A swim workout to refine your stroke

— by Lauren Brandon

Whether you are still racing or done for the season, you can always brush up on your stroke technique. The following swim workout can be done at any point of the season and is meant to be on a day where you want to focus on different parts of your stroke.

Warm Up

• 400 swim, 200 kick & 200 pull

Drill Set (can be done with fins to assist you in doing the drills properly)

• 6x 50 catch-up drill with kickboard: hold the kickboard at the bottom, alternate arms R/L and breathe every three strokes. Think about keeping your bottom goggle underwater and keeping your ear on your shoulder when you breathe. Try not to lift your head at all, instead breathe to the side and keep your head relaxed. Also, think about taking big strokes.
• 6x 50 ten kick switch drill: ten kicks on your right side with your right arm out in front of you and left arm at your side. Then switch to 10 kicks on your left side with your left arm out in front of you and your right arm at your side. Your body will be completely on its’ side and your face will be looking down at the bottom of the pool.  This drill can be done holding a kickboard out in front of you with the arm that is in front or with no assistance.  Work on grabbing a hold of the water with an “early vertical forearm,” keep your kicks small and fast, and think about good body position. When you need to breathe, simply turn your head to the side as you did in the drill before.

Paddles Set

• 200 free with paddles working on a perfect stroke (reaching all the way forward and pushing the water all the way back past your hips)
• 2 x 100 free with paddles (50 perfect stroke/50 fast) 15 seconds rest
• 4x 50 fast free with paddles (continue to take long strokes, but make your tempo quicker) 10 seconds rest

Free/Sprint Set

• 2x 50 perfect stroke freestyle 10 seconds rest
• 4x 25 fast free 15 seconds rest
• 2x 50 perfect free 10 seconds rest
• 4x 25 fast free 10 seconds rest
• 2x 50 perfect free 10 seconds rest
• 4x 25 fast free 5 seconds rest

Kick Set (fins optional)

• 12 x 25 (10 seconds rest in between each) odds easy/evens fast
• 100 easy