Improve your Swim Times!!

With the winter weather now firmly entrenched into our daily lives, its time to start thinking about upping your training with specific emphasis on the swim discipline as we start aiming towards that 70.3 event in January. Hopefully you have kept up the swim training and should have some kind of base from which to work off? We still have plenty of time to get ready and the following program should go a long way to getting you back on track and set for a PB swim over the 1.9km distance

Periods

We are going to divide the swim training up into 3 period cycles over the next few weeks. Period 1 will be dedicated to going really long (but slow). Period 2 will be short and sharp and period 3 will be a combination of both with some rest days thrown in between. We need to complete at least 3 to 4 of these periods to give ourselves a shot at going well over the half ironman swim distance.

Strength Work

To get the best performance out of your swimming, we will also dedicate 3 x 30 minute gym sessions per week to be included in our build-up to the 70.3 event in January. A combo of some specific weight training and swimming during your peak training periods, will no doubt help you swim faster and better.

The below mentioned programs are geared towards a more intermediate/strong age group type swimmer who has a suitable amount of training km’s under the belt. The program can be easily adapted to both novice and the more ‘elite” swimmer by simply decreasing or increasing total distance from between 15 – 20%. We can also lower and increase recovery time between sets to make the program truly work for you.

Period 1 (LSD -long slow distance)-----------------------------------------------------------------

Monday:

Swim drills:
400m catch-up drills with bilateral breathing (every 3rd stroke) slow warm-up
400m kick easy fins (kickboard only if you don’t), do a butterfly kick very 4th 25m or 50m depending on which pool facility you have access to.

Main set:
3 x 800m swims, rest 1 min after each one (middle 800m will be pulling with paddles) pace is slow but try and drop time by 20 seconds per each one

Cool down:
6 x 50m moderate swims, rest 15 secs after each one

Total = 3500m

Gym

If you don’t have access to gym with weight facilities, there are a number of dry land exercises which one can do, to compliment the swim stroke action. Your best and cheapest form of weight training outside a gym environment would be a pair of stretch cords. A couple of hundred pulls on these cords (done with the proper arm action) will be worth its weight in gold come race time. I am more than happy to send you some ideas on what to do, should you be looking for other alternatives.

The maximum amount of time spent in the gym during your heavy training phase, should last no longer than 25-30 minutes. Well equipped gyms provide a super circuit which give you an all-round body workout in a short space of time.
Concentrate on upper body strength and include sets of 3 x 12 reps each. Lateral pull downs, shoulder raises, bicep curls and tricep pushdowns are the most beneficial when it comes to swim specific exercises. If at all possible, combine the swim and gym program into 1 visit with the weights preceding the swim portion.

Wednesday:

25 minutes gym before you hit the water, same as per Monday’s gym program. Keep it simple, fast and not too heavy.

Swim Set:

Swim 3km straight, no rest, pace is relaxed. I love this workout and if done on a weekly basis with the time taken each week, it will do wonders for your race times. Make sure you accurately record each and every one of these swim times for future reference.

Cool down:
16 x 25m on 40 secs, breathing every 5th stroke only, pace moderate once again

Total = 3400m

Thursday:

Warm-up
10 x 100m pulling (choice of pull buoys or paddles) resting 15-20 secs after each one

Main set
6 x 400m descending in overall time from 1thru 6 Start real slow but drop 5-10 secs per each 400m making your last the fastest one

Cool down
4 x 50m moderate on 60 seconds

Total = 3600m
Saturday or Sunday
(Your choice depending on what you have planned for both cycle and run disciplines)

30 minutes gym preceding the swim

Swim set:
If you have access to open water that is warm enough, do a 45-50 minute wetsuit swim. First half would be used to warm-up while second half would include some race pace efforts over short distances (fartlek with intervals over 100-200m metres in length)

If you cannot swim in the open water, then head for the pool and do

4 x 1km sets resting a full 2 minutes between each set (1 and 3 are swim only, 2 and 4 are choice of paddle or pull buoy)
(1 and 3 are swim only, 2 and 4 are choice of paddle or pull buoy)

Total = 4000m

Period 2 (SF – short and fast)-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday:

Cut the gym down to a maximum of 20 minutes, sets of 2 x 15 reps only and do as many different exercises as you can, working within this time limit

Warm-up
8 x 25m on 35 secs, pace moderate

Main set
30 x 50m resting 15 secs only (on 60 seconds if you can manage the pace)
(25m is build-up with the last 25m of each 50m being hard and fast)

1 x 400m max at race pace (threshold)

Cool down
400m pulling easy for recovery

Total = 2500m

Thursday:

No gym

Warm-up
16 x 25m on 35 secs (1 easy, 1 moderate)

Main set
20 x 100m rest 10 seconds only after each one but resting 1 minute after each 4 completed.
(format = 25m easy, 25m hard, 25m stroke drill, 25m fast)

Cool down
2 x 200m swim, pace relaxed

Total = 2900m

Saturday:

Warm-up
400m easy swim

Main set
10 x (50m hard, rest 10 secs, 25m butterfly, rest 15 secs, 50m easy crawl, rest 10 secs, 75m hard crawl) that makes up a distance of 200m repeated 10 times over. Rest 1 minute after each set completed.

Cool down
100m anything goes

Total = 2500m

Do stretch cords in the late afternoon for 20 minutes to complete the days work

Period 3 (combination of speed and endurance)----------------------------------------------

Monday:

Warm-up
400m easy swim pull

Main set
3km straight swim ( try and swim faster than 1st one done during phase 1)
16 x 25m on 35 secs, 1 hard 1 easy

Cool down
200m easy

Total = 4000m

Tuesday

30 minutes gym work, upper body only, sets of 3 x 20 each. Work within time restriction

Warm-up
4 x 200m pulling easy rest 1 minute after each

Main set
40 x 50m on 60 seconds (25m hard, 25m easy) leave on same time each 50m
2 x 100m maximum efforts rest 2 minutes after each

Cool down
200m pull buoy

Total = 3200m 

Friday:

30 minutes gym for this day, go heavier with sets of 4 x 8 only each

Main Set:
3 x 1500m swims (rest a full 2 minute after each one, pace is slow for all 3)
Choice of swim only, swim with fins, paddles and pull buoy combined)

Total = 4500m

Sunday:

No gym

Warm-up
100m kick, 200m pull, 200m swim
Do this 4 times

Main set
40 x 25m rest 10 secs after each one, resting 1 minute after each 10
(Every 4th 25m is butterfly) pace is fast

Cool down
100m choice

Total = 3100m

Good Swim performances come from consistency. If you can consistently put together a string of 3 to 4 of these period cycles, you will definitely start to feel the benefits and ultimately, swim faster. Good Luck!