Behind the Blocks: Inside Cal Berkeley’s Swim Weight Room with Stephen Schwarz
When you look at the most dominant college swim programs over the last two decades, UC Berkeley is always right at the top of the conversation. Cal has produced countless NCAA champions, Olympians, and world record holders—and a massive part of that success comes down to what happens long before those athletes ever dive into Spieker Aquatics Complex.
In Episode #17 of Behind the Blocks, I had the chance to head up to Berkeley and hang out in the weight room with Cal’s Olympic Sports Strength Coach, Stephen Schwarz.
If you want to see how one of the best programs in the country builds explosive power, manages fatigue across different competition calendars, and keeps world-class swimmers moving fast, this is one session you don't want to miss.
Check out the full vlog below before reading my main takeaways:
The Lineage of Elite Speed
One thing I love about traveling to different programs for Behind the Blocks is seeing how elite coaches think about performance. Stephen has an incredible background in the strength world. Before coming to Cal—where he oversees men’s and women’s swimming, water polo, and volleyball—he interned at the University of Florida under Matt Dansancy.
If that name sounds familiar, it's because Dansancy helped write the modern strength manual for legendary sprinters like Ryan Lochte, Elizabeth Beisel, and Caeleb Dressel.
When you watch Stephen run the weight room at Cal, that background immediately shines through. Nothing in his weight room is done for the sake of just getting tired. Every exercise, tempo, and rep scheme has a direct transfer to the water.
The "Two-Track" Summer Blueprint
One of the coolest parts of this visit was seeing how Stephen handles the unique challenge of summer training in a Division I weight room. During the summer, you don't have a single squad all working toward the exact same meet.
In the video, Stephen breaks down how Cal splits their lifters into two main tracks:
1. The Summer Competition Track
These are the athletes prepping for major international meets—Pan Pacs, Euros, US Nationals, or Olympic selections.
The Goal: Maximum speed, explosiveness, and neural readiness.
The Setup: Low volume, high speed, and smooth movement. Some athletes competing within days are on light "menu touch" lifts just to keep their nervous system firing without adding any muscle soreness.
2. The Fall NCAA Track
These are the athletes building their foundation for the upcoming college season in October.
The Goal: Strength, structural durability, and capacity.
The Setup: Higher volume, more time under tension, and workouts designed to push physical limits while they have time to recover before the championship season starts.
Seeing how seamless that division works on the gym floor is a great reminder for coaches: never force a one-size-fits-all lift onto a team with mixed competition schedules.
The 10-Minute Pull-Up Challenge
If there’s one moment in the vlog that every swimmer and coach should pay attention to, it’s the upper-body pull session Stephen ran with the fall training group.
Stephen set up a 10-minute EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) pull-up challenge. The athletes got to choose their own rep scheme—or add weight—with one rule: they had to maintain that same number on the minute, every minute, for 10 straight minutes.
From a coaching perspective, what I loved about this was the built-in lesson in pacing and self-regulation:
Pick too high a rep number? Your rest window shrinks, fatigue accumulates, and you crash by minute 6.
Choose a smart weight and rep scheme? You get maximum quality volume in a compact 10-minute window.
Watching these athletes negotiate that work-to-rest ratio in real time shows you the level of athletic IQ Stephen cultivates in his weight room.
Key Coaching Takeaways from Cal
Whether you're an age-group swimmer, a Masters athlete, or a coach designing dryland, here are three simple principles to take away from this visit:
Intent Trumps Volume: You don't build fast sprinters by grinding them into the floor every day. When it’s time to move fast, focus on high quality, low fatigue, and maximum intent.
Autonomy Builds Accountability: Giving high-level athletes controlled choices (like rep targets in an EMOM) teaches them to listen to their bodies and take ownership of their training.
Gym Work Serves the Water: Weight room work should leave you feeling powerful and balanced, not wrecked for your swim workouts.
Ready to See it in Action?
There is so much more visual detail in the episode—including the exact movements, energy, and rhythm of the Cal weight room floor.
If you haven't clicked play yet, scroll back up and watch the full vlog to get the full Behind the Blocks experience!
Take Your Swimming to the Next Level
Looking for custom swim workouts and online coaching tailored to your specific goals? Check out my Online Coaching Programs.
Training in Southern California? Book a Private 1-on-1 Swim Lesson in Oceanside to refine your stroke technique and power.
Want to read more deck visits? Explore the rest of the Behind the Blocks Series.
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