Short, high-intensity repetitions are a fantastic way to build your fitness. Great for developing your top-end swimming speed and your ability to maintain form at high effort while your fatigue builds. This session is good for triathletes, as well as open-water swimmers.
Each Saturday I will post a Swim Session, and 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.
These workouts come from Matt Fitzgerald and David Warden‘s book 80/20 Triathlon.
Option A
- 250m W/U;
- 500m Swim;
- 10x 25m 10RI;
- 500m Swim;
- 250m C/D (1,750m)
Option B
- 250m W/U;
- 500m Swim;
- 16x 25m 10RI;
- 1,000m Swim;
- 500m C/D (2,650m)
Option C
- 250m W/U;
- 1,000m Swim;
- 24x 25m 10RI;
- 1,000m Swim;
- 500m C/D (3,350m)
For the Warm Up (WU) start with a 250m swim. 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 steady 500m (Options A & B) or a 1,000m (Option C) swim, maintain a consistent effort.
The main set is made up of ten (Option A), sixteen (Option B) or twenty-four (Option C) reps of 25m swim these at a hard intensity and take a ten-second Rest Interval (RI) between reps.
Prior to the Cool Down (CD) swim a steady 500m (Option A) or 1,000m (Options B & C), maintain a consistent effort for this swim.
For the Cool Down (CD) swim 250m (Option A) or 500m (Options B & C). 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 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.
Share this post so your friends can benefit as well.
Get my 8-week Swim Fitness Builder Training Plan with 25% off
This programme will build your swimming fitness and develop your confidence and speed in the water even more.
Designed for Beginner & Intermediate triathletes and swimmers who are looking to improve their swimming fitness.
Being 8 weeks in duration, this plan progresses you from being comfortable completing sessions between 600 & 800m in distance through to 1,600m in distance over the 8 weeks. This programme has 3 swim sessions and a flexibility session each week.
When purchasing, use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.
Prior to using these plans, you should be able to complete swim sessions of 600m in distance.
Purchase of this plan gives you access to my fortnightly coaching calls where you can ask me any training or racing-related questions.
When purchasing, use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.
80/20 Triathlon: Discover the Breakthrough Elite-Training Formula for Ultimate Fitness and Performance at All Levels
A breakthrough program for triathletes – beginner, intermediate, and advanced – showing how to balance training intensity to maximize performance – from a fitness expert and elite coach.
Cutting-edge research has proven that triathletes and other endurance athletes experience their greatest performance when they do 80 percent of their training at low intensity and the remaining 20 percent at moderate to high intensity. But the vast majority of recreational triathletes are caught in the so-called “moderate-intensity rut”, spending almost half of their time training too hard – harder than the pros. Training harder isn’t smarter; it actually results in low-grade chronic fatigue that prevents recreational athletes from getting the best results.
In 80/20 Triathlon, Matt Fitzgerald and David Warden lay out the real-world and scientific evidence, offering concrete tips and strategies, along with complete training plans for every distance – sprint, Olympic, half-Ironman, and Ironman – to help athletes implement the 80/20 rule of intensity balance. Benefits include reduced fatigue and injury risk, improved fitness, increased motivation, and better race results.