Developing speed is an important consideration for Open Water Swimmers. This session is great for swimmers and triathletes preparing for longer, open water 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.
The inspiration for these sessions came from Dan Schinnerer (head coach at Bucknell Universities swim programme since 2006) in an article by Olivier Poirier-Leroy read it here.
Option A
- 200m WU;
- 8x 50m Drill/Swim;
- 4x 25m 45sec RI;
- 4x 50m 90sec RI;
- 4x 75m 2min RI;
- 200m CD (1,400m)
Option B
- 400m WU;
- 8x 50m Drill/Swim;
- 2x
- 4x 25m 45sec RI;
- 4x 50m 90sec RI;
- 4x 75m 2min RI;
- 200m CD (2,200m)
Option C
- 600m WU;
- 12x 50m Drill/Swim;
- 3x
- 4x 25m 45sec RI;
- 4x 50m 90sec RI;
- 4x 75m 2min RI;
- 200m CD (3,200m)
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 (Options A and B) or twelve repetitions (Option 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 A and B, and three times through for Option C:
I wrote an article about swimming drills previously. Click here to read and watch it.
The main sets are three sets that are repeated twice through for Option B, or repeated three times through for Option C, but just the once through for Option A. Each repetition swims as fast as you can, you get a long period of time to recover so you’ve got the ability to maximise your speed.
The first of these sets is four 25m reps, with a 45-second Rest Interval (RI). Once you’ve done all four reps, move on to the next set which is four 50m reps, with a 90-second Rest Interval (RI). Once you’ve completed that set, do a set of four 75m reps, with a two-minute Rest Interval (RI).
Once you have done all three sets if you are doing Option B or C, then start back with the next set of 25s.
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.
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