training (the average distance you swim per workout), your frequency (the number of workouts you conduct each week or - if you don't like the weekly "system" of training organization - your average number of workouts per day), or your intensity ( your average swim speed while training, or else the percentage of your volume which is conducted at above lactate-threshold swim speed). Naturally, the relative emphasis on these three variable tends to vary from sport to sport. In running, a traditional preference for high volume at the expense of intensity (there is usually an inverse relationship between these variables; as volume rises, average speed tends to drop) is very slowly being eroded as athletes move to higher-quality (higher-intensity) work.

On the other hand, competitive swimmers have been remarkably faithful to the discipline of high volume, with some believing that if they are swimming 6000 meters per day they will be even better if they navigate 7000 to 8000 daily meters or more. In fact, some competitive collegiate swimmers in the United States swim 10,000 meters or so each day believing that such high quanities of work will produce peak performances. Not surprisingly, the frequencies of staleness and overtraining among competitive swimmers are very high. In addition to burning out countless swimmers, high-volume swim training flies in the face of relevant research.

 For example, in a study carried out at Ball State University in the United States, swimmers who doubled their training volume for a six-week period were unable to make any gains in aerobic or anaerobic capacity during that time frame. In contrast, a separate piece of research (also carried out at Ball State) showed that competitive swimmers who cut their volume roughly in half (from about 8750 meters per day to 4500 daily meters) were able to significantly upgrade swimming power and performance. INTENSITY Vs VOLUME DEBATE

To learn more about More News Concerning The Intensity vs. Volume Debate (the full article can be read by purchasing Vol.1 Issue 4 of Swimming Research News) and many more swimming related topics.