Warm-upAlthough the swim portion of the triathlon is in open water (with the exception of pool triathlons), pool swimming is an essential ingredient for preparing for open-water swimming because technique is best refined in a pool, where the conditions will not distract an athlete’s focus. Also, no matter how well you measure the distance in open water, it is never exact, and for that reason speed and efficiency are best quantified in a pool. Interval work is an essential part of swim training, and the pool is best for accurate high-quality interval training. And last, for the large majority of athletes, open-water swimming is not an available option for consistent training because of geography.
All training in the pool should include the following components to maximize its effectiveness:
Warm-up
Technique work
Main set
Cool-down
One purpose of the warm-up for swim training is to get the athletes acclimated to the water temperature. For this reason, the colder a pool is, the longer you will need to warm up. The other reasons for the warm-up are the same as for other sports—to increase heart rate, increase blood flow to the muscles, and prepare mentally for the training session. Typically, 5 to 15 minutes is sufficient and can be accomplished by all freestyle or a combination of freestyle and off strokes (see What Are Off Strokes? for more information). In general, you will focus on your technique in the next part of the workout; however, the warm-up is still a good time to work on breathing smoothly and easily and to become as relaxed as possible for the upcoming technique work.
Pool Safety RemindersWhen swimming or training in a pool, some basic safety precautions should always be taken. Following are a few key reminders:
Diving. Most pools allow diving only in the deep end and when supervised, so when in doubt enter feetfirst.
Using lane lines and flags. Most pools have warning flags 5 meters from the wall to let you know you are approaching the wall. In addition, pool lane-line colors switch from alternating colors to a solid color at this same point so you can see to your side and do not need to turn to look for the wall. If your pool has these, you can roll over on your front at that point and swim in to the wall. If there are no such indicators at your pool, find a way to ensure you do not hit your head.
Sharing lanes. It is customary to share lanes when doing laps in a pool. Usually when only two swimmers are in a lane, they will split the lane (each swimmer stays on her respective side). When there are more than two swimmers, circle swimming is the method to use. Swimmers always stay on the right-hand side of the lane so that at each wall, the swimmer moves over to swim on the opposite side as on the previous length. This works particularly well when the swimmers are similar in speed. If the swimmers’ speeds vary, then the faster swimmers will need to pass the slower ones, and this can be done in either of two ways. First, a faster swimmer can tap the feet of the swimmer he wants to pass, and that swimmer can let him pass at the wall; second, the faster swimmer can swim in the middle of the lane to go around the slower swimmer. The latter method should be done carefully. If another swimmer is doing the same thing coming the other way, a painful head-to-head meeting can occur. Always be careful when passing other swimmers in the pool.
Technique work is the part of swim training where an athlete focuses on any improvements or refinements to her swimming technique. There is more technique involved in swimming than in biking or running. Ultimately a swimmer’s performance is limited by her technique, not by her training. In addition, water has a much higher drag coefficient (as opposed to air during running and biking), so small changes in body position and angles can have big effects on performance. As a swimmer advances, some technique training can be done at a faster pace, allowing for physiological adaptations as well as technical benefits. For these reasons, do your best to not skip drills; if you have to skip any part of the workout, go without a main set.
This chapter describes drills that address the most common areas to improve and master for efficient freestyle (chapter 15 focuses on troubleshooting your freestyle). Remember these are general drills and can be substituted with a set created specifically for a particular swimmer if that swimmer has the opportunity to work with a coach who can properly design one. Also, although many different pieces of equipment are available to assist with swim training, very few are as essential as a swimsuit, swim cap (if hair is long), and swim goggles. Other than these obvious essentials, there is only one additional item a swimmer should have in his swim bag, and that is short-blade fins. These types of fins are very helpful for technique work in order to perform the drills properly. They provide a little bit of extra propulsion, which helps you maintain a good body position during drills. In addition, the fins make you more aware of your feet and legs, helping you keep them in the slipstream of your body so you don’t kick too big or too wide. The fist drill (page 67) is the only drill where you should not use fins, and the reason is that you want to struggle a little to force yourself to pull with your forearms so you learn to bend the elbow early.
