Swimming longer reps within a set will develop your stamina. Following them up with short, faster reps will give you speed at the end of your event. This session 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.
I’ve written these sessions for a 33⅓ metre pool, but a lot of the older style pools are 33⅓ yards long (100 feet), so simply interchange the metres for yards and do the session.
Option A
- 800m WU;
- 4x 200m 20sec RI;
- 200m CD; (1,800m);
Option B
- 400m WU;
- 6x 67m (33m Drill/33m Swim);
- 800m, 60sec RI;
- 4x 200m 20sec RI;
- 200m CD; (2,600m);
Option C
- 800m WU;
- 6x 67m (33m Drill/33m Swim);
- 800m, 60sec RI;
- 4x 200m 20sec RI;
- 800m;
- 200m CD; (3,800m);
Start the workout with a Warm Up (WU) covering 800m (Options A & C), 400m (Option B). 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 for options B & C. There are six repetitions of 67m Drill/Swim, where you do a drill for the first 33m of the repetition and then normal swimming for the next 33m swimming. Feel free to use fins whilst doing the drill/swim set. Do the drills below once through for Option A, or repeat the first two drills twice then followed by the third and fourth drill for Options B & C:
I wrote an article about swimming drills previously. Click here to read and watch it.
Take the fins off prior to the next set.
The first of the main sets is for Options B & C only and involves swimming 800m. Aim to swim this solidly with as best a time as possible. Take a 60 second Rest Interval (RI) prior to moving onto the next set.
The next set is for Options A, B & C and involves four reps of 200m. Swim these nice and as fast as you are capable of maintaining across all four reps, as you only get a 20 second Rest Interval (RI) between reps. This is the final set prior to the Cool Down (CD) for Options A & B.
The final set for Option C is swimming another 800m as fast as you can.
For the Cool Down (CD) swim 133m. Unlike the previous sets which have to be freestyle, the cool down (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.
Join over 2,800 people who have already signed up to be kept up to date with great workouts and training information in 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.
I am launching a new coaching service in the coming weeks and am now offering Foundation Memberships at the lowest price that they will ever be offered. You will gain access to ALL my training plans. The Foundation Membership is only offered whilst I build the site out and get my training plans built into the site. Join now for only $47 and gain access to Training Plans for beginner and recreational athletes:
- All distances of Triathlon (including both Ironman and Ironman 70.3);
- Swim training plans;
- Full and Half Marathon, 5km & 10km running events;
- Century and 40km TT cycle events;
- Mountain Biking events and tours;
- Strength training; and
- Getting started with both swimming and running.
If the programme you are after isn’t yet built into the site, let me know which one you are after and I will ensure that is the next plan built into the site for you.
Normally I charge US$350 for my coaching but you’ll get the advantage of
- A dedicated training plan on Training Tilt (value US$350)
- Access to a fortnightly group coaching call (value US$20 per call x2 = $40)
- The event Training Bible (value $27 for each event plan)
- Access to my popular Top 10 Healthy Recipes ebook (US$17)
- Access to my popular 7 Secrets of Endurance Training Success eBook (US$11)
- The dedicated Coach Ray / Qwik Kiwi Coaching support group (priceless)
That’s a total value of over US$445, and you will only pay US$47 per month. All at no risk, if you don’t get faster in the first 30 days you get a full 100% money back guarantee.
This price will be grandfathered for you at a low price for as long as you remain a member.
