Post your favorite swim workout

I enjoy doing rounds of "broken" sets, with a different focus on each round. Or some mathmatical variation.

Eg.

3 rounds of
1x400 + 2x200 + 4 x 100

each round choose a different tempo, or a different stroke count

OR something like this:
8 x 25 fast
200 cruise
4 x 50 fast
200 cruise
2 x 100 fast
200 cruise
200 all out

reverse set if desired.

For a warmup, a standard warmup for me may be 100s alternating short axis, long axis strokes
eg 100 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 100 fly (usually broken by 25s), 100 free, etc...

100 yard warmup.

Drills (varies, sometimes kick offs, other times catch ups, whatever I wanna work on.  If I'm in a hurry or want to do distance or If I did a long run that day I skip 'em)

12x25 stroke, pull, kick of each stroke. 10 seconds rest each

100/200/400/400/200/100 various strokes. 10 - 30 seconds between sets.

I take a few minutes rest after this.

4 x 50 speed

150 pull

150 kick

100 easy crawl

I split between two workouts (both 2600 yards):

Workout 1:
1x100 warm up
1x200 mid-tempo
1x1000 Steady
1x1000 Steady
2x100 Fast
1x50 Butterfly
1x50 Breast (cool down)

Workout 2:
1x100 warm up
1x200 mid-tempo
10x200 (2:00 though may soon change to 1:45)
2x100 Fast
1x50 Butterfly
1x50 Breast (cool down)

Sometimes I'll do 1x2000 instead of 2x1000 for the first workout. I added the butterfly recently just for fun, and I do the breast stroke because sometimes, I just end up doing it in the swim...

Can anyone tell that I don't completely trust my swim endurance?

These are main sets only.

This one can be split up speed wise a number of ways, but normally done around threshold pace.
Have done this one with paces moving with the ladder, or (my fav), staying the same as the intervals get longer, for the 50s it seems easy but as you go further it gets harder).

8x50
4x100
2x200
400 easy pull or 400 kick
2x200
4x100
8x50


This one looks boring, but if you are doing it right you wont be able to think about how boring it is:
goal 100s,
10-15x100 on whatever interval gives you 20-30 sec of rest, swimming close to all out (fastest you can maintain through that set). example, doing them on 1:30, best ave so far is 1:05 ish, so 25 sec rest.


really, if you want to be a faster swimming, you need to swim fast, often. get the stroke down, and then swm fast, over, and over.

some over pace stuff (swimming much faster than race pace), and a lot of pace work. cut out any of the easy work you dont need, and get used to working harder.





This is just a sampling of my main stay workouts this year (used to help go from a 22 min 1500 down to 19 and took my 2k swim from 29 min down to hopefully 24 this weekend).

Warmup: 5x100 SKIPS (Swim, kick, IM, pull, swim x 100's)

Main set: 3x (4x100 on 1:20 descending), 1 min rest between subsets
Main set alternate: 10x (4x25 IM order on :25) 1 min rest between subsets

Drills: 5x25 tarzan, 5x25 pull with ankle tube

Warmdown: 5x100 skips

John

john, i'm still using that warmup for almost all of my swims!!

Glad you liked it! Good luck with your race this weekend, I expect some serious smackdown!

John

This is a main set I have had a lot of success with:

4 x 400 with 30 seconds rest. Negative Split each one and Descend the entire set.

To negative split means to perform the 2nd half of each swim faster than the 1st. To descend a set means to perform each repeat faster than the last.  So the way to do this sucessfully is to start sloowwwwww.

This is a great activity for begineers as many of us fall into the 'one speed all the time' category. This is a very challenging set to get right. It is easier to vary the effort you put into swimming than it is to actually vary the speed.

This set falls into a larger category called 'Speedplay'.  It is a very useful concept as it is a passive learning technique. Meaning if you can do it correctly, your body will be 'figuring out' how to swim faster. This is very important.  Speedplay can also act as an 'Integrator', meaning it will help you to take some of the things you worked on in various drills and integrate them into your actual swimming.

I have a website that explains a lot of these concepts in more detail. Most of the explaining is free of charge.