What Are Off Strokes?All swimming styles other than front crawl (freestyle) are collectively called the off strokes. These include backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. Other than to impress your friends, it is not necessary to master the butterfly stroke—the most strenuous of the four swim styles—in order to be a good triathlon swimmer. However, being able to proficiently swim backstroke and breaststroke can sometimes come in handy for navigation purposes when swimming in open water. Backstroke can be helpful when the sun is in your eyes and you need to see where you are coming from to get a better idea of where to go. Backstroke can also be used to adjust swim goggles or take a short break from timing breathing, which for many beginners is the biggest challenge of freestyle. Breaststroke can be used when the water is wavy and you need to lift your head higher to be able to see over the waves. In addition, breaststroke is the least strenuous of the four strokes so it allows an easier intensity for tired swimmers.
Also note there are many other tools that can be used in swimming, and some are helpful when used properly, but some can lead to injury. An example is paddles designed to add resistance to the underwater pull, thereby making the swimmer stronger. If the swimmer’s technique is poor (e.g., arm crossing over the middle of the body, which is fairly common), this added resistance can very easily create a shoulder injury. A safer way to develop more power in the pull and also work on technique is to do sport-specific dryland training with resistance cords.
Following are 11 freestyle drills every swimmer should know and do regularly. The first 5 focus on body position and rotation in order to improve the streamlined position. You will notice they are mostly kicking drills, with little to no use of the arms. This is because you need to learn how to use your kick and core to rotate. This is not about kicking hard, but efficiently and in the correct fashion. The last 6 drills focus on the arm cycle (often referred to as the pull or stroke). They will directly increase your propulsion. There is a definite reason for the order—each drill builds on the one before, so it is best to perform them in the suggested order.
You should strive to complete 10 sets of 50 meters for each of these drills (excluding the vertical kicking drill, which is done stationary for 1 minute) to create a comprehensive overall technique-work segment in the pool. Precision is paramount. Rest for 10 to 20 seconds between each 50 meters so you can not only recover physically but also remind yourself to visualize before actually pushing off the wall; mental focus while doing these drills is crucial. The key to success during drills is to do them properly so the desired effect is achieved. Often athletes do drills and make the same technique mistakes as they make in their swimming and therefore see no improvement.
The purpose of this drill is to make the kick efficient and improve long-axis rotation. From a vertical position with your arms at your sides, use a flutter kick to keep your head above the water. This is the part of the drill where you work on your kick. You can even look down at your legs and make sure you are not bending the knees too much or bending forward at the waist. Utilize the upper muscles of the leg, and make small fast movements. At first this may be hard to do for even 30 seconds, but try to work your way up to 1 minute.
Once this is comfortably achieved, you can start to work on your long-axis rotation. From the same vertical kicking position, rotate 90 degrees every 3 to 5 seconds to work on rotating from kick and core. Rotate the entire body as a unit from the kick and hips, 90 degrees to the right and then back to center, then 90 degrees to the left and back to center again. Repeat this for another minute, and focus on starting the rotation from the kick and hips, not the upper body.
This drill helps you find a balanced and comfortable body position and improves your long-axis rotation. This is the same drill as vertical kicking, only you move into the horizontal plane as you progress toward swimming. Keep your hands at your sides, and again focus on turning the body from your kick and hips; do not lead with the head and shoulders. For this drill, rotate your body 180 degrees so you are either on your belly or your back. Keep your head back and hips up to have an aligned body position when on your back. You should be looking either at the ceiling (when on your back) or at the bottom of the pool (when on your belly). Be sure to take your time, and breathe out when your head is facing down; when your head is facing up, try to relax and breathe normally. You can stay on your back or belly as long as you like until you feel ready to rotate properly. Remember to be careful when reaching the end of the pool.
