Free Swimming Workouts, Sets, Ideas, and Dryland Exercises from Professional Coaches Around the World
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
Chris Webb, SwimMAC Carolina
This post is the second of two submissions by Coach Webb detailing workouts from past stops in his coaching career (Click here for #1). This set originally was a creation of Chris Plumb of the Carmel Swim Club from 2008.
15×200 on 3:00-3:30 choice
If the swimmer is within 10 of their best time they skip two 200’s. If they are within 15 of their best they skip one. 16+ they skip none. So the set could be 5×200’s on 9:00 or it could be a whole lot of painful 200’s 16 over your best. This set rewards performance.
Ryan Woodruff
This set challenges the athlete to swim at speeds approaching race pace over an increasing distance. Use cones or markers on the side of the pool so that both coach and athlete know the finish line. Time stops when the athlete’s head passes the cone. The goal on each swim is to beat your lifetime best 200m time.
Swim #1 – 175m
Swim #2 – 180m
Swim #3 – 185m
Swim #4 – 190m
Swim #5 – 195m and finish to the wall to get your 200 time.
Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
ncacheadcoach@gmail.com
SCY
This set uses your per 100-yd pace from a timed 3,000 yard swim (P3k).
Or you can use P500+5 per 100 as an approximation. All paces are per 100.
First column of intervals is for paces 1:05 or faster (32:59 or faster 3k)
Second column of intervals is for paces 1:06-1:11 (33:00 – 35:59).
Third column of intervals if for paces 1:12 or slower (36:00+)
600 swim or pull at P3k+4 @ 7:00 7:20 8:00
1 x 300 at P3k+1 @ 3:40 3:50 4:00
2 x 200 at P3k-1 @ 2:30 2:35 2:40
3 x 100 at P3k-3 @ 1:20 1:20 1:30
6 x 25 ez no free @ :30
600 swim or pull at P3k+4 @ 7:00 7:20 8:00
2 x 300 at P3k+2 @ 3:40 3:50 4:00
2 x 200 at P3k-1 @ 2:30 2:35 2:40
2 x 100 at P3k-4 @ 1:20 1:20 1:30
6 x 25 ez no free @ :30
600 swim or pull at P3k+4 @ 7:00 7:20 8:00
3 x 300 at P3k+3 @ 3:40 3:50 4:00
2 x 200 at P3k-1 @ 2:30 2:35 2:40
1 x 100 at P3k-5 @ 1:20 1:20 1:30
6 x 25 ez no free @ :30
Chris Webb, SwimMAC Carolina
cwebb@swimmaccarolina.org
1×100 fly on 3:00
1×100 bk on 3:00
1×100 br on 3:00
1×100 fr on 3:00
1×200 IM on 6:00
1×200 fly on 6:00
1×200 bk on 6:00
1×200 br on 6:00
1×200 fr on 6:00
1×400 IM
All 100's must be within 10 seconds for boys and 8 seconds for girls of the American record,all 200 must be within 20 seconds for boys and 16 seconds for girls, and the 400 IM I like to use 30. All the seconds you accumulate over the records add up for a total score.
The lowest total boy's and girl's score set the “standard”. Set whatever time standard or “seconds over the record” that fits your group's ability.
On a swim by swim basis for every second a swimmer misses the 10 or 8 over standard the swimmer will owe 2 burpees at the end of the entire set.
This set helps familiarize swimmers with the fastest times in every event.
Do this set once per cycle and compare times. Have title belts/ and or plaques with a ceremony for the top girl and boy that rewards their well rounded IM racing focus.
Ryan Woodruff
@WoodruffRyan
This set was adapted from SwimSmooth.com‘s Ramp Test
The Sweet Spot Test Set
Using a Tempo Trainer
12 x 50 LCM @ 1:20
Begin at a tempo you know you can hold (if you are doing freestyle, try something between 1.50 and 1.80). Hold that tempo as precisely as possible for the entire 50m. Have a friend or a coach count your cycles and record that info using this worksheet. On each subsequent 50, lower your tempo by .10 until you reach a tempo that you are unable to hold. After that failure point, take your tempo back up to near where it started, and bring it down again. Also make note of your effort level on a scale of 1-10.
At the completion of the set, you should have a range of tempos, cycle counts, efforts, and times. Look for effort levels in the 8 or 9 range. If you are in shape, these should roughly approximate 200 pace. The range of data that you find will be your “Sweet Spot.” Train in and around this sweet spot as often as possible to improve your ability to sustain this pace or even to improve upon it.
Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org
LCM
Prior to this set, perform a 1,000m swim for time of your prime non-freestyle stroke.
