Tag: Freestyle

Distance Freestyle Delight

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Ryan Woodruff
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com

LCM

Warmup – 400 swim, 4 x150 d-s-b, 4 x 50 20m sprint/30 m easy all @:20 rest

2 x 800 @ 10:15/10:30 (1:16 and 1:19 base)
#1 negative split, #2 broken, fast with :30 rest at 400 mark
2 x 100 at Pmile+2 @ 1:30
2 x 600 @ 7:45/8:00 (1:17 and 1:20 base)
# 1 negative split, # 2 broken, fast with :20 rest at 300 mark
4 x 100 at Pmile+1 @ 1:30
2 x 400 @ 5:15/5:30 (1:18 and 1:22 base)
#1 negative split, # 2 broken, fast with :10 rest at 200 mark
6 x 100 at Pmile @ 1:30

2 x 200 @ 2:45/3:00 (1:22 and 1:30 base)

#1 negative split, # 2 fast with no rest
8 x 100 at Pmile -2 @ 1:30

(Pmile=”at mile pace”)

6 x 150 free with snorkels @ 2:40 50 fists drill/50 swim/50 catchup
5 x 300 @ :20 rest Fastest Possible Average.
This is a broken 1500 with 1:20 total rest.
400 easy swim

Pool Open Water Workout

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Ryan Woodruff
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com

Today our Open Water Nationals group did a version of the following set in the pool (SCY) in preparation for the 5k in 1.5 weeks. The aims of the set are to 1) Acclimate the swimmers to tight pack swimming with frequent limb collisions, 2) practice drafting at high speeds, 3) rehearse front end and back end speed that are needed to compete in elite OW races, and 4) simply get in a good distance set. Here is the set:

4 x 50 @ :40 Fastest possible average, swimming 4 swimmers wide in an 9-foot lane.
3 x 100 @ 1:20 fastest possible average, swimming 4 wide
3 x 200 @ 2:20 ascend, swimming in a drafting line, front swimmer rotating to the back after each repeat
6 x 500 @ 6:10 hold steady and strong pace, swimming in normal practice formation, 5 seconds apart, with front swimmer rotating to the back after each repeat.
3 x 200 @ 2:20 descend, essentially the reverse of what was done on the first 3, same draft line and swimmer rotation
3 x 100 @ 1:20 fastest possible average, swimming 4 wide, try to beat times from early in the set
4 x 50 @ :40 fastest possible average, swimming 4 wide, try to beat times from beginning of the set

Easy 200

Follow-up Open Water Skills set:
3x through:
3 x 200 @ 2:20 sight once in every lap
3 x 100 @ 1:20 practice feeding from poolside water bottle on 2nd 25 each time

400 smooth warm down

North Jeffco Stroke Set

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Brett Stoyell
North Jeffco Swim Team

Best Stroke Practice working Quality and Endurance (Sectional-Trials level group)
This set was done at 5,500 ft above sea level in Arvada, Colo. almost every swimmer started the primary set holding at or under their best time and finished the set 5-10sec under their best 200 time.

Warmup
(2x)
400 @ 530 Snorkel Stk Count Free
300 @ 430 IM R#1 K-K-D, R#2 K-D-S
4×50 @ 1 Stk
#1 Drill
#2 Fast-EZ
#3 Kick
#4 EZ-Fast

Primary Stk (Breaststk and some flyers went on + 15sec for the 175s)
4×175 @ 240 Hold Best 200 time control stk count and HR
1×200 @ 300 Free Stretchout
3×175 @ 250 Hold Best 200 time – 2-3 seconds
1×300 @ 430 Free Stretchout
2×175 @ 300 Hold Best 200 Time -4-5 seconds
1×400 @ 600 Free Stretchout
1×175 @ 310 Hold as Fast as possible from a start
1×500 Recovery choice

Followed by a circuit (1min to switch stations)
G1 8×50 on medium in water cords @ 130 Either IMo or best 2 stks (Stk count against resistance – Stk tempo with assistance)
G2 12×50 @ 1:00 Fins 25 15mtr uH2O – 10 mtr sprint IMo or Best 2 stks on surface
G3 2×400 IM from a dive @ 6 Each stk as follows: 25 Build-25 Kick-25 Drill-25 ALL out. (Working Transitions all out!)

