Pull Buoys are a great tool to assist to develop your swim strength by minimising the propulsion you generate with your legs. 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
- 400m WU;
- 8x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 4x 100m on T+20sec;
- 4x 100m Pull Buoy 20sec RI;
- 200m CD (1,800m)
Option B
- 400m WU;
- 8x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 4x 100m on T+20sec;
- 4x 100m Pull Buoy 20sec RI;
- 4x 100m on T+20sec;
- 4x 100m Pull Buoy 20sec RI;
- 200m CD (2,600m)
Option C
- 600m WU;
- 12x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 4x 100m on T+20sec;
- 4x 100m Pull Buoy 20sec RI;
- 4x 100m on T+20sec;
- 4x 100m Pull Buoy 20sec RI;
- 4x 100m on T+20sec;
- 4x 100m Pull Buoy 20sec RI;
- 200m CD (3,800m)
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 400m (Options A and 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 (Options A and B) or twelve (Option C) 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 for Options A and B or three times through for Option C:
I wrote an article about swimming drills previously. Click here to read and watch it.
Coach Ray’s Top 3 Swimming Drills to Get You Swimming Smooth
Following the set of drills take the fins off and complete a set of four 100m reps on your T-Time plus 20 seconds.
Have a read this article here to learn how to apply the T-Time concept to your swimming.
T-Times for Swimming
Next up complete a set of four 100m reps with a 20-second Rest Interval (RI) utilising a pull buoy to minimise the propulsion from your legs and put the focus on your arms.
If you are doing Option A move to the Cool Down (CD) now. If you are doing Option B do another set of both the 4x 100m on your T-Time plus 20 seconds; and the 4x 100m Pull Buoy on 20-second Rest Interval (RI) for a total of 16x 100m reps, and for Option C do two more sets of both for a total of 24x 100m reps.
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, I published a similar session 12 months ago.
Saturday Swim Session – Paddles Galore
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