3 Key Swim Sessions and When to Use Them

 

 

It is very common for triathletes to neglect the strength and speed workouts, and spend too much time on long, slower swims. Another mistake that triathletes tend to make is that they either go too hard or too easy during race week, which may lead to a poor performance on race day. Below are sample workouts that address each of these topics.

Strength Set
After you have completed your base phase of training, it is good to introduce some “Sport Specific Strength” into your training.

Warm Up
4 x 100 easy

Pre Set
8 x 50 (descend 1-4, 5-8 from easy to ALL OUT) on :10 rest

Main Set
400 Hard w/ paddles on :10 rest
4 x 50 easy on :20 rest
300 Hard paddles on :10 rest
4 x 50 easy on :20 rest
200 Hard paddles on :10 rest
4 x 50 easy on :20 rest
100 BSE paddles on :10 rest
4 x 50 easy on :20 rest

Cool Down
800 easy w/ pull buoy

Speed Set
Introduce a speed swim set into your weekly program after your base and strength phase and continue up until your “A” race taper.
Warm Up
4 x 100 easy

Pre Set
4 x 100 swim (descend 1-4) on :20 rest

Main Set
1 x 100 ALL OUT on :10 rest
100 easy pull on :30 rest
2 x 50 ALL OUT on :10 rest
100 easy pull on :30 rest
4 x 25 ALL OUT on :10 rest
100 easy pull on :30 rest
2 x 50 ALL OUT on :10 rest
100 easy pull on :30 rest
1 x 100 ALL OUT

Cool Down
800 easy pull w/ paddles

Pre Race Swim
Do this workout mid-week prior to your race to loosen up and rev your engine without taxing the body too much.
Warm Up
400 easy

Main Set
4 x 25 (descend 1-4, 5-8 from easy – ALL OUT) on :15 rest
6 x 50 ALL OUT on :30 rest
6 x 50 Zn3 on :15 rest

Cool Down
400 easy pull

Michael Weyant, Certified Triathlon Coach for AJ Baucco Coaching LLC, weyantm@comcast.net