Background: Long-term performance improvement depends on effective daily training session design based on sound physiological knowledge. Appropriate set design, pacing, adequate recovery strategies and the sequencing of swimming training sets and dry land sessions are all fundamental components of an effective training planning. Aim: This keynote summarizes the physiological principles underpinning training set design, active recovery strategies and the sequencing of swimming sets and dry-land training, with emphasis on their practical application for optimizing performance. Methods: Evidence from studies examining the physiological responses during and after training sets planned to activate the aerobic or the anaerobic metabolism are presented. The effect of active recovery as well as training set sequencing and dry land training integration are also discussed. Results: Planning aerobic training sets requires effective evaluation of the required pace using a well-conducted speed-lactate test and frequent confirmatory lactate testing during specific training sets. The duration and recovery of anaerobic training sets including adequate passive recovery between sets should facilitate performance maintenance during repetitions while maximizing the metabolic responses. Active recovery may impair performance when applied during moderate to short interval duration (i.e. 30-120s) but may facilitate performance maintenance when a long resting interval is provided (i.e. >5 min). Performing anaerobic training sets before aerobic ones will increase the physiological response and is likely to increase the training load. Dry land sessions targeting muscular endurance, rather than maximal strength, are more likely to impair performance during a subsequent swimming training session. Conclusions: Lactate testing facilitates aerobic set training pacing, while recovery and duration of repeated sprints characterize the induced metabolic response for anaerobic training set design. Active recovery may facilitate between sets and between races performance maintenance. The sequencing of swimming sets and dry land sessions may be integrated into daily session inducing the desired acute physiological responses.
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