Mid Season Long Course IM Workout

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Ryan Woodruff
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com

LCM

Warmup – 1200m, 20:00
400 smooth swim @ 6:00
4 x 150 50 kick/50drill/50 swim @ 2:30
4 x 50 25 fast/25 easy @ 1:00

Main Set – 5500m, 1:08:00

Hold stroke 100s steady & strong. Descend 200s, 400s, and 600 IMs.
1 x 100 FLY @ 1:30
200 IM @ 3:00
1 x 100 BK @ 1:30
200 IM @ 3:00
1 x 100 BR @ 1:40
200 IM @ 3:00
:30 rest

2 x 100 FLY @ 1:30
400 IM @ 6:20
2 X 100 BK @ 1:30
400 IM @ 6:20
2 x 100 BR @ 1:40
400 IM @ 6:20
:30 rest

3 x 100 FLY @ 1:30
600 IM @ 9:40
3 x 100 BK @ 1:30
600 IM @ 9:40
3 x 100 BR @ 1:40
600 IM @ 9:40
100 easy @ 3:00

Kick/Speed Set
4 x 100 @ 3:00 ALL CHOICE
#1 – FROM START, 25m FAST SWIM/75m KICK
#2 – FROM START, 50m FAST SWIM/50m KICK
#3 – FROM START, 75m FAST SWIM/25m KICK
#4 – FROM START, 100m ALL OUT SWIM

WARM DOWN

go! Go! GO!

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Greg Johnson

Head Age Group Coach

Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club

Just a tough, straightforward set (intervals based on freestyle for senior swimmers). We adjusted for the age groupers by giving them 6 rounds (odd rounds free, even IM). Got them breathing pretty hard.
8 x (no rest between rounds)
4 x 25 @ 20
2 x 50 @ 40
1 x 100 @ 1:15

Vertical I.M. Transitions

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Ryan Woodruff
Ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com

This set is designed to help mimic the crucial transitions in IM sets. In my opinion, much of the difficulty in IM transitions is due to fatigue in the legs. The vertical kicking mimics the fatigue from one stroke and then we swim fast!

3x:
2:00 vertical dolphin kick (hands out of the water) straight into…
1 x 100 fast backstroke (50 splits must be within 1 sec of each other)
1 x 100 easy swim

Repeat additional times doing vertical flutter kick (for backstroke) followed by breaststroke swimming. For the br-fr transition, do vertical kicking with a weight followed by freestyle swimming. Intersperse these sets with longer IM sets for maximum effect.

Freestyle Set After the Main Set

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Parkland Aquatic Club

After a big freestyle set (6,000) for our main set today, we used the follow-up set below.  Swimmers had the option to continue to swim at anaerobic pace or swim aerobically and focus on details.  Color paces are based on a T30 test and Jon Urbanchek’s training tables.

SCY
6 x 100 Free @1:30
Swimmers have the option of swimming at these paces or swimming at White pace for all of them and doing 6 or more dolphin kicks off every wall.
#1 – White
#2 – Pink
#3 – Red
#4 – White
#5 – Red
#6 – Blue

11-11-11 Set

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach
Parkland Aquatic Club

Can you have a once-in-a-lifetime set to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime day?

11 x 100 free @ 1:11
Possible instructions:
– Kick out 11m off every wall
– Breathe every 11
– Get 11 seconds of rest each time
– Take 11 strokes or fewer each length
– Use 11 dolphin kicks off every wall
– Take 11 breaths total in each 100
– Descend by 11 seconds from #1 to #11
– Be within 11 seconds of your best time on every swim
– Come up with 11 different technical things to work on and focus on one for each 100
– 11 strokes – 11 kicks – 11 strokes drill
– Start the set at the 11:11 on your pace clock
– Perform the set with 11 people in your lane
– Tell your coach 11 reasons why you liked the set!!!

Quality and Technique

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Ryan Woodruff
Head Coach, Parkland Aquatic Club

SCY
We performed this set to get in some high-quality yardage while also spending some time on specific technical elements of our freestyle

20 x 400
odd fastest possible average @ 5:00
even easy @ 6:00
Follow these specific instructions on the easy swims:
#1 and #11 – Breathe every 3 strokes
#3 and #13 – Kick at least 4+ dolphin kicks off every wall
#5 and #15- Open turns with great streamlines
#7 and #17- 25 breathing right/25 breathing left
#9 and #19- Finish every 25 with a perfect touch

For an  I.M. option: Do the fast swims IM  @ 6:00 and go a 300 (instead of 400) easy @ 5:00.

