Utilising the other strokes in your swimming sessions allows you to develop the feel for the water more effectively enhancing your freestyle swim technique as a result. This session is perfect for Ironman and Olympic distance triathletes or people doing longer Ocean Swims.
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 WU;
- 8x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 8x 50m IM 20sec RI;
- 12x 25m F/S on 10sec RI;
- 200m CD (1,500m)
Option B
- 400m WU;
- 8x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 8x 50m IM 20sec RI;
- 12x 25m F/S on 10sec RI;
- 8x 50m IM 20sec RI;
- 12x 25m F/S on 10sec RI;
- 200m CD (2,400m)
Option C
- 1,000m WU;
- 8x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 12x 50m IM 20sec RI;
- 12x 25m F/S on 10sec RI;
- 12x 50m IM 20sec RI;
- 12x 25m F/S on 10sec RI;
- 200m CD (3,400m)
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 200m (Option A), 400m (Option B), or 1,000m (Option C). During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed. It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.
Next up is a drill set of eight repetitions of 50m Drill/Swim, where you do a drill for the first 25m of the repetition and then normal swimming for the next 25m swimming. Feel free to use fins whilst doing the drill/swim set. Do the drills below, twice through:
I wrote an article about swimming drills previously. Click here to read and watch it.
The next set involves swimming eight reps (Options A and B) and twelve reps (Option C) of 50m in the Individual Medley (IM) order. The first rep is a butterfly, then backstroke, then breaststroke, and then freestyle. Complete all four strokes twice through (Options A and B) or three times through (Option C) with a 20-second Rest Interval (RI) to achieve the eight or twelve reps. If you struggle to complete 50m of butterfly (or one of the other strokes), start the butterfly rep (or whichever stroke you struggle with) and complete as much as you can swimming butterfly. When you can’t swim any then revert to freestyle to complete the rep.
Next up are twelve reps of a freestyle sprint over 25m with a ten-second Rest Interval (RI).
At this point Option A moves to the Cool Down, whilst the other options repeat both the Individual medley (IM) set and the freestyle sprint set.
For the Cool Down (CD) swim 200m. Unlike the previous sets which have to be freestyle, the cooldown (like the warm-up) can be any stroke you wish to swim. You can also stop and rest after any length. I encourage you to stop and stretch during the cool-down.
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.
Join over 2,262 people who have already signed up to be kept up to date with great workouts and training information in my informative newsletter.
Share this post so your friends can benefit as well.
If you enjoyed this workout, I published a similar session 12 months ago.
Saturday Swim Session: 100’s and 50’s
Get my 12 Weeks To An Ironman Swim PB Training Plan – Swim Faster with Smart Training through Training Peaks. Results Guaranteed. Purchase here. Use discount code CR30 to get a 30% discount.