Zane Grothe lit up the American record books last weekend with freakishly fast swims in the 500 (4:07) and 1650 (14:18). We all know racing like that doesn’t just happen. It’s the product of relentless dedication and training like an animal. But just how superhuman is the training required to go that fast? Below is a set Zane did in the weeks leading up to Winter Nationals. He averaged 14 strokes per 25 and a 6-beat kick.
20 x 150 @ 2:00 | no kick outs
1:19
1:19
1:19
1:19
1:19
1:18
1:18
1:18
1:18
1:18
1:17
1:17
1:17
1:17
1:17
1:16
1:16
1:16
1:16
1:40 (#20 was a 200, he split 1:15!)
In his mile last weekend, Zane averaged 1:18 per 150 and dropped 11 seconds from his best time. It’s no coincidence that his recent improvement began when he started training at Indiana University, which is becoming a mecca for the world’s best swimmers under Ray Looze, Mike Westphal, and Coley Stickels. His teammates include Blake Pieroni, Cody Miller, and Lilly King. Zane had a phenomenal 2017 and 2018 looks even brighter for the rising distance star.
You can follow Zane on his Instagram and Facebook and also get peaks into his crazy training by following Fike Swim on Instagram and Facebook. SWIM DIFFERENT! And #traininzane
About Fike Swim
“We design products exclusively for the toughest sport in the world. We unapologetically place swimmers on a pedestal. The rigors they embrace on a daily basis can only be understood by another swimmer and they deserve a company focused 100% on helping them succeed. Whether you’re just starting out or training for Tokyo, we stand behind you.”
-James Fike, Founder
Fike Swim Products was born when founder James Fike put a brick on top of a kickboard and transformed just another legs-only kick set into a total body workout felt into the next day. Since then it’s been our mission to create unique swim equipment with the single-minded goal of making you faster. We don’t sell toys. We create tools to help you reach your potential.
Swim Training courtesy of Fike Swim, a SwimSwam partner.
When he was swimming for Badger and made the World Champs, was he training at Indiana or in NY?
He (and Cody) never actually swam with Badger, they were just paid to represent the program.
Are these 150 yards ?
I’ve seen Sun Yang go these but LCM
Touching on 1:30
I love Ashley Neidigh
Zane is following up to a very solid summer …..keep it up Buddy
Does he do these alone? Who can keep that pace up?
Ledecky.
Does anybody know what she could do on a set like this? 1:22s down to 1:19s or am I sleepin on her awesomeness
I’d believe that. Any faster, you’re brushing up against her race 200 pace.
Katy is at Stanford… they dont train together.
They’re on 2:00, so a lot of people can use that as an interval to get appropriate recovery. I doubt anyone held what he was holding but I’m sure others could successfully do that set to their goal/pace times.
I saw him swim 75s with Marwan and Matt. Worked very well.
I know what you’re saying about the interval and hitting the goal time…BUT, a lot of people aren’t going 4:07 and 14:18…and this set is only a snap shot of his training.
GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN THAT IU POOL!!!!!! Zane could’ve gone anywhere now that he’s done with college swimming, but he chose Indiana! It is exciting to watch what’s happening.
… actually… no one has gone that fast. he’s in uncharted territory.
That’s plain wrong. I’m thinking these swims are equivalent to a 3:42 and 14:39, and I feel like that is being very very generous to Zane. We know of close to 10 or more swimmers per event with some overlap (lets call it 15) who are at this level. Kieren perkins was going close to those times in the 90s (and Tom Dolan wasn’t far behind in the 500 back in 1995). I believe if you put Thorpe and Hackett in a SCY pool in 2001 at peak speed you would’ve seen a 4:05 and a 14:10 (probably faster for Hackett in the mile). And both had wayyy worse turns than Grothe. Yannick agnel was a 3:32 SCM in 2012,… Read more »
Another way to look at the stagnation in the 500 is this:
In 1995 Dolan set the records in 500/400im at 409/338… Over the next 22 years the 500 record dropped .6, while the 400im record dropped over 5 seconds. Heck, the 50 free dropped about .7 in that time.
Yes, just adjust the interval so you’re getting a 2:1 swimming to rest ratio. For example, if you can hold 1:30s, use a 2:15 sendoff.
That’s incredible. What does it mean in the set by “no kick outs”?
Probably no underwater kicks off the push/turns.
yeah it’s most likely a push off and glide into the swim off every wall with no dolphin kicks
Yeah, I’m curious. I’d assume the intent of this set is to emulate a 1650 race, so you’d want your walls to be like your walls in the race. I can’t understand why you’d intentionally NOT kick.
kicking uses too much energy vs. what you get in return. You swim faster by kicking less.
It’s probably more likely intended to keep some LCM focus on his stroke while in the middle of a SCY prep cycle.
Sun Yang style
Would be neat for Zane and Clark Smith to train together for a few weeks.
Ohh yes ……there are 2 spots there for the next international Big Meets to take ….
I love this partnership with Fike Swim. They’re taking a real interest in Zane as a person and an athlete, not just as a source of revenue. Maybe one of the lesser known sponsorships in the swimming world, but I’m encouraged by their commitment to their athletes.