A Few Favorites

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Dan Harrigan
1976 Olympic Bronze Medalist- 200 Back
Former Coach, Penn State University

Dan counts the great Dick Jochums as his mentor.  Here are a few of Dan’s favorite sets:
10 x 100 free (yds)on 1:15 count strokes for each lap. Each 25 take one less stroke.
This will tend to make you kick more toward the end of each hundred.

10 x 200m back swim/kick by 100s on 2:45 (or an interval that gives you little time to rest, maybe 5 to 10 seconds.)

15 x 100 free on descending intervals (meters):

first five on 1:15

next five on 1:10

last five on 1:05

Kickin’ with Wiken #1

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Erik Wiken
Head Coach, Heartland Aquatics

This post is the first in a series of posts from Coach Wiken’s Senior/National Team Group.  Look for more to come soon.

With Board or in Streamline (1 stroke max into wall)
4 x 100 @ 2:00 FR Strong Kick
4 x 25 @ :45 FR All Out Kick
3 x 100 @ 1:55 FR Strong Kick
4 x 25 @ :45 FR All Out Kick
2 x 100 @ 1:50 FR Strong Kick
4 x 25 @ :45 FR All Out Kick
1 x 100 @ 1:45 FR Strong Kick
4 x 25 @ :45 FR All Out Kick
1 x 100 @ — Easy Moderate FR Swim
1500/35 minutes

The Hurricane

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Ryan Woodruff
ryan.d.woodruff@gmail.com

“More days to come
New places to go
I’ve got to leave
It’s time for a show

Here I am, rock you like a hurricane”

-The Scorpions, “Rock You Like a Hurricane”

WARMUP Churn the waters– 20 MINUTES NON-STOP OF:

200 SMOOTH FREE
10 STREAMLINE BLASTOFFS OFF THE BOTTOM
100 KICK W/BOARD
100 SMOOTH NO FREE
10 STREAMLINE BLASTOFFS
50 KICK FAST W/ BOARD

MAIN SET – THE HURRICANE
The intensity builds and builds until you reach the “Eye-M” in the middle. The intensity hits strong again shortly thereafter.

Descend the 1st four 500s, Pull is optional on all 100s
500 FREE STRONG @ 5:40
4 X 100 EZ @ 1:15
500 FREE STRONG @ 5:40
3 X 100 EZ @ 1:15
500 FREE STRONG @ 5:40
2 X 100 EZ @ 1:15
500 FREE STRONG @ 5:40
1 X 100 EZ @ 1:15

800 REVERSE “Eye-M” 50 KICK/100 DRILL/50 SWIM

500 FREE STEADY B3 @ 5:40
4 X 100 F.P.A. @ 1:10
500 FREE STEADY B3 @ 5:40
3 X 100 F.P.A. @ 1:10
500 FREE STEADY B3 @ 5:40
2 X 100 F.P.A. @ 1:10
500 FREE STEADY B3 @ 5:40
1 X 100 F.P.A. @ 1:10

WARM DOWN SET
? X 25 @ :30 CHOICE, DESCEND CYCLE COUNT 1-4 AND REPEAT

The "N" Set

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Dani Caldwell
SUSA Stingrays

This was a great set for determining the “mental state” of my senior swimmers.  I also did a shorter, easier version with my age-groupers later in the day.  I did it as an evening practice for my seniors, which gave them extra motivation to push themselves!
 
Goal yardage (depending on the ability of the swimmers and duration of the workout):  6500 yards
 
Rules:
1.  You have 15 minutes do get in as many repeats as possible.  Count your repeats. (Coach records them)
2.  You MUST take the specified rest.
3.  You determine how much effort you put in.
4.  Once you reach your goal yardage, you warm down 300 yards and you are done.
Sets:
1.  15 minutes — straight swim
2.  15 minutes — n x 100 FR kick with fins and snorkel @5 seconds rest
3.  15 minutes — n x 200 FR pull (no buoy) @20 seconds rest
4.  15 minutes — n x 100 stroke (no FR, all the same stroke) @ 10 seconds rest
5.  15 minutes — n x 50 FR with snorkel (work on turns) @ 10 seconds rest
6.  15 minutes — n x 25 underwaters with fins @10 seconds rest
7.  15 minutes — n x 75 FR @5 seconds rest

A Dayton Christmas Part 2

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Gary Galbreath
Dayton Raiders

