Improve your swimming with these swim sets for triathletes
Keen to see some improvements in your swim? Professional Triathlete and Olympic Medallist Vicky Holland shares her favourite swim sets for triathletes below.
Why not take a screenshot, keep it handy at the side of the pool or even programme the swim session into your Garmin.
Practicing swim sets will help you see fast improvements in the pool or open water. With different sets for beginners, intermediates and advanced triathletes, you’ll be smashing PB’s in no time.
Beginner Swim Sets for Triathletes
It can feel daunting to get into a pool with a swim set in mind. Yes you will get some distance under your belt, but to see real improvements in your triathlon swim, incorporating different speeds, rest times and lengths into your session is really beneficial.
Try this beginner swim set:
WARM UP
- 4x50m freestyle nice and easy @15sec rest
- 4x50m 25m backstroke 25m freestyle @15sec easy
- 4x25m 6 strokes fast the rest east @15sec easy
MAIN SET
- 500m broken down into:
- 25m fast 25m easy
- 50m fast 50m easy
- 75m fast 75m easy
- 100m fast 100m easy
- Straight through (remember pace this set)
—-
- 5x100m paddles and buoy steady 20sec rest
COOL DOWN
- 4x25m kick @12.5m fast 12.5m easy (with a kick-board @10sec rest
- 6x50m nice and easy try and add 1 more stroke per length (dps distance per stroke)
Intermediate Swim Sets for Triathletes
So you've finished a couple of events, kudos to you! But you want to improve your swim fitness and come away with a PB in your next triathlon? These swim sets for triathletes are the perfect mix of triathlon specific swim drills, race pace lengths and easy swimming to improve your swimming.
WARM UP
- 200m swim easy
- 200m @ 25m backstroke 75m free
- 2x50m @ kick
- 2x50m head up freestyle work on sighting
MAIN SET
- 12x25m @3fast 1 easy 15sec rest
- 100m easy
—
- 50m very fast 30sec rest
- 2x100m race pace @15sec rest
- 300m paddles easy 30sec rest
- REPEAT X2
COOL DOWN
- 400m paddles buoy steady
- 300m @ 25m kick 75m steady
- 200m paddles only easy
- 100m easy
- All 20sec rest
Advanced Swim Sets for triathletes
If you well on your way to becoming top of your age group in triathlon, I have got a swim set to challenge you.
It's all about marginal gains when you get to this level and shaving a few seconds or minutes off your swim whilst still feeling fresh will give you an edge.
WARM UP
- 400m swim
- 300m buoy
- 200m drill of your choice /swim
- 100m build warm up with about 20 sec rest
PREP SET
- 16x25m @ 3x hard 1x easy @ 35 sec
- 200m easy
MAIN SET
- 16x50m @ 50 sec 3x easy 1x hard
- 12x50m @ 55 sec 2x easy 1x hard
- 8x50m @ 60 sec 1x hard 1x easy
- 4x50m 4x hard @ 60sec
- 100m easy
STRENGTH SET
- 5x200m @ 2.50 hand paddles buoy
WARM DOWN
- 300m easy swim
- 200m @ 25m kick 25m swim
I mentioned above some triathlon specific swim drills such as 'sighting'. For those new to the sport, this essentially means staying on the right course during the swim.
If you haven't ever practiced swimming towards a marker in the distance, this is something I highly recommend adding into swim sets for triathletes.
Going in the right direction may seem simple but in the open water can be harder than it looks.
ZONE3 have put together these easy 'how to' videos - give them a try!
Incorporating swim sets for triathletes into your training routine will be a game-changer.
These targeted sessions help improve your swim technique, build endurance, and enhance overall performance.
By varying your swim sets, you can focus on different aspects like speed, stamina, and efficiency, ensuring you're ready for the challenges of a triathlon swim. Plus, they add some much-needed variety to your workouts, keeping things interesting and motivating. So, dive into those swim sets and watch your triathlon swim leg become stronger and more competitive!
