Introduction.
I coach 3 mornings a week at a 25 meter pool with an average of 25 swimmers in 5 lanes. I coach 2 evenings a week at a 25 yard pool with an average of 12-14 swimmers in 5 lanes. Both workouts are for one hour. They are mixed groups with competitive swimmers, triathletes, and people who just want a good workout. Ages range from 20 to 87, with an occassional teen-ager dropping in. My emphasis is on techinique and pace. I swim 3 days a week with a coach at a Y pool. I use some sets that I learn from my coach, Laura Peter. I also write a workout for myself for Saturday mornings. The workouts that I coach are 2500-2800 meters for the fastest lane, scaled down for other lanes. In the yard pool, they are 2700-3000 yards for the fastest lanes. For my personal workouts, I aim for 2500 yards and try to boost it to 2700 in the fall.
Wednesday, Jan 16
Warm-Up (1200)
100-200 Swim, free
400 (100 Pull free with paddles, 100 Pull free with no paddles, 100 Pull free with paddles,
held on top end, 100 Pull with no paddles)
200 Swim (25 non-free/25 free)
~fins okay~
250 (50 change 12/ 50 change 6/50 change 6 with 3 strokes/50 change 3/50 change 3 with 3)
150 (3 x 50 descend. May wear fins or not.)
Main (1500)
6 x 100 free or (100 non-free/50 free) x 3
Interval is set for free. Those doing non-free will probably miss the interval. They
should wait the others make the turn at the 50 and swim a 50 free.
Intervals: 1:30, 1:45, 1:55 or 2:00, 2:10, 2:40 (Interval should be challenging , but doable.)
10 x 50 (2 – recovery, 4 – drill/swim, 4 – 25 pull, let feet drag/25 swim)
400 as : (#1 Swim with fins, #2 Swim with fins and paddles, #3 Pull with buoy and paddles,
#4 Pull with just bouy, no paddles)
Cool-Down (100-300)
4 x 25, choice, count strokes
200 Pull
Thursday, Jan 17
Warm-Up (1200)
200 Swim
4 x 25 together. #1 head up, #2 just face in, #3 too low, #4 perfect
6 x 50. Go on 3rd touch. #1- 2 are thinking about head position. #3 is catch-up (wide entry),
#4 is almost catch-up, #5 -6 are choice (good technique)
~fins on~
4 x 50 Kick. Back or with board (fly or free). Go on 3rd touch.
8 x 25 #1 fly (3R-3L), #2 fly (3R-1-3L-1), #3 back (1/4 arm raise), #4 back “L”,
#5 *** with free kick, #6 brast with fly kick, #7 free (change 6),
#8 free (chg 6 with 3 strokes)
~fins off~
50-100 breaststroke kick
50-100 breaststroke swim (breathe early, glide)
Main (1100 or 1400)
200 Broken at the 50-100-50. Try for even pace. Get time, let me write it down.
L4: :45, 1:30 L5: :50, 1:40 L6: :55 or 1:00, 1:50 or 2:00
L7: 1:05, 2:10 L8: 1:15, 2:30
100-200 Pull, recovery
200 Broken as 4 x 50. Pick your interval: :50, :55, 1:00, 1:05, 1:10, 2:30
~fins ok~
300 as 4 x (25K, 25D, 25S)
200 Pull, freestyle. Time yourself; good effort
(If time…100 choice, count strokes; 2 x 100 descend (rest 20 sec after 1st 100)
Cool-Down (300)
4 x 25 with “perfect” stroke, choice. Rest 5-10.
200 easy swim or pull
Friday, Jan 18
This was a change of pace workout. It turned out to be a good one.
The sticks are 16” dowels. I put rubber bands on the ends so the swimmer knows when they are holding the end – to practice a wide entry.
Warm-Up (500)
200-300 Swim
100-200 Pull
Main (1700)
14 x 50 Free (700)
~fins on~
#1-2 Kick with board
#3 catch-up with stick
#4 catch-up w/o stick
~fins off~
#5 catch-up with stick
#6 catch-up w/o stick
#7-8 Swim with roll and glide
#9-10 Pull (roll and glide)
#11-14 Swim
10 x 50 Backstroke (500)
~fins on~
#1-2 Kick
#3 Drill/Swim (1/4 arm raise)
#4 Drill/Swim (“L” drill)
#5 Swim
~fins off~
#6 Swim or (25 back/25 free)
#7 Pull
#8-10 Swim or (25 back/25 free)
2 x (3 x 50 + 1 x 100) (500)
(3 x 50 and 1 x 100 same stroke ) or (fly/back, back/***, ***/free + 100 IM)
Cool-Down (500)
Easy 500 or 3 x 100 and easy 200
Wednesday , Jan 23
Warm-Up (1200)
300-400 (75 swim free/25 non-free or drill)