SCM

Pulling/Kicking
====================
3 x 300 on 4:30 Swim, IM k/d/s, scull/swim x25
8 x 100 on 1:30 uh2o turns
====================
4x
{1 x 75 on 1:20 1:25 Kick, 1st 25 fast
{1 x 75 on 1:25 1:30 Kick- last 50 fast
{1 x 75 on 1:30 Kick- entire 75 fast
{1 x 100 on 2:00 Kick for Time
====================
2x
{3 x 200 on 2:30 2:40 2:50 Paddles with hard kick
{3 x 150 on 2:00 2:10 2:20 pad/buoy desc 50’s
{3 x 100 on 1:15 1:20 1:25 Buoy only. Make
{2 x 50 on 1:00 Backstroke
====================
5 x 100 on 1:30 No Equipment.Choice Best Ave
1 x 500 on 8:00 Swim 12.5 uh2o off each wall
5 x 100 on 1:30 Equipment. Choice Best Ave
1 x 100 on 2:00 ez 1:00
7,500 Meters

A Dayton Christmas Part 1

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Gary Galbreath
Dayton Raiders

SCY
200 Swim, 200 kick, 200 Pull, 200 Swim @ 13:00                          13
15 x 100                                                                       
       5 @ 1:20/1:25
       5 @ 1:15/1:20
       5 @ 1:10/1:15
———1 Min———-                          2300
Main Set
3 x                                                                            
6 x 25 Fly @ 20/25 (200 Pace)
1 x 50 @ 45
6 x 25 Back @ 20/25 (200 Pace or 400 IM Pace)
1 x 50 @ 45
6 x 25 Breast @ 25/30 (200 Pace or 400 IM Pace)
1 x 50 @ 45
6 x 25 Free @ 20/25 (200 Pace or 400 IM Pace)
1 x 50 @ 45                    2400/4700
——–1 Min——–
Main Set II
4 x                     Descend 1-4                                            
1 x 100 IM @ 1:25/1:30
1 x 100 IM @ 1:20/1:25
1 x 100 IM @ 1:15/1:20
1 x 100 IM @ 1;10/1:15
                                   1600/6300
——–1 min——–
Kick Set
20 x 50                                                                        
       Odd @ 50
       Even @ 45
                                   1000/7300
——–1 Min——
Pull Set
10 x 75 @ 55/1:00                                                              
                                   750/8050

The Myers Sprint Set

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Dustin Myers

1 x 50  @  1:00;  cruise kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel

2 x 25  @  0:30;  build to sprint kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel
4 x 25  @  0:40;  build to sprint – free
2 x 25  @  0:30;  build to sprint kick – secondary stroke
4 x 25  @  0:40;  build to sprint – secondary stroke
1:00 rest
1 x 50  @  1:00;  cruise kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel
2 x 25  @  0:40;  sprint kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel
4 x 25  @  0:50;  sprint – free
2 x 25  @  0:40;  sprint kick – secondary stroke
4 x 25  @  0:50;  sprint – secondary stroke
1:00 rest
1 x 50  @  1:30;  cruise kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel and parachute
2 x 25  @  0:50;  sprint kick – flutter w/ board and snorkel and parachute
4 x 25  @  1:00;  sprint – free w/ parachute
2 x 25  @  0:50;  sprint kick – secondary stroke w/ parachute
4 x 25  @  1:00;  sprint – secondary stroke w/ parachute
1:00 rest
2 x 25  @  1:30;  sprint – free w/ bucket
2 x 25  @  1:30;  sprint – secondary stroke w/ bucket
2 x 25  @  1:30;  sprint – free w/ bucket and fins (paddles optional)
2 x 25  @  1:30;  sprint – secondary stroke w/ bucket and fins (paddles optional)

Medley and Free Sets for Success

Posted on by rdwoodruff
Great mixed Medley/Fs sets that work well with all swimmers (times adjusted accordingly)
1600 IM as
50 Fs, 50 Fly
100 Fs, 100 Bk
150 Fs, 150 Brst
200 Fs, 200 IM
150 Fs, 150 Fly
100 Fs, 100 Bk
50 Fs, 50 Brst
Focus on good technique, especially towards end of set
20 x 100 Fs as
8 @ 1.20
6 @ 1.15
4 @ 1.10
2 @ 1.05
Work distance per stroke, turns & finishes
8 x 150 as (twice through)
# 1 – All Fs
# 2 – All Kick
# 3 – IM (Leave out Form stroke)
# 4 – All Form
20 x 50 Fs Jump Outs as
10 @ 50
6 @ 45
4 @ 40
Individual Pressure Swims;
Pick swimmer for ‘Pressure swim’ and give him/her 10/15 minutes to prepare. Leave poolside whilst others continue with session. Bring ‘competitior’ out and get all other swimmers out of pool to support him/her. Swimmers then has to race and be within 1% of best time. If they make the time, all swimmers swim down and leave early. If the swimmer fails, they ALL do 1000m Max for time. Great for teamwork/team building.