This is a great drill for working on body position. This side position is one of the most streamlined forms a human can take in the water. The objective here is to get comfortable with the head lying on the shoulder and having one goggle in and one out of the water. This is the ideal position for your head when you breathe.
To do this drill, lie on your side, with your bottom arm stretched out and your ear pressing onto the shoulder. This arm should be just under the surface of the water, with the hand parallel to the bottom of the pool. The top arm should be on your side. Do a flutter kick, and strive to maintain one goggle in and one goggle out of the water. The natural tendency is to start lifting the head to get the mouth out of the water to breathe. This actually makes you sink and work harder. If breathing while keeping a good head position is difficult, simply roll your head and look up to allow your mouth and nose to clear the water and enable you to breathe.
This drill works the body position and also the rotation. You are again progressing toward swimming whole or regular freestyle. In this drill, you perform the kick on side drill, as just described, but every 5 seconds or so, you make a recovery with the trailing arm and pull with the leading arm as you rotate over to the other side. The focus needs to be on making a smooth rotation and keeping the body in alignment. The best way to do that is to start the recovery first and stay on your side until your hand passes your face, then start to bend the elbow of the leading arm; as the recovering arm enters the water, pull with the other arm and roll over to the other side. Keep your neck in alignment with your spine (do not lift the head) as though the long axis is coming out of the top of your head. Repeat over to the other side. Take your time; at first you may do only one rotation per length.
This drill also works the body position and rotation in another step toward full freestyle swimming. This drill is the same as the previous one-stroke kick on side drill, but this time three strokes are used to rotate from one side to the other. Really focus on an integrated rotation in each stroke, driving it with your kick and hips, not the head and shoulders.
This drill is great for working on exchanging one arm for the other in front of the head, ensuring there is always an arm in front of the head to glide out on. This makes the body longer, and in general, a longer body moves faster. Think of the long hull design of speedboats. In addition, the hands meeting in front of the head is a great reminder to pull and rotate. If you breathe on both sides, this drill can balance out your rotation. You continue to glide out on the arm in front as you recover with the other arm. When both arms are fully extended in front of your head, you then pull with the opposing arm. When first doing this drill, it is helpful to keep both arms in front of your head and kick awhile before switching arms. This gives you time to visualize a good pull with early elbow bending and good rotation during the power phase. As with all drills, take your time. The slower and more accurately you do these drills, the more you will retain when you swim fast.
This drill will specifically help you develop the early elbow bend at the beginning of your stroke. Many swimmers get little to no benefit from this drill because they lack the knowledge of how to perform it correctly. It must be done slowly and with very conscious thought about feeling pressure on your forearm as you begin your pull. This feedback shows you are indeed bending the elbow early enough to feel pressure on your forearm as you pull against the water. What this drill does is take the hand out of the pull. In a sense this forces you to bend the elbow to try to “catch” some water. If you rush the strokes, you will simply make the same errors you make in your regular swimming. Never do an entire length with fists. The dynamic feeling of opening the hands and feeling the added power from the higher elbow is the positive feedback that makes the change carry over to your regular stroke. Since you actually need to struggle through the water a bit to feel this pressure on the forearm, it is best to do this drill without fins, as mentioned previously.
This is another drill for working on the beginning of your pull. Sculling is defined as moving a limb from side to side to create lift. It is the motion one uses for treading water. This subtle skill can be helpful in getting that elusive “feel” for the water swimmers talk about. The goal is to get a feeling of pressure on your arm from the fingertips to your elbow. To do this, push off and bend both arms at the elbows, and rotate your shoulders medially so your fingertips face the bottom of the pool. Then as though your forearm and hand form a paddle, hinge at the elbow and weave your hand and forearm in and out repeatedly for 3 to 5 seconds. Then swim normally and take a few breaths; when ready, repeat. While sculling, be sure to keep your neck neutral, and hence breathe only when you are taking the regular strokes between sculling.
