Longer reps such as this workout of Broken 800s are 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;
- 800m, 60sec RI; 4x 200m 20sec RI;
- 200m CD (2,000m)
Option B
- 400m WU;
- 8x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 800m, 60sec RI; 4x 200m 20sec RI;
- 200m CD (2,600m)
Option C
- 400m WU;
- 8x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 2x 800m, 60sec RI; 4x 200m 20sec RI;
- 200m CD (4,200m)
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 200m (Option A) or 400m (Options B and C). During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed. It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.
Next up for Options B and C (Option A skips this and goes straight to the Main Set) 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 Main Set is made up of one (Options A and B) or two (Option C) reps of a Broken 800. A Broken 800 is made up of two parts: the first part involves swimming 800m continuously; the second half involves swimming another 800m broken up as four reps of 200m. Take a 60sec Rest Interval (RI) after the 800m continuous swim and a 20-second Rest Interval (RI) between the 200m swims.
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.
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If you enjoyed this workout, here is a similar session I published 12 months ago.
Saturday Swim Session: Individual Medley Set to Improve Your Triathlon
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