I.M. a Hokie

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Braden Holloway
Associate Head Coach, Virginia Tech

Aerobic Base IM set for 400 IMers.
Done in SC Yards

350 IM @ 4:45 (50/125/125/50)
3 x 100 FR @ 1:15
400 IM @ 5:30 (75/125/125/75)
400 FR @ 5:00
450 IM @ 6:15 (100/125/125/100)
5 x 100 @ 1:10
500 IM @ 6:45 (100/150/150/100)
600 FR @ 7:00
550 IM @ 7:30 (125/150/150/125)
7 x 100 FR @ 1:05 PULL
600 IM @ 8:15 (125/175/175/125)
800 FR @ 9:00 PULL
Hold entire set 5-6 beats below max heart rate
Total: 6150 yards

The Dayton Raider Mountain

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Gary Galbreath
Dayton Raiders Swim Club

Here’s a set we did Saturday morning. Just as a reminder it’s base building time! We did it SC meters. Everyone was on the same cycle. The Kick part was the chance to catch up if the were struggling with the Times. It’s just a good Aerobic set. Total 8800 meters

25 Kick@ 30
4 x 50 @ 45 Descend 1-4
            Free
75 Kick@ 1:30
4 x 100 @ 1:30 Descend 1-4
            25 Stroke/50 Free/25 Stroke
125 Kick @ 2:30
4 x 150 @ 2:05 Descend 1-4
            Free
175 Kick@ 3:30
4 x 200 @ 3:00 Descend 1-4
            BackStroke
225 Kick @ 4:30
4 x 250 @ 3:15 Descend 1-4
            Free
275 kick@ 5:30
4 x 300 @ 4:30 Descend 1-4
            100 IM/100No Free/100 Free
325 Kick @ 6:30
4 x 350 @ 4:25 Descend 1-4
            Free
375 Kick@ 7:30
4 x 400 IM @ 6:30
            #1 4 x 100 IM
            #2 100IM/200 IM/100IM
            #3 2 x 200 IM
            #4 Reverse 400 IM
                        8800 meters

The Dirty Thirty

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Lauren Harrington
Loyola University

Warmup
300 free
200 IM drill/swim
100 pull
12×25 12 1/2 yards fast, getting the heart rate up
4x50s from mid-pool (stroke)
4x50s from mid-pool (free)


Main Set – “The Dirty Thirty”
30x100s

  • 10x100s on 1:30/1:35 (may adjust interval for swimmers, but these are the two we used for the women’s team)
  • 10x100s on 1:20/1:25
  • 10x100s on 1:10/1:15

The point of the set is to hold the same pace throughout…so you start out on 1:30/1:35 going as fast as you would to make a 1:10/1:15 pace. Obviously, you get a lot more rest at the beginning, but that’s the point. It’s a test of endurance, and it’s always fun to see where the swimmers are at the beginning of the season doing this set vs. the end of the season. It’s a good benchmark for where they’re at.

EASY 100 Stretch it out

6x100s 50 catch-up drill/50 swim freestyle to regain stroke and make sure swimmers are not just spinning their wheels after a set like that…@ 1:30

200 Warm Down

My Favorite Practice

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Ryan Woodruff

This set was one of my favorites from my time training for open water races.
SCY
10 x 500 @ 6:00 Slight descend #1-5, Hold #6-10 strong & steady
200 ez backstroke
10 x 300 @ 3:40 Hold 2 sec per 100 faster than on the 500s
200 ez backstroke
10 x 100 @ 1:20 Fastest possible average, shoot for 4 seconds faster per 100 than pace on the 300s.
200 ez backstroke

