Free Swimming Workouts, Sets, Ideas, and Dryland Exercises from Professional Coaches Around the World
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCM. We have the luxury of having a decent amount of deck space and a brushed concrete deck that allows us to safely combine dryland and swimming into hybrid sets like this one. The swimming parts are free and descend BY ROUND 1-3 and 4-6. An “in & out” starts in the water , then climb out and jump back in.
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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCM. This set worked well for us, meaning we got some excellent efforts and good times at the end of the set.
The instructions matched the intervals – the IM swims descend to an all-out 400 IM. The freestyles start off with a very strong 400 free and ascend to a smooth 100.
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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
We performed this fly set with 22 athletes in 5 narrow lanes (lanes 2-6 in a 6-lane pool). We did the 5 x 25 “snake style” (Swim a 25 in lane 2, move to lane 3, Swim the 2nd 25 in lane 3, move to lane 4, etc). Doing the 25s this way allowed us to practice breathing low to the surface of the water and avoid taking 1-arm sloppy strokes. The 10 squats in between rounds provided a little extra stimulus that made the 25s more challenging too.
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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCM. This set worked really well for us. With a full pool, it allowed everyone to get some good aerobic swimming accomplished while also achieving some fast IM swimming without stroke technique decline.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
As many rounds as you want (and then a few more!)
This post was originally published here in January 2015
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
This set was originally published to this blog in 2016
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
The swimmer who this set was written for has a best time under 2:00.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
You will need a mat or a towel, a jump rope, a step, a dumbbell or canned good, and a flat wall for this series. If you don’t have a jump rope, you can use an imaginary one!
Warm-up
1:00 Jog in place
1:00 High knees jog in place
1:00 Butt kicks while jogging in place
1:00 Jumping Jacks
1:00 Shadow boxing
Main set – 2x through, :10 rest between exercises, rest 1:00 after round 1
1:00 Jumping rope
1:00 Low plank
1:00 Mountain climbers
1:00 Jumping rope
1:00 Back plank (shoulder blades on ground, knees at 90 degrees, feet flat on ground)
1:00 Wall sit
1:00 Jumping rope
1:00 Calf raises (heels hanging off step)
1:00 Alternating jump lunges
1:00 Jumping rope
1:00 Reverse wrist curls (using dumbbell or canned food)
1:00 Push-ups (as many as you can do in 1:00)
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Coach Neno, Team SESI, Brazil
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Here is a dryland circuit to do.
Materials needed:
1. Shuttle run – 10 laps (down and back) of a 10-yard shuttle run
2. 10 squats (Varsity and National swimmers do 20 of all of these exercises)
3. 10 pushups
4. Shuttle run – 8 laps
5. 10 v-ups
6. 10 ninjas-in-a-rowboat – see video
7. Shuttle run – 6 laps
8. 10 steam engines – see video
9. 10 frog jumps
10. Shuttle run – 4 laps
11. 10 lunges
12. 10 calf raises with toes on step
13. Shuttle run – 2 laps
14. 10 Star jumps – see video
15. 10 burpees
Take 5:00 rest and REPEAT!!!
Brian Ruffles
Head Coach & Aquatics Director
Coe College Swimming and Diving
Three Rounds of:
7 x 100 @1:10/1:05/1:00
7 x 50 @:30/:35/:40
In each round the 100s interval decrease by :05 and the 50s increase by :05. The 50s starting interval should be challenging while the 100s are more manageable. You can customize it in many ways. I have done the 100s free with the 50s specially, the 100s specialty with the 50s kick, or really whatever fits the group with the time of year. I would make sure that the last round of 100s is not the interval that is too fast for them to make as the first two rounds will take a lot out of them. If they make the set they join the prestigious 21 club!
Editor’s note: This set was first published on this blog in October 2015
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCY
Editor’s note: This set was originally published to this blog in January 2015
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Editor’s note: This set was originally published to the blog in 2014.
Greg Johnson, Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on this blog in November 2012.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Steady kick for distance on the 2:00 part. Then kick the A or B distance on the black parts fast for time.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Freestyle Work. Snap drill = underwater recovery with one arm, snapping the other arm through the recovery into the water. JMI = Just Make It. P.T. = perfect technique.
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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
We used 1-gallon buckets and Aquavolo drag sox for this one.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
This one came in two parts.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCM. 15m+35m+65m+85m all fast = 200m. How much can you crush your best 200 by?
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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
…but put a bunch of ’em in a set and soon you’ll be feelin’ pretty groovy.
Have you seen these 39 must-watch swimming videos?
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
The first part of the set helped to reinforce good breaststroke technique, distance per stroke, etc. In the second part, we try to maintain cycle count over progressively longer distances at near race speed.
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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
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Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
This was our finish to practice today. We have done 25s underwater pretty consistently, so every swimmer knows his or her best time. The lifetime bests were written down on a dry erase board and this challenge was thrown. If you can beat your best twice, you get to go home. Amazingly, more than half of our swimmers were able to accomplish this feat. The mind is an amazing thing!
