Com Games Gold medalist & Olympic Bronze medalist, Cameron McEvoy has swum some tough sets during his career, over the next few weeks I’m going expose you to a number of his toughest training sets (and variations for mere mortals).
EEach 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 today’s workout comes from an article by Olivier Poirier-Leroy at YourSwimLog.com, you can read the full article here.
Option A
- 200m WU;
- 3x 400m 30sec RI;
- 1 F/S
- 1 F/S/Bk
- 1 F/S/Br
- 200m CD (1,600m)
Option B
- 200m WU;
- 6x 400m 30sec RI;
- 2 F/S
- 2 F/S/Bk
- 2F/S/Fly
- 200m CD (2,800m)
Option C
- 200m WU;
- 9x 400m 30sec RI;
- 3 F/S
- 3 F/S/Bk
- 3F/S/Fly
- 200m CD (4,000m)
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 200m. During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed. It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.
The Main Set is made up of three (Option A), six (Option B), or nine (Option C) reps of 400m. Take a 30-second Rest Interval (RI) between each rep. The first rep (Option A), first two reps (Option B), and first three reps (Option C) swim Freestyle. The second rep (Option A), next two reps (Option B), and next three reps (Option C) are swum as 200m Freestyle, straight into another 200m of Backstroke. The final rep for Option A swims as 200m Freestyle and 200m Breaststroke. The final two reps (Option B) and final three (Option C) swim as 200m Freestyle and 200m Butterfly. Yep, you read right Butterfly, give it a go and try and swim as far as you can with your butterfly. If you can’t make the full 200m of butterfly revert back to freestyle until the end of the rep, then attempt Butterfly again for the next rep and try and match the distance you achieved the previous 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, here is a similar session I published 12 months ago.
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