Training the 100 vs 200 Backstroke

Hey swimmers! This is coach Milo.

Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer questions from you all on the internet.

Today's question is:

"Training the 100 vs 200 Backstroke"

Summary:

Milo says the 100 and 200 backstroke absolutely should be trained differently. He frames the 100 back as the baby of the 50 and the 200, meaning it demands front-end speed, so a swimmer wanting to be stronger in the 100 should do far more sprinting. The 200 back, on the other hand, calls for more distance freestyle and longer aerobic backstroke sets. He stresses the value of swimming aerobic backstroke races and letting yourself struggle, because that's how you learn what happens to your technique when your body breaks down, building a mental checklist for when your hips or elbows start to fall. The 100 is built on sprinting; the 200 on an aerobic base and energy regulation per 50, which is why he calls 200 swimmers masters of pacing and the race one to be respected.

Answer:

They should be different, and here's how. The 100 backstroke is literally the baby of the 50 backstroke and the 200 backstroke. If you want to be a great 100 swimmer, you've got to have front-end speed and be able to swim really fast. You're not going all out in the first 25 or 50 of the 100 back, but you've got to have speed, so you'll be doing a lot more sprints if you want to be stronger in the 100. For the 200 backstroke, you might do a little more distance freestyle, or swim a lot more longer aerobic sets doing backstroke. I highly recommend that if you're doing the 200, you allow yourself to swim some aerobic races and let yourself struggle in that race and technique, because you have to know what happens to your technique when your body starts to break down. It's like having a checklist of what to do when your hips start falling, or your elbows start falling. One way to figure that out is to swim longer distances or aerobic sets in backstroke, and also pay attention when you're sprinting and burning out from lactic acid. So the training is very different. For the 100 you want a lot more sprinting, and for the 200 I always recommend you train long-distance freestyle to build a better aerobic base and a better ability to regulate your energy and how much you give to every 50. The 200 swimmers are masters of pacing their body, and the 200 is definitely a race to be respected. People are afraid of it until they learn to do it correctly.