The Session Bank [3]

Pre-Competition Week: How We Started It

Pre-Competition Week: How We Started the Week

The final week before the European Championships had two key short-course sets planned for Tuesday and Thursday. That meant Monday needed to set the tone physically, technically and mentally without creating any fatigue. It was a day to prepare the body, prime skills and re-build some rhythm after a slightly unusual weekend.

Context: Why Monday Mattered

The squad had been given Saturday and Sunday completely off. They’d had busy weekends - training blocks, AquaticsGB Awards, BUCS, race-simulation work. Most the athletes were carrying accumulated fatigue - more from not having a clear break.

Two days off was the right call but it can leave swimmers feeling a touch “out of rhythm.” They come back in mentally fresher but the water can feel odd until they reconnect with their technical patterns and race skills.

So Monday morning had a clear purpose:

• Get the swimmers feeling technically better & connected

• Sharpen up ready for the two key sets ahead

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Monday AM: Improve ‘Feel’, Build Rhythm, Sharpen Speed

Warm-Up – 2K

A mixed warm-up designed to reconnect feel for the water:

• Easy swimming

• Simple sculling patterns

• Drills and DPS

• A few short spikes

• Kicking on their main stroke

The aim was to gradually switch the brain and body back on.

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Combination Set - Short Speed + Smooth Pulling

This was a hybrid set mixing short bursts of speed with smooth, technical pulling focused on distance-per-stroke through the catch, pull and press.

Main Set Structure

4 rounds of:

• 4x50m with an assigned speed exercise

• 300m smooth, technical pulling (DPS focus)

Each round had a different speed theme:

1. Round 1 – Underwater short dolphin kick efforts

2. Round 2 – Short swim efforts

3. Round 3 – Fast starts and turns

4. Round 4 – Fast turns and finishes

The set was written simply in ‘Commit Swimming’ but the real detail lived in the session notes:

• Exact instructions for each fast effort

• Key technical points (highlighted in green)

This allowed the swimmers to self-manage the set effectively while I was running technical slots at the far end.

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Biomechanics Integration – 10–15min Individual Slots

While the short-speed/DPS set was running, I moved to the camera end with our biomechanistic. Across an hour, swimmers rotated through 10–15 minute technical slots featuring:

• Slow-motion video playback

• Reinforcement of Cycle 1 technical goals

• Fine-tuning details that are difficult to see in full-speed

This is one of the most effective ways to sharpen skill execution before competition.

The swimmers self-managed the combination set without issue - the detailed notes and pre-brief ensured clarity and consistency.

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Outcome: Activated, Connected, Sharp

By the end of the session, my intention was that each swimmer left the pool feeling:

• Technically tuned

• Mentally switched on

• Physically activated

• Confident about the week ahead

Monday wasn’t about volume. It was about working on components that would help Tuesday and Thursday key sets be executed to a high level.

I hope this gives you an insight into the thinking behind how we opened the week and maybe some ideas for how you might structure your own pre-competition Monday sessions.