The purpose of this drill is to make the swimmer focus on only one arm at a time. To perform this drill, use only your right arm to swim one length and your left to swim the next. This drill is also used to work all five phases of the freestyle stroke (see Five Phases of the Freestyle Stroke for more information). It can be tricky because many swimmers try to work on all five phases at once, where nothing is really worked on specifically, and a swimmer can end up making the same mistakes in the drill as in his regular swimming. However, if you focus on only one aspect or phase for an entire two-length sequence (one arm in one direction and the other coming back) the results are amazing. When in doubt as to which phase to focus on, the early elbow bend at the beginning of the pull is your best choice because problems in this phase are very common, and every swimmer can benefit from improving it. If you have had your swimming analyzed on video and you can see in your mind’s eye other flaws to correct, such as a poor entry or recovery, then do another two-length sequence focusing on just that phase.
This drill will ensure that you finish each stroke. Before you push off, extend your arm down your leg, and scrape your thumb on your thigh. At the finish of each pull, scrape your thigh in that same area. This is also the perfect drill to work on the release of the shoulder at the end of your stroke since with the touch you are sensitized to that part of the stroke.
Five Phases of the Freestyle StrokeThe freestyle stroke has five phases. Let’s examine these a little more closely:
1. Entry and extension. In this phase, the hand enters the water and extends forward just under the surface, like putting on a long glove that is lying just under the surface of the water, parallel to the surface.
2. Elbow bend or catch. After the arm is fully extended, the next phase involves internally rotating the shoulder and bending the elbow. This prepares the forearm to be used as a paddle to apply force backward and propel you forward.
3. Pull. This is where the force is applied to the water, and the body then moves past the arm. It can also be termed the power phase since it is where the majority of the forward power and propulsion come from in swimming.
4. Round-off and release. When the pull is finished and the triceps have been used to extend the arm along the side of the body, it is time to externally rotate the shoulder, which releases the shoulder joint and allows the arm to move freely to the next phase.
5. Recovery. After the shoulder is released, the arm can then return back over the water to start the cycle again by going into the entry and extension phase.
This twist on the catch-up drill focuses on the recovery and entry of your stroke. For this drill, lie on your side and slowly drag your fingertips through the water’s surface as you recover. Ideally, you should see the palm of your hand as it passes about 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) from the side of your head. Your fingertips stay in the water from the release phase of the stroke until the hand enters the water. After entry, the arm extends in front of the shoulder to full extension and meets the other outstretched arm.
Min/Max SetsMin/max sets are used to test an athlete’s improvement in technique and efficiency. It is recommended to use min/max 50s once a month to play with your stroke efficiency. This is simply a set of 50s where you count your strokes and time yourself. Add the time and stroke count. That total now becomes your gauge of efficiency. Lower it. Create a PR (personal record), and play with speed and stroke length to see how low you can get that total of time and strokes. For example, let’s say you swim a 50 meter in 40 seconds and take 45 strokes; the total is 85. On the next 50 you swim faster and go a 35 seconds, and it takes 48 strokes; the total is 83. Keep doing 50s, changing speeds and stroke rate to find the most efficient. As you improve your stroke, your PR on this will decrease. Have fun with it.
I recommend a set of 6 × 50 meters min/max at least once per month. Just counting strokes can be misleading since you can get a very low stroke count by overgliding and delaying strokes. What happens is you will become a slow swimmer who takes fewer strokes.
There are probably areas of your swimming that are inefficient or maybe even missing. A video analysis can usually show you what areas of your technique need more attention. If you have a straight arm pull, then an extra round of single-arm and fist drills will help. Most swimmers make a few very common errors. Seeing any of these in your video analysis allows you to focus on these areas, either through specific drills or a combination of drills that allow you to make changes. A follow-up video analysis and new PRs in the min/max drill are helpful to gauge your success and assure you that your technique training is working. Ideally, above- and below-water video footage is the best to see all aspects of a swimmer’s technique; however, much can be garnered from the surface as long as there is a side view that allows a coach to see how your arm is pulling under the water.