9600 yards

A Set from Down Under

Posted on by rdwoodruff
Clare Labowitch, Darwin Swimming Club
Northern Territory, Australia
I am an unashamed magpie when it comes to collecting swim sets and often mix and match different components. My squad is an age group one.
We are in an endurance phase at the moment the what follows is the first of two Wednesday morning aerobic endurance sets which the swimmers handled particularly well.
Warm Up 10 sec RI
400 free; 300 Claytons IM (25 fly 50 free, 25 back 50 free etc); 200 backstroke; 4 x 50 main stroke – stroke count D1-4 on 60
Main – Quality Endurance
2 x [ 4 x 200 free on 2:45 + 10 x 50 form on short rest cycle] as
                200 free + 1 x 50 form
                200 free + 2 x 50 form
                200 free + 3 x 50 form
                200 free + 4 x 50 form 
What I appreciated about the main was that the swimmers set their own cycle for the 50s and all of them challenged themselves
Fins
20 x 50 as 1-3 technique 4 pace

Beat Your Best With Fins

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Ryan Woodruff

LCM – We performed this set 3x through. The goal for each swim with fins & paddles is to beat your lifetime best 100m time. This set works for any stroke, and it may work best for some butterflyers to do it without paddles.

100 with fins & paddles + 100 ez swim @ 3:00
100 with fins & paddles + 200 ez swim @ 4:30
100 with fins & paddles + 300 ez swim @ 6:00

The Towson Tune-up

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Jeb Beaver, Assistant Coach
Monocacy Aquatic Club/ Towson University

Let me start off by saying that I really enjoy the website!

SCM
500 Twitch (25 free/25 non-free)
10 x 100 (50 Kick/50 Drill) 2:00  
Hypoxia:  10 x 50 Fins (25 underwater Fly (10secs rest at wall), 25 sprint Free no breath) 1:20
Easy 100
4 x 50   (backstroke 15 meters, flip into boat skull to the wall) 10 sec rest per 50.
Main Set
100’s Breaststroke
150’s 25 free, 50 fly, 25 bk, 25 br, 25 free (rotate per round) (2nd round 50 bk)
200 Free
Bold = SPRINT!

100
100
100
100
100
150
150
150
150
150
200
200
200
200
200

4 x 50   (backstroke 15 meters, flip into boat skull to the wall) 10 sec rest per 50.

Swim For Maximum Distance

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Ryan Woodruff

This test set is useful when you have a large group of swimmers performing different strokes at different speeds in only a few lanes. Bang a lane wrench on the inside of the pool gutter to notify the swimmers when it is time to stop.

2:00 swim for maximum distance
300 ez drill breaststroke
4:10 swim for maximum distance (Goal: double your 2:00 distance)
300 ez drill backstroke
8:40 swim for maximum distance (Goal: double your 4:10 distance)
300 ez drill fly
1:00 swim for maximum distance (Goal: 1/2 of 2:00 distance +5m)
200 ez drill breaststroke
2:05 swim for maximum distance (Goal: 1/2 of 4:10 distance +10m)
200 ez drill backstroke
4:20 swim for maximum distance (Goal: 1/2 of 8:40 distance +15m)
200 ez drill fly

Triple Crown Set

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This set comes from Coach Sean Quinn, former head coach of the North Carolina Aquatic Club. He had his swimmers perform it once a season:

3x through (all swims fast for time):
1,000 free @ ~16:00
500 free @ ~10:00
400 IM @ ~10:00

Record all times. Fastest total time wins the “Triple Crown!”

Solo Distance Training Set

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Anonymous Submission

Here is a progressing series of sets I use to train for long distance open water racing.

 

Week 1 –

   Day 1 – 4 x 500 first 100 fast, 50 easy, balance at race pace 3 min rest between reps

  Day 3 – 5 x 500 first 100 fast, 50 easy, balance at race pace 3 min rest between reps

   Day 5 – 6 x 500 first 100 fast, 50 easy, balance race pace 3 min rest between reps.

 

Each week I start back at 4 reps but increase the distance by 100 total per rep and increase the fast part by 50 per rep. so Week 2, Day 1 would be 4×600, 150 fast, 50 easy, balance at race pace Week 3 Day 1 would be 4×700, first 200 fast, 50 easy, balance race pace. and so on. I do this for a 5 week cycle. It is important to focus on going really fast for the first part of each rep and returning back to race pace for the balance of each rep. The goal of these sets is to improve ability to swim long distances at a fast pace and to get used to going out fast. In open water swimming this will help you to get out with the front pack and free from the crowds. As you can see I do this set three times a week. On days 2,4 and 6 each week I do sprint and technique work.