3 x 100 at P1000 @ 1:50
2 x 50 at P100-2 @ 1:00
1 x 100 ez free @ 2:00
3 x 100 at P1000 @ 1:50
4 x 50 at P100-3 @ 1:00
1 x 100 ez free @ 2:00
3 x 100 at P1000 @ 1:50
6 x 50 at P100-4 @ 1:00
1 x 100 ez free @ 2:00
3 x 100 at P1000 @ 1:50
8 x 50 at P100-5 @ 1:00
1 x 100 ez free @ 2:00
Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org
“How fast should I swim at the beginning of my race?” It is a question often heard on the pool deck at meets. Don’t wait to decide this at the meet! Use the LCM Goal Pace Spreadsheet to figure out how fast you need to be in the first 50 or 100 to reach your goal time. Here is a set to get in that early-race-speed groove:
1 x 50 from a dive at P200 or P400
150 ez, perfect technique choice at race cycle count
For milers, I would suggest:
1 x 100 from a dive at P100 (get 50 split)
100 ez, perfect technique at race cycle count
Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org
LCM
18 x 15 meter sprint @ 2:00
#1 – from a start
#2 – 7.5m in and out of a turn
#3 – from mid-pool into a finish
All start and turn sprints are timed to the head crossing the line. Swim easy between the repeats. Use this chart to see how fast your 15m “chunks” need to be based on your best time.
Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org
SCY Here’s a fantastic fly set that will get the swimmers going fast while preserving technique and motivation for the end. They will spend some time on the wall, however.
Use the Goal Pace Spreadsheet to determine P100 (100 race pace)times.
100 x 25 @ :30
For the first 96, do the following 8x:
#1-5 drill (#1 – 3R-3L-3cycles, #2 – w/br kick, #3 – w/flutter kick, #4 – clap drill, #5- triple kick drill)
#6 – Swim at P100
#7-9 Swim smooth at race cycle count
#10 – Fast swim at P100
#11 – easy kick on back
#12 – Fast swim at P100
#97 – 100 are all fast swim at P100
Configuring the 25s as I have listed above will allow the coach to stay at one end of the pool and time every race-pace 25.
Matt Hall, Rowan Aquatic Club
This is the main set only – takes about 90 minutes. First time through is freestyle, rounds 2 & 3 are choice stroke.
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3 X (10 x 100 SPRINT off of the blocks) |
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what to do |
within best time |
interval |
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2x kick |
20 seconds |
2:30 |
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2x 75 kick/25 sprint |
16 seconds |
2:40 |
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2x 50 kick/50 sprint |
12 seconds |
2:50 |
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2x 25 kick/75 sprint |
8 seconds |
3:00 |
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2x sprint |
4 seconds |
3:10 |
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200 EZ on 4:40 |
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Mary Young
Northwest NC YMCA Riptyde Swim Team
This workout is inspired by Matt Hall, coach of RACY
4x:
175 FR (sometimes BA) should equal best 200 time (they have 5:00 total for both 175s)
175 EZ
75 FR or BA add 10 secs to equal PB (they have 4:00 for 75 + 175 EZ)
175 EZ
Mary Young
Northwest NC YMCA Riptyde Swim Team
This workout comes from Paul Yetter’s days at NBAC
You will need all swimmers PB in 200 IM minus the fly split.
4x:
3 x 150 IM desc 1-3 . Interval should allow 20-30 sec rest. Their goal is to beat that split on #3 each time. Writing their #3 results on board as we go is big motivator.
Ryan Woodruff, North Carolina Aquatic Club
coachryan@ncacswim.org
Don Swartz and Ken DeMont over at Swim Coach Direct had an interesting post Sunday on race splits and training for the 200. I highly recommend it.
Their post encouraged me to share with you a tool we use to help swimmers on our team establish race paces for training purposes.
Click here to download our Excel spreadsheet for determining goal paces.
Here are the instructions once you have the sheet open in Excel:
1. Type the swimmer’s name where it says ‘Name here.’
2. Enter a swimmer’s goal time in the C column. Do not use any punctuation. For instance, for a goal time of 24.99 in the 50 free, type 2499. For a 2:28.50 in the 200 breast, type 22850.
3. The sheet should automatically compute pace times for you. ‘Pace’ means the swim is from a push. ‘Start’ means the swimmers goes off the blocks (or from a start for backstroke). The sheet computes different pace values for different events based on what I deemed the most useful information. A 15m start time is of little consequence in the mile, but could come in handy in the 100 fly.
4. Print out the pace card and take it to practice!
A few other notes:
Enjoy – let me know how it goes!
Ryan Woodruff
Lynchburg YMCA
This workout is very similar to The Blind Goal Workout but has a single important difference: the athletes may see their respective coach-determined goals, but they do not get to hear their results. The coach may tell the group how many points they have achieved, but may not say who achieved them or what times the swimmers swam.
Follow the same format as in the Blind Goal Workout. It will be interesting to see how your group’s motivation ebbs and flows throughout the set. Steer them to being positive and supportive, then just watch what they can do!
The Swimming Wizard 