To develop your stamina whilst swimming, build sets are perfect. As you are building your speed throughout the set be swimming your fastest at the end of the set. 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);
- 4x 300m Build 1-4, 40sec RI;
- 200m CD (2,000m);
Option B
- 600m WU;
- 12x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 4x 400m Build 1-4, 40sec RI;
- 200m CD (3,000m);
Option C
- 1,000m WU;
- 16x 50m (25m Drill/25m Swim);
- 4x 500m Build 1-4, 40sec RI;
- 200m CD (4,000m);
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 200m (Option A), 600m (Options 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 four 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 Option A, three times through for Option B, and four 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
After the drills take the fins off. The next set involves swimming four reps of 300m (Option A), 400m (Option B), or 500m (Option C), regardless of the distance for your Option you take a 40-second Rest Interval (RI) after each rep. As you work through the set, try and swim each rep slightly faster than the previous. Start off with a moderate pace, then a fast pace for the second rep, a faster pace for the next rep, and then swim your fastest for the final 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 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 – 200’s For Speed
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