Saturday Swim Session: Broken Sets

This session will develop your swimming speed and stamina concurrently by combining both components of fitness within one workout. Use them to swim faster in your next triathlon.

Each Saturday I will post a Swim Session, most weeks I will load three options up for you to do. Option A is for swimmers who are after a workout between 1,000 & 2,000 metres. Option B is for swimmers who are after a workout between 2,000 & 3,000m and Option C will be greater than 3,000m.

Option A

• 200m Warm Up;
• 2x 200m, 20sec RI;
• 4x 100m, 15sec RI;
• 8x 50m, 10sec RI
• 200m Cool Down (1,600m)

Option B

• 400m Warm Up;
• 400m, 30sec RI;
• 2x 200m, 20sec RI;
• 4x 100m, 15sec RI;
• 8x 50m, 10sec RI;
• 16x 25m, 10sec RI;
• 200m Cool Down (2,600m)

Option C

• 600m Warm Up;
• 600m, 30sec RI;
• 2x 300m, 20sec RI;
• 6x 100m, 15sec RI;
• 12x 50m, 10sec RI
• 200m Cool Down (3,200m)

Start the workout with a Warm Up covering of 200m (Option A) or 400m (Option B) or 600m (Option C). During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed.  It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.

Here the sessions diverge away from each other and are made up of different sets. Option A commences with two repetitions of 200m with a 20-second Rest Interval (RI) between reps. Then four reps of 100m with 15 seconds Rest intervals. Following on is a set of eight reps of 50m with only 10 seconds of rest prior to the Cool Down.

Option B commences with a single rep of 400m with a 30-second Rest Interval (RI), leading into two repetitions of 200m with a 20-second Rest Interval (RI) between reps. Then four reps of 100m with 15 seconds Rest intervals. Following on is a set of eight reps of 50m with only 10 seconds of rest. The final set prior to the cooldown is a set of 16 reps of 25m with 10 seconds Rest Interval.

Option C commences with a single rep of 600m with a 30-second Rest Interval (RI), prior to two reps of 300m with a 20-second Rest Interval, then six reps of 100m with a 15-second Rest Interval. The final set prior to the cooldown is a set of 12 reps of 50m with 10 seconds Rest Interval.

All three workouts have a 200m cool down. Feel free to pause and stretch when needed and/or include stretching as part of each break until the distance is covered.

If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.

I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi Coaching.

I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.

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If you enjoyed this workout, here is a similar session I published previously.

Saturday Swim Session: 50m IM

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