The main set for a pool workout is what you may consider the actual “workout,” and most often, it is created for a specific training purpose. It’s termed main set because swim training is accomplished almost exclusively using interval training. Interval training in swimming is when a set distance is performed a number of times on a specific interval time. For example, if we use R for the number of times the distance is completed, D for the distance of each swim, and T for the interval time, then an interval set can be expressed as R × D on T. Using this formula, 10 × 100 on 2:00 means that every 2 minutes the athlete pushes off the wall and swims 100 (yards or meters depending on the pool), and this is done 10 times. If the athlete completes each swim in 1:42, she would then have 18 seconds’ rest before starting the next one. Some coaches may use interval training in warm-ups, whereas almost all use them for technique work.
In the main set, intensity is the focal point rather than technique, so in many ways the workout is built around the main set, and interval training becomes the backbone of all swim training programs to help keep athletes aware of their pace and keep track of distance covered. Although the combinations of interval distance, number of repeats, and interval time are infinite, in general the following are the three types of main sets found in the weekly training plan of a good program:
Short intervals including 25s, 50s, and 100s for building speed
Medium intervals of 100, 200, 300, and 400 meters to build speed and endurance
Long intervals of 500 meters or more to build endurance or a straight swim so the swimmer experiences race distances (in this case, the main set is technically not a set but rather a long swim done once)
Essentially, this means that if the overall focus of the workout is to build speed, then the main set should be intervals of a short distance so a high rate of speed can be maintained. If the overall focus of the workout is to build endurance, then a set of longer intervals with a relatively short rest period would fit the bill.
In some situations, such as for beginning swimmers or when the main goal is large gains in a swimmer’s technique, in at least one session per week the main set should consist of technique drills in place of the various intervals (short, medium, long) listed previously. This could be a repeat of the drills performed in the technique-work portion of the workout, just one or two drills focusing on one particular aspect of technique to improve on, or different drills or a subset of drills that focus on one aspect of a swimmer’s stroke. For example, let’s say a particular swimmer needs to improve his underwater pull, especially the catch. To do this, the main set could consist of 20 × 50s as follows: 5 fist drills, 5 sculling drills, 5 single-arm drills, and 5 catch-up drills. Remember, simply doing the drills is not enough—doing them correctly is key. If a coach is not available, perhaps have a lifeguard or friend record you so you can assess whether you are performing the technique correctly.
The cool-down is the time to reduce heart rate slowly and return to easy breathing and good technique. The cool-down can also be a good time to practice strokes other than freestyle by adding several 50s of the breaststroke and backstroke. This not only helps your body cool down but also engages other muscles, relieving those used during your workout. Adding a drill or two to the cool-down helps finish each swim training session with optimal technique. Be careful not to skip this important part of the workout because it contributes to the success of your next workout. Successful training is done one step at a time, and every workout should prepare you for the next.
For swimmers who have little or no open-water swimming experience, drills in the pool to practice the techniques needed in open water can make the first few open-water swims much safer and more effective. In place of traditional main sets, at short, medium, and long intervals, the following can be used when the focus is to help a swimmer prepare for the open water.
These suggestions usually require a special arrangement with your pool’s management and coaching or lifeguard staff since they involve utilizing more than one lane.
A key skill for a swimmer in open water is navigation, and to navigate well, a swimmer needs to sight often. You may think you swim straight in a pool, but you are unconsciously and continually correcting your course, by following the line on the bottom of the pool and seeing or hitting the lane lines. In open water, you do not have these helpful lines, lanes, and visibility; and what’s more, you need to deal with currents from wind or tides, which can move you a little or a lot. To sight in open water, it is advised that you switch to the breaststroke or tread water while you assess where you are heading, and adjust as needed. Although this gets the job done, it will slow you down, and in a crowded swim, other swimmers may run into you. Because of these two drawbacks, you do not want to look too often, meaning you may swim off course for longer. The longer you swim off course, the farther the distance you swim, which of course is not ideal (more details about sighting can be found in chapter 16). Following are a few activities you can do to practice sighting in a pool:
Perform 10 × 25s while incorporating sighting into your stroke. Sighting can be done by swimming a few strokes, looking up at a buoy or other object while still moving forward using a shorter freestyle stroke or the breastroke with your head above water. You will want to sight in open water every third or fourth stroke. Be patient since it usually takes several sessions to get the hang of it. Beginners should hold off on this technique until they can easily swim a 500 straight. If a swimmer is struggling with breathing, then this drill will simply increase anxiety.
