Becky Adlington’s Grusome Swimming Regime

Becky Adlington was in the mainstream news again this week following her defeat in Sheffield in the 400m freestyle final. She still beat the previous world record, but her team mate Jo Jackson got in first and beat the world record in the process.

Daily UK newspaper, The Guardian, interviewed her coach, Bill Furniss, regarding her training regime. Furniss is quick to point out that in the UK there is a huge emphasis on football, and many members of the public are under the impression that all sports require no more than a few training sessions per week in between games. In America and Australia people regard swimming more highly as they understand what is required to compete at the highest level.

Training for swimmers is similar to track and field athletes, with periodisation planned throughout the year. Training schedules are worked backwards from major events. Furniss also started Adlington on a four your training program at the end of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, to ensure that she is ready for London 2012. To put it into context, a martial artist can go from novice to black belt in this time – Adlington will be working to retain her gold medals.

Training involves several phases. The first phase builds on strength and endurance. This is simple long sessions in the pool, performing 10 sets of 400m in the pool, each in under 5 minutes. Once endurance work has been covered, set are increased, and distances reduced. Typically 30 sets of 100m are done, aiming to improve power and speed. Heart rate is kept at 180bpm, and each set is 90 seconds, including rest. This is intensive interval training at the extreme. 5 sessions like this are done each week.

Adlington and Jo Jackson have been following this sort of training since they were 12 years old. The day starts at 5am with a pre-school pool session.

Endurance sets are done to build up lactate intolerance, which helps a swimmer manage lactic acid, both physically and mentally. No matter how fit an athlete is, they will produce lactate. Basically the purpose of training is to teach the body to tolerate pain and discomfort. Like with running, part of the battle is not hitting the ‘wall’ then can stop even the best of athletes in their tracks.

The final part of a training program is winding down, to increase rest and recovery periods, to ensure that by competition day the swimmer is at maximum fitness, lactate intolerant, and fully charged and raring to go. This, according to Furniss, is one of the hardest things to get right. Under work, and fitness and stamina suffers, overwork and overtraining occurs.

Adlington has admitted that media attention has badly affected her training. She currently feels that she has not put enough work in for the 800m final this week. She simply has not had the time to do all the training.

Becky’s typical weekly schedule

10 swimming sessions, endurance and speed. 4 hours a day.
3 dry sessions, each one hour. Circuit training and core strength. No weight lifting.
Two 3 mile runs, on Monday and Friday mornings, before the pool session.
70-80km swimming a week in total, or about 7000m for each pool session.
She has 15 weekends off each year. The rest are filled with either competitions or weekend training camps.

Bill Furniss has been a swimming coach for 30 years. Now 54, he is a sports science graduate and a level 5 swimming coach. He has been training Becky Adlington since she was 12, and says that he has bever seen anyone so dedicated and determined as Adlington.

Source: The Guardian, Wed 16 March 2009.

More: Rebecca Adlington – Olympic Double Gold Winner – Her Swimming
17 Aug 2008 Rebecca Adlington is Team GB’s most successful swimmer in a long time.

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