Fast Fridays Vol. 4: Swim Edition 1
Swimming: Why do it and How to Begin! Plus four workouts to try at home.
Swimming. It’s most triathletes nightmare portion of the race. If swimming was not a sport you were trained in from a young age, it presents challenges to the adult-learned swimmer in a myriad of ways. If you are one of the few that was on a club team or suffered through those 5 a.m. practices, then swimming for triathlon will come easier!
Why Do It?
Okay, probably a silly question if you are training for triathlon but I’ll ask it anyway! Many triathletes believe they can get away with swimming the absolute bare minimum yards/meters in training because the swim portion of the race is so much shorter compared to the bike and the run portions. However, there are many reasons to swim more.
Confidence. The more you swim, the more confidence you build when you have to translate your pool swimming to open water. There isn’t a wall to rest at each 25 meters in open water, so being confident in your ability to swim is key.
Fatigue Resistance. For an athlete that didn’t grow up with a swim background, the more swimming done in training, the less fatigue the swim portion of the race will take out of the body. No one wants to be gassed coming out of the water and then have to bike and run already feeling tired. By swimming more you’re building your resistance to fatigue.
Aerobic Fitness. Swimming gives a huge boost to overall aerobic fitness. By working on muscular endurance, breath control, and pacing, the body is getting more aerobically fit with each swim session.
How To Begin.
The easiest way to start is with a short workout and then build on that session week after week. The biggest hurdle to swimming is just getting in! Set specific days and times to head to the pool, and stick to it. Have a workout written down or memorized so there is purpose to each swim session. Just like with running or cycling, it is important to include a proper warm up and cool down into each session.
The Drills.
Before I outline each session, I wanted to give more detail on each of the drills that will be in the first swim workout. Drills are a great edition to any swim workout because they can be a standalone workout for a beginner swimmer, or they can be incorporated into a longer session and reinforce proper technique for an advanced swimmer.
Tarzan Drill: This drill mimics sighting and is super beneficial for triathletes that need to know where the next turn buoy is in a race! Swim the entire length of the pool with your head above the water. Focus on arching your back and kicking extra hard while maintaining proper swimming form.
Single Arm: This drill allows you to focus on proper hand entry, catch and pull one arm at a time. Swim freestyle with only one arm. Your non-swimming arm stays extended at the front in a glide position. Alternate 25 left arm, 25 right arm.
6 Kick: This drill focuses on full body rotation. Without a kickboard, kick on your side with your lead hand forward in a glide position, and opposite hand at your side by your thigh. After six kicks, take a stroke and switch sides. Repeat. This drill works on body rotation, alignment, and balance. Keep your body in line and the palm of your hand, lat muscle and hip toward the bottom of the pool. Try not to turn your head more than necessary when breathing.
The Workouts
The following workouts are designed for any swimmer, beginner or experienced. Each can be modified to add or take away sets to get what you need from the session.
Workout 1: Drill Set + Aerobic Repeats (2050 yards/meters)
For this session you may need: kick board, fins (Please note: for all workouts, recovery time is in parentheses
Warm Up: 200 swim, choice (i.e. freestyle, backstroke, mix strokes), 100 kick, 4 x 50 descending times (each 50 is faster than the last, :15) Drill Set: 3 x 50 of each drill (Tarzan, single arm, 6 kick, :20) Main Set: Using what you learned in the drill set, complete the following - 8 x 100 swim steady, freestyle (:15) 200 kick steady (fins, kickboard) Cool Down: 100 choice
Workout 2: Aerobic Endurance 300s (+/- 3200 yards/meters)
For this workout you will need a pull buoy and paddles (paddles optional)
Warm Up: 300 swim, freestyle, 6 x 50 done as 25 quick, 25 easy (:15) Main Set: 8 x 300 (:20) The odd intervals are steady pulls, the even intervals are steady swim, freestyle Cool Down: 200 choice
Workout 3: Muscular Endurance Cruise Intervals (3000 yards/meters)
For this workout you will need a pull buoy and kick board for the warm up.
Warm Up: 200 swim, freestyle (:15), 200 pull (:15), 100 kick (:15), 4 x 50 drills (your choice drills, :15) Main Set: Repeat the following six times through - 300 freestyle done as 75 hard, 225 cruise (:20), 50 kick steady (:20) Cool Down: 200 choice
Workout 4: Race Week 100s (1750 yards/meters)
For this workout you may need a kick board and fins (optional).
WU: 200 swim, choice, 100 kick, 6 x 50 drills (pick 3 drills, fins optional, :10) Main Set: 6 x 25 fast! (:10), 8 x 50 descend pace 1-4, then descend again 5-8 (:15), 5 x 100 at race pace (:10) Cool Down: 100 easy
Did you do one (or all!) of the workouts? Send me a message and let me know how they went.
Happy Training!