Swimming 800 metre reps is a great way to develop stamina and enhance your efficiency. 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);
- 800m;
- 200m CD (1,600m);
Option B
- 400m WU;
- 8x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 2x 800m 60sec RI;
- 200m CD (2,600m)
Option C
- 600m WU;
- 8x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 3x 800m 60sec RI;
- 200m CD (3,600m);
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 200m (Option A), 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.
Next up is a drill set of eight repetitions (for Options A, B, and C) 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 to make eight reps:
I wrote an article about swimming drills previously. Click here to read and watch it.
The next sets involve swimming a set of one (Option A), two (Option B), or three (Option C) reps of 800m. Take a 60-second Rest Interval (RI) between each rep.
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 – Endurance Sports Consultant.
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. Make sure you sign up for my informative newsletter.
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If you enjoyed this workout, I published a similar session 12 months ago.
Saturday Swim Session: 500’s, 400’s or 300’s
Coach Ray is the author of the successful 12 Weeks to an Ironman Swim PB – Swim Faster with Smart Training eBook.