Tri Swim Coach

Saturday Swim Session – 200/150/100

This session builds your fitness and sustained swimming speed. This workout 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.

Tri Swim Training

This is a challenging-looking workout that I’ve taken from a Melbourne-based coach and modified for this article. Thanks go to i4coaching for posting this up on their Instagram page as it provided the inspiration for this week’s swim sessions. Click here to follow them.

Option A

  • 200m WU;
  • 4x 100m (alt IM/IM K) 25sec RI;
  • 2x 200m 40sec RI;
  • 50m Easy;
  • 2x 150m 30sec RI;
  • 50m Easy;
  • 2x 100m 20sec RI;
  • 50m Easy;
  • 4x 50m (25m Fast/25m Easy);
  • 100m CD (1,750m)

Option B

  • 400m WU;
  • 4x 100m (alt IM/IM K) 25sec RI;
  • 3x 200m 40sec RI;
  • 100m Easy;
  • 3x 150m 30sec RI;
  • 100m Easy;
  • 3x 100m 20sec RI;
  • 100m Easy;
  • 4x 50m (25m Fast/25m Easy);
  • 100m CD (2,550m)

Option C

  • 400m WU;
  • 6x 100m (alt IM/IM K) 25sec RI;
  • 4x 200m 40sec RI;
  • 100m Easy;
  • 4x 150m 30sec RI;
  • 100m Easy;
  • 4x 100m 20sec RI;
  • 100m Easy;
  • 8x 50m (25m Fast/25m Easy), 20sec RI;
  • 100m CD (3,600m)

Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 200m (Option A), and 400m (Options B and C). During the warm-up feel free to stop and stretch as needed.  It doesn’t need to be a continuous swim.

Next is a set of either four (Options A and B) or six reps (Option C) of 100m alternating between Individual Medley (IM) and Individual Medley (IM) Kick (K). For those unfamiliar with Individual Medley, you swim 100m split into the four competitive swim strokes. The first 25m will be a butterfly, the second 25m will be backstroke, the third will be breaststroke, and finally freestyle (or front crawl if we are to use the correct name). For the second rep, you are focusing on the kick for those four strokes respectively. Continue alternating between the IM and IM Kick each rep until you’ve completed four or six reps depending on which option you are doing.

Next up is a set of two (Option A), three (Option B), or four (Option C) reps of 200m. Swim these as fast as you can. You get a good 40-second Rest Interval (RI) at the end of it to recover, so try and get the fastest time you can with each rep. At the end of the set swim a nice relaxed, easy 50m (Option A) or 100m (Options B and C) focusing on your technique.

The next set involves two (Option A), three (Option B), or four (Option C) reps of 150m. Swim these as consistently as you can. You get a good 30-second Rest Interval (RI) at the end of it to recover so make the most of it. At the end of the set swim a nice relaxed, easy 50m (Option A) or 100m (Options B and C) focusing on your technique.

The next set has two (Option A), three (Option B), or four (Option C) reps of 100m. Swim these as consistently as you can. You get 20-second Rest Interval (RI) at the end of it to recover. At the end of the set swim a nice relaxed, easy 50m (Option A) or 100m (Options B and C) focusing on your technique.

Finally, prior to the Cool Down (CD) complete a set of four (Options A and B) or eight (Option C) reps of 50m. Swim the first 25m of each rep as fast as you can and then cruise the second 25m to finish nice and easy. Take a 20sec Rest Interval (RI) after each rep.

For the Cool Down (CD) swim 100m. 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 – Endurance Sports Consultant.

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. Make sure you sign up for my informative newsletter.

Share this post so your friends can benefit as well.

If you enjoyed this workout, I published a similar session 12 months ago.

Saturday Swim Session: Build 400’s

Coach Ray is the author of the successful 12 Weeks to an Ironman Swim PB – Swim Faster with Smart Training eBook.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.