BTW - I have not figured out how to get the sig I want yet so here is my disclaimer:

I coach for a living. It is my full time job. I get paid for bike fits, training plans, etc. I am also the co-developer of a 12 week swim program called, Finding Freestyle. You may hear me mention it. Some of it is free and some of it is for sale. It can be found here:

 http://www.findingfreestyle.com/ 

 

Edited by Dave Luscan 2010-09-23 2:59 AM

You got it, i rode the course yesterday and had a really good time, i think assuming irace smart, and weather is not awful sub 4:20 is possible

Warm up: 200 Swim, 200 Kick, 200 Pull, 200 Swim, 100 Kick, 100 Pull, 100 Swim

6x75 Scull, Drill, Swim by 25s

Main Set:
1x25  :40
1x50   :55
1x75    1:10
1x100  1:30

2x25    :35
2x50    :50
2x75    1:05
2x100   1:25

3x25    :30
3x50    :45
3x75    1:00
3x100   1:20

4x25   :25
4x50    :40
4x75   :55
4x100  1:15

5x25    :20
5x50    :35
5x75    :50
5x100  1:10
 

Warm Down: 200 EZ 

that goal pace or interval?

I've got quite a few. I picked up lots from Masters, but haven't been since Labor Day so I'm having to fall back on my "tried and true".

3300 Main Set
10x100 @ Tpace +10s (if Tpace is 1:30, swim these at 1:40)
100 easy recovery (typically a drill set)
10x100 @ Tpace
100 easy recovery
10x 100 @ Tpace -10s (assuming 1:30, swim these at 1:20)
100 easy recovery

2600 Pull Focus
4x 300 Pull (dec :05/set, w/ :15sec RI)
200 moderate (no pull)
3x 200 Pull (dec :05/set, w/ :10sec RI, start at time from last set from above)
200 moderate (no pull)
2x 100 Pull (dec :05/set, w/ :05sec RI, start at time from last set from above)
200 moderate (no pull)

Time Trials
10x75 hard w/ :15sec RI
*Time the whole set from beginning to end.

Time Trial #2
10x50 hard w/ :10sec RI
*Time the whole set from beginning to end.

Do both in the same workout. Warm up comfortably, do TT#1, do 400-500 mixed sets, do TT#2. Repeat every two months or so.

awww, why can't I have access to a 50 yard pool???

It's in your settings area. I sent you a PM.

John

because they are horribly rare? in fact i've never seen one......

Those are the intervals. 

gag

HOLY CRAP!

Well, no. The title was "Favorite" swim workout, not "favorite workout that is realistic for 90% of triathletes".

I will say that is a massive set tho, 1100 for just the warmup?

gag.

:-)~

John

John, not to step on toes, but a majority of our warmups for masters are close to 1000yrds and sometimes more.

But then again, the sets usually go for 3800-4300yrds.

And that just makes me miss master more right now!

haha, some days (i think we talked about this before) i've felt like i needed that warm up.

but yeah, that looks like it would hurt for a while.

I;ve done some nasty sets recently, but that looks like a new world of ugly.

Here was a workout I did with a Kona bound pal this morning:

10 minute warm up choice

Pre-set:
- 10 minutes kick choice alternating :30 mod/1:00 hard

Main set - straight through:
- 1 X 300 @ 4:10
- 3 X 300 @ 3:50
- 1 X 300 @ 4:10
- 2 X 300 @ 3:40
- 1 X 300 @ 4:10
- 2 X 300 @ 3:30

300 pull recovery (buoy only)

Cool down

Those are push off intervals, no extra rest

I pretty much run this continuous with no "rest" - I only stop long enough to
swap gear. I use the kick portion of the workout as "rest"
*******************************************************************
1000 warm-up (freestyle)

250 kick (fins and board)
500 pull (buoy and paddles), alternating 25s: hard, easy, hard, easy, etc.
250 kick (fins and board)
5x100 on 1:35

150 kick (fins and board)
300 pull (buoy and paddles), alternating 25s: hard, easy, hard, easy, etc.
150 kick (fins and board)
3x100 on 1:35

200 kick (fins and board)
200 pull (buoy and paddles), alternating 25s: hard, easy, hard, easy, etc.
2x100 on 1:35

100 warm-down (25 free, 25 back, 25 breast, 25 free)
*******************************************************************
TOTAL: 4100 yards (2.34 mi)