Building your ability to sustain your threshold pace in a swim is an important capability for triathletes and open-water swimmers. These sessions further develop that ability by progressing your fitness by completing reps at a fast pace that you can sustain. This session will benefit triathletes of all distances, as well as other 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.
Read this article here for an explanation of Swim Intensity.
The inspiration for these workouts comes from an article by Steve Tarpinian in an old issue of Triathlete.
Option A
- 300 WU;
- 8x 25 Drills;
- 8x
- 50 Easy 20RI;
- 100 Fast 30RI;
- 300 CD (2,000)
Option B
- 500 WU;
- 12x 25 Drills;
- 10x
- 50 Easy 20RI;
- 100 Fast 30RI;
- 300 CD (2,700)
Option C
- 800 WU;
- 16x 25 Drills;
- 12x
- 50 Easy 20RI;
- 100 Fast 30RI;
- 300 CD (3,500)
For the Warm Up (WU) start with a 300m swim (Option A), 500m (Option B), or 800m (Option C). During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed. It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.
Follow this with a set of drills. Option A completes eight, 25m reps of drills (twice through the four drills below). Option B completes twelve, 25m reps of drills (three times through the four drills below). Option C completes sixteen, 25m reps of drills (four times through the four drills below). Take a pause of about ten seconds after each drill. It’s a chance to grab a drink, review the programme, and think about the next drill you will do. If you need 15-20 seconds or longer you are welcome to take it because the rest duration isn’t physiologically critical to the aim of this set. Having a quick break is neurologically critical though, so make sure you don’t just roll straight from one rep to the next.
- Kick On Side (KOS) – left-hand side
- Kick On Side (KOS) – right-hand side
- 6/1/6
- 6/3/6
The main set is made up of eight (Option A), ten (Option B), or twelve (Option C) reps. Each rep consists of two sub-reps of 50m and 100m respectively. Swim the 50m sub-rep at an easy effort and take a 20-second rest interval afterwards. Swim the 100m sub-rep as fast as you can and take a 30-second Rest Interval (RI) after it.
For the Cool Down (CD) swim 300m. Unlike the previous sets which have to be freestyle, the Cool Down (CD) (like the Warm Up (WU)) 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.
Share this post so your friends can benefit as well.
Download the Garmin (.FIT) files for this workout for FREE
Get my Busy Triathletes 12 week Base Building Swim Training Plan with 25% off
As you improve your swimming during your winter base building, you will have accomplished something very special.
Designed for INTERMEDIATE Triathletes who are looking to improve their swimming during their base building phase and/or have limited time to train, the primary goal of this training plan is to prepare you to further develop your efficiency.
Lasting 12 weeks long, this plan progresses through phases to build you to your peak performance. Each week contains 3x swims and a flexibility session. Each session is no longer than 2,500m and is perfect for the time-crunched triathlete and is also suitable for Ironman 70.3 athletes that don’t have much time to train. Although not necessary, I recommend tracking your training with a Garmin multisport device like the Fenix 5 or Forerunner 735 or 945.
When purchasing, use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.
Prior to using this plan, you should be able to swim 1,500 meters or yards continuously, 1,800 metres or yards total within a workout.
When purchasing, use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.