“There are three constants in life…change, choice and principles.”—Steven Covey

Within the StrongFirst School of Strength, our principles can be applied to any tool and adapted to almost any situation. For example, Built Strong is how Plan Strong^TM principles are applied to hypertrophy. Not what you would typically think of being used to training swimmers.

However, that is precisely what Loïs Monaco, StrongFirst Certified Elite Instructor, did in preparing elite swimmers for an Olympic training cycle:

“…During the first two months, I introduced a cycle of hypertrophy based on the principles of Built Strong with four sessions a week. Some of the swimmers gained quite a bit of muscle and improved their 25-meter sprint times. Then, I started a new approach by introducing the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and repetitions in reserve (RIR).

To give some context, swimmers at this elite level are mutants. For example, here are some lifts of a swimmer at a 75kg bodyweight:

• 1RM Zercher squat: 150kg

• 1RM pullup: 52kg

• 1RM bench press: 100kg

Most swimmers can do 15 to 20 repetitions with 85% of their 1RM with large individual variabilities. I chose to base training mainly on the targeted number of repetitions, RPE, and RIR.

At this point, the athletes had enough experience to gauge their RPE and RIR throughout their training sessions.

Here’s an example of a bench press session:

• 1 set of 5-8 repetitions: RPE 4, RIR 10

• 1 set of 5 repetitions: RPE 6-7, RIR 5-6

• 1 set of 5 repetitions: RPE 8, RIR 2-3”