200s are such a versatile distance for open water swimmers and triathletes. They are the swimming equivalent of running 400s. 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;
- 6x 50m Drill/Swim;
- 5x 200m on 2T+30sec;
- 200m CD (1,900m);
Option B
- 600m WU;
- 12x 50m Drill/Swim;
- 7x 200m on 2T+30sec;
- 200m CD (2,800m);
Option C
- 1,000m WU;
- 12x 50m Drill/Swim;
- 10x 200m on 2T+30sec;
- 200m CD (3,800m);
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 400m (Option A), 600m (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 six repetitions (Option A) or twelve repetitions (Options 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 for Options B and C, and once through for Option A:
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.
For the Main Set, you will do five (Option A), seven (Option B), or ten (Option C) reps of 200m. These are done two times your T-Time plus 30 seconds. If your T-Time is 2:00min twice that plus 30 seconds means you start each rep every 4:30min.
Read more about how to use T-Times here:
T-Times for Swimming
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.
You can repeat this session in a few weeks’ time and track your progress by measuring how much faster you are now swimming the distance.
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 – Do You Play Golf?
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