USMS Swimmer Magazine Article!

Special thanks to Bill Volckening, Editor of USMS Swimmer Magazine for contacting me for a short article about my training. The mini story in the November - December Issue came out great:

USMS Swimmer Magazine Article (PDF)

Here is the text:

My Favorite Practice

Kevin Doak, 27, of Michigan Masters takes a self-disciplined approach to swimming fast. In 2008, the self-coached Masters swimmer and former Eastern Michigan University swimmer earned a trip to the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha in the 100-meter backstroke. In Omaha, Doak swam his race in 57.73 - just shy of his pending USMS national record in the men's 25-29 age group (57.00).

"I find it a fun challenge to train alone," says Doak. "My work schedule is very random but allows me to cut loose during the day at odd hours to train." Doak stepped-up his training from six to nine practices per week after making his Olympic Trials cut at the Ohio Grand Prix in April. "The most important thing for me is to maintain a good feel for the water by doing at least a short practice in the pool four days a week minimum," adds Doak. "I rarely swim over 3,000 LCM a practice due to time and work constraints."

Doak's favorite practice is a modified routine from a website that creates workouts. "I simply inputed 1 hour and moderate difficulty," says Doak. "This is basically what it spit out, with my own twist."

WARM UP
- 500 Choice

MAIN SET
- Kick, 5x100's (Butterfly kick on the back and alternating sides), rest: 15
- Swim, 400
- Pull, 4x100's with paddles, rest :15
- Swim,
300
3x100's all out
200 easy
2x100's all out
100 easy
100 all out

COOL DOWN
200 easy

TOTAL
3,200 Long Course Meters

PRACTICE NOTES:
Doak finds htis practice easy to track and easily taylored to his daily fitness needs, which often favor either kicking or pulling. "I think the combination of a quick warmup, one set each of isolating legs and then arms and finishing up with some fast swimming gives me a brief well rounded practice," says Doak. "On days where I can fit in another 20 minutes I'll do an 'Animal Kick' which in college days meant 10x100's kick on the 1:30 yards (or 1:50 LCM) best average. I enjoy this set because it's easy to benchmark my progress.

Thanks again to Bill and USMS Swimmer Magazine for the work they put into the article. I appreciate it!