Swim Workouts for Swimmers - Find A Swimming Pace

This swim workout starts with 6 x 100s to push you through a variety of speeds or paces, then a longer effort to find an estimate of your swimming pace or speed at an aerobic effort level - what I call a moderate effort. You can then use this pace or speed in other workouts.

The Swim Workout

1 x 300 Swim at an easy effort
4 x 50 (:10 Swim descend 1-4 = first 50 is easy, 2nd 50 faster, 3rd 50 faster, 4th 50 faster
8 x 25 (:20 Swim stroke technique drill work at an easy effort
1 x 200 Kick as desired
4 x 50 (:10 Kick, Descend 1-4
1 x 200 Pull as desired
4 x 50 (:10 Pull Descend 1-4
Take a minute or two extra rest, sip some water or sports drink, and get ready for the main set.
You have completed 1,500 yards or meters of warm up.

2 x 100 Swim (:15 at a moderate effort
2 x 100 Swim (:30 at a faster effort
2 x 100 Swim (:45 at a faster effort
3-minutes rest
1 x 1000 Swim at an even, best sustainable pace.
1 x 100 Swim easy cool-down
TOTAL DISTANCE = 3,200
NOTE:

• Aim to go the first 2-3 100s at the same moderate effort as the 100s above. If you can hold that speed or swim at a slightly faster pace for the next 5-6 100s, then swim slightly faster for the last few 100s,then you have don it correctly. If you cannot hold the same pace or speed or get slightly faster as you swim the 1,000, then you have started a bit too fast. Try the workout again in a week or two and see if you can hit the set so that you end up the same speed or slightly faster than you started.
• Take the total time for the 1000 swim, divide by 10, and you have an estimate for your aerobic swimming speed or moderate swimming pace.

(click on the "print" icon on the upper right to get a copy to make a copy to take with you to the pool)

About Swimming Workouts

This swimming workout starts with 6 x 100s to push you through a variety of speeds or paces, then a longer effort to find an estiamte of your swimming pace or speed at an aerobic effort level - what I call a moderate effort. You can then use this pace or speed in other workouts.

This workout is designed to take between 75-minutes and 90-minutes. If that is too much time or distance, then cut things out, but do not always cut out the same thing every workout. And never skip the loosen at the end of the workout. Use that as one last bit of technique work before you leave the swimming pool at the end of the workout.

After the description of the set there is a number in a half-parentheses, like this - (:30 - that is how much rest you get after each swim. For example, 6 x 100 (:30 means you are to swim a 100 (yards or meters), rest 30-seconds, then repeat five more times.

There is nothing special about these swim practice sessions, other than what you bring to them. Lots of freedom here. You control how hard or fast you swim and what swim strokes you want to use while swimming the workouts. Normally the amount of rest per swim will limit your top-end speed on a workout, but that does not mean go as fast as you can all of the time. A few guidelines:

• The more rest you get, the faster the swim.
• The early parts of a workout should always be easy to moderate and very deliberate.
• Use your best swimming technique.
• Stop the workout if you are too tired, go for it again in the future.You get to be a better swimmer by recovering from the workouts you do, not by doing more and more swimming without resting and recovering from that swimming.
• Have fun with the workouts.
• Change the strokes you are doing from time to time, try new things, and don't get caught in a rut.

Each workout has:

• a warm-up
• stroke drills or swimming technique work
• kicking
• pulling
• a main set
• a loosen or cool-down

More Reading for Swimmers on Swim Workouts:

• Aerobic Swimming Speeds - How Fast Should I Swim?
• Swimming Technique Help
• More Swimming Workouts for Swimmers