300 Continuous (100 pull/100 swim/100 pull). Think about your stroke.
300-500 Fins okay. (6-10) x 50 either drill/swim or kick/swim. All choice.dd
Main (Total 1300)
Speed Work (800)
3 x 50 (same stroke or IM switch)
100 Pull
3 x 50
100 (25 drill/25 swim)
3 x 50
~Rest 30. Call me.~
50 Fast. I’ll time each lane.
100 Pull
Conditioning (500)
3 x 100 free. On 1:40, 1:55, 2:05, 2:15, 2:40 (#1 long and strong, #2 good effort, #3 easy)
200 Pull. Long and strong.
Cool-Down (500)
8 x 25 perfect stroke, choice
100 Pull/100 Swim/100 Pull
Friday, Jan 25
Warm-Up (1000)
200 Swim, free. Think about head position.
200 (50 drill/50 swim). Drill is 4 right arm/ 3 strokes/ 4 left arm.
~fins on~
200 (50 catch-up with stick / 50 c.u. without stick / 50 change 6 with 3 free / chg 6 with 3 bk)
200 (25 non-free/25 free). Fins ok.
200 25 kick/25 drill (fly, back, free – take off fins for ***)
Main (1600)
Get time after each part. Try to hold the pace from the first 100.
Make a decision at the beginning for whole set: all free or 50 non/50 free.
100 Long and strong.
200
300
400
If you are doing the Hour Swim tomorrow, stop now.
300 Pull
200 Long and strong free or choice
100 Choice
Cool-Down (100)
4 x 25, count
Monday, Jan 28
Warm-Up (1000)
200-300 Swim, choice
600 as (12 x 50). Fins ok.
25 kick/25 drill; 25 kick/25 swim; 25 drill/25 swim backstroke
Same fly
Same free
~take off fins~
Same ***
100 swim, choice
Main (1000-1300)
300 (100 pull with paddles / 100 pull without paddles / 100 swim)
on 1:35, 1:50, 2:05, 2::15, 2:40
Working on 100 pace:
2 x 50 on 1:15, 1:30, 1:45 (choice, same stroke or fly/bk, br/fr)
1 x 100 (same stroke as above)
4 x 25 on :35, :45, :55 (one stroke or IM, can be different from above)
1 x 100
Same intervals as first set:
(1-2) x 100 pull with paddles
(1-2) x 100 pull without paddles
(1-2) x 100 swim
Cool-Down (200-300)
Easy swim
Wednesday, Jan 30
Warm-Up (1500)
300-400 (25 drill/75 swim). Any stroke, any drill.
50 Choice, long and strong. Get your time for a baseline.
300-400 Pull (lanes 4-5: 2 x 200; lane 6-8: 1 x 200, 1 x 100)
100 (2 x 50), choice. Get your time on both. Don’t stay together, just rest 15. Long and strong.
~fins on~
400 (4 x 50) Kick. (4 x 50) Kick/Swim. Go on 3rd touch.
~fins off~
150 (3 x 50), choice. Get your time on each. Long and strong. L4: 50 or 1:00, L5: :55 or 1:10,
L6-7: 1:05 or 1:20, L8: 1:45
Main (1100)
200 Choice. I will time you. Has to be a stroke you did some 50s of during W.U. See below.**
300 (25K/25D/25S). Recovery
200 (4 x 50) Pull. Count strokes. #1 no paddles, #2-3 with paddles, #4 no paddles. 3rd touch.
200 (8 x 25) Swim. Choice. Work on streamline push-off, start kick, no strokes until past
the flags. Good technique, don’t worry about speed.
200 (50 choice/50 free). Fins optional.
Cool-Down (100)
100 easy swim
**Swimming a 200 with even splits:
a. 1st 50 – don’t kick, work your pull
b. 2nd 50 – still no conscious kick, work arms
c. 3rd 50 – add the kick
d. 4th 50 – give it all you’ve got
Make each 50 “progressively aggressive.”
Note: Swimmers liked the workout. I timed each lane and managed to get splits. Swimmers were surprised that the 50s with no kick were so fast. I guess I hadn't made it clear to them that the kick uses us so much energy.
Friday, Feb 1
Warm-Up (1000)
400 (100 free, 25 back/75 free, (fins on?) 50 back/50 free, 75 back/25 free)
~Keep fins on~
400 (8 x 50). #1-2 backstroke 25K/25S; #3-4 freestyle 25K/25S; #5 *** pull w/ free K;
#6 *** pull w/ fly K; #7-8 25 fly 5kicks underwater/1 stroke to breathe/3 K, 1 pull; 25 swim fly or free
~Fins off~
100 (25 non-free/25 free)
100 swim, choice
Main (1400)
200 (4 x 50) back or free Swim; #1-2 minimum kick, #3 kick, #4 easy choice
200 (4 x 50) free; same as above
200 Swim, back or free. Control the kick.
200 Pull, free
Two or three groups (2 per lane go at same time). Timed 50s, choice.
3 x 50 for time
50 easy
400 continuous (100 pull/100 swim)
Cool-Down (200)
8 x 25 (streamline off wall)
