Free Swimming Workouts, Sets, Ideas, and Dryland Exercises from Professional Coaches Around the World
Coach Gwynn Harrison, Bridgewater College
We did this set in a 25m pool, so note send offs and goals.
6 x 250 (broken into):
75 – on 1:15 4 dolphin kicks off first wall, 6 on 2nd, 8 on 3rd
75 on :55 – Make the Interval
75 – Push (male goal under 45 – most went 46-48) (female goal – under 52, most went 54-55)
25 – Easy, REGROUP, about :45 between sets
*this was coach send to restart, they got about :45 rest in between rounds.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCY
We started practice this way to bring more focus to our walls.
Blake Proffitt, SwimRVA
SCY
2x
2×25 fast Fly A-20 B-20/25 C-25
1×50 BK A/B/C-50
3×25
1×50
4×25
1×50
3×25
1×50
2×25
1:00R
Focus on the fly was holding the same distance and speed underwater and staying within a 1 cycle range on top of the water
They did a short recovery and went to the blocks for:
8x
100 FL on 1:30 with fins focusing on coordination at lower tempo
Fins came off
Hopped on the blocks and went a broken 50 25FR/25FL with :10R at the 25 on 1:30
Brayden Rigby, Cache Valley Marlins (Utah)
I thought I’d share my favorite freestyle sprint set. We usually do the 200’s in groups to allow swimmers a bit more rest. Short course yards, 1800 yards total.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCY. JMI = just make it (easy). Swimmers can choose their kick, but it must be consistent on all the even 100s.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
One of the most difficult technical changes to make in swimming is getting rid of a habit of crossing over behind the head during backstroke hand entry. This set is a progression that we used to rectify that problem using overcorrection.
Credit to Andrew Sheaff for inspiring this post with a recent post of his own. I highly recommend you check him out www.coachandrewsheaff.com
Imagine the hand entry positions as times on a clock face:
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
This is what our group did this morning.
SCY
FPA = fastest possible average
OTB = off the blocks
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
LCM. Here is the practice that we did last year on the 4th. 7 x 400 (for 7/4) and 50 x 50 to celebrate the 50 states. The last ten 50s are all fast.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCY
3:00 kick is just steady pace, choice of kick. All 25s are maximum CONSISTENT underwater kicks.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCY
We have done some IM sets like this before, but this one worked well. The fly up front was just enough to establish some fatigue to make the 175s a challenge. Beating 200 IM best time on the 3rd and 6th 175 was a doable but not easy objective.
Sebastian Sieburger, SC Schaffhausen
LCM
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCY
Instructions on the 400s were to keep it steady and make the interval by :10+. Intervals for 200s are a bit faster with instructions to push the pace. 25s are to maintain an underwater focus under fatigue. A,B,C intervals for 400s and 200s. For the 25s, A group does 8, B group does 6, C group does 4, allowing us to stay pretty close together on the set.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCY
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCM
At the beginning of my career (20+ years ago), I would have my team do a T-30 test multiple times per season. Since that time, I have gradually moved away from long steady paced swims such as that. The set below is the kind of thing I am more likely to do now. Each of the timed sets is “As Many Rounds As Possible” (AMRAP) with a set distance and rest to repeat. The amount of rest scales down with the distances, which allows for a pretty direct comparison of pace as the times decrease. We recorded each swimmer’s distances (to the nearest meter) on a dry erase board for all to see. As the time was cut in half, swimmers were urged to exceed 1/2 of their previous distance on the next swim. The 5:00 swims in between allowed for recovery and emphasis on technical reminders. Overall, it was a successful set with high levels of effort and engagement!
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCY
We did the 200s at the end on 3:00.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCY
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCM
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCM
Coach Elliot Ptasnik, Aloha Aquatica Pro Group
A few terms to explain:
RI = rest jnterval
DR = drill
JS = Jump start (push off the wall on the surface directly into swimming)
P100= Race pace for the 100
SC = stroke count
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCM
Sebastian Sieburger, Head Coach, SC Schaffhausen
LCM
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
After some time off and a few days back to training, we needed to do something fast(ish) not too repeatedly intense. Adding in some active recovery on a generous interval seemed to do the trick.
SCY
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
With this set, we were aiming to repeat stroke parameters over and over at a high level: UW kicks, Cycle count, Breathing pattern, and time (around 1-2 seconds off P100).
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
I’ve posted before about The Guessing Game and The Guessing Game for Sprinters.
Tonight we tried the guessing game with a new twist: Elimination.
We had 12 swimmers in the pool near the end of practice. Everyone swam a 100 free (any speed) and immediately had to guess their times. Top 3 swimmers who guessed closest to their actual time got to climb out and go home. Everyone else swam again and repeated the process. Incredibly, in order to be in the top 3 in the first round, a swimmer had to guess within 0.8 seconds. Similar results happened in subsequent rounds as the group sharpened their skills. One swimmer managed to finish 4th in both the first and second rounds.
The final three swimmers had the task of cleaning up the deck (equipment, etc.) before leaving.
Overall, it was a fun (and agonizing for some) way to finish practice.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
This one has a little bit of everything.
Ryan Woodruff, Lynchburg YMCA
SCM
The format is similar to my most recent other post, with a more aerobic focus. The intervals stay the same for each part, with the quantities at each interval shifting slightly. The effect is a set that gets steadily a bit harder, with the peak intensity coming in the final 4 x 150 at the end. FPA = Fastest Possible Average.
The Swimming Wizard 