Integrate sighting into efficient freestyle. As you might guess, this is the best method and of course the most difficult to master. Having said that, with a little practice at the pool you will get pretty good at it. The key is to lift your head only enough to have your eyes above the water (not high enough to breathe). Then as your arm comes past your head on the recovery, you drop your head and roll to the side to breathe as you would if you were not sighting. This way you do not compromise your body position by lifting your head all the way out of the water, yet you still get a view. Since this technique does not slow you down, you can view every two strokes; even if you do not see what you need to every single time, with this kind of frequency you can swim very straight.
To practice sighting and passing (or being passed), you can do snake swims. The purpose of this exercise is to have a large group do a long continuous swim together and get practice sighting and passing (or being passed by) other swimmers. This requires utilizing multiple lanes and generally works best when the entire pool can be used. The swimmers line up from the fastest to the slowest and start about 5 to 10 seconds apart. The swimmers go down one side of the lane, come back in the other, and then push off into the adjacent lane and repeat, hence “snaking” their way through the pool. If you have a six-lane 25-meter pool, then each sequence through the pool is 300 meters. You can have a swim of 30 minutes, with the goal of getting in as many laps as possible. After finishing a 300-meter sequence, each swimmer gets out and walks back to the other side of the pool to do another 300-meter sequence.
Drafting is best practiced first in a pool and is actually part of any masters program by necessity of having multiple swimmers in a lane. The key to drafting is to swim as close to the swimmer in front of you as possible without hitting her feet with your hands. To accomplish this, you may have to alter your stroke and enter wider or slow down to maintain the correct position. Drafting works best when the swimmer in front is about 10 percent faster than you. Much faster and you will be going anaerobic to keep up; if she is the same speed or slower, you won’t swim as fast as you are capable of. The concept is very similar to drafting in cycling. In cycling the energy savings can be 10 to 30 percent; in swimming it is more like 5 to 15 percent, which is still very significant.
Although drafting can be a great bonus, spending lots of energy trying to get behind the right person is foolhardy. The best approach is to swim your own race, and if you happen to notice a swimmer swimming about the same speed or maybe slightly faster or more aggressively, then you can slide behind that person and draft for a while. Always check two things: that he is swimming straight and that you are not working too hard or too easy to stay in that position. Swimming with several people in a lane at a group workout is the best way to practice drafting.
Although deep-water and chest-deep starts can be practiced solo in a lane, it is even more effective if you take out a lane line or a few lane lines and get a group of six or more swimmers all treading water in close proximity before someone yells “go” or blows a whistle. The swimmers all race to the other end of the pool. This exercise requires a deep end. A chest-deep start can also be practiced from the shallow end of the pool. These drills give the swimmers the opportunity to practice starting while treading water and also with a group so they get used to the conditions of such starts, such as churning arms.
Take out some lane lines, and put a buoy (this can be a lifeguard buoy attached to a line and a weight) about 5 meters from the wall. The swimmers (preferably a group of six or more) start at the other side of the pool and swim to and around the buoy and back. If it is possible to take out some lane lines and have a group of swimmers together, then practicing starts and buoy turns can be done as intervals. This is a fun workout that is ideal as a lead-in to open-water swimming both for beginners and advanced athletes. One of the main differences in the stroke technique of open-water swimmers in crowded races or rough conditions is that the recovery portion of the arm cycle needs to be higher and wider to help the swimmers clear waves and to keep them from getting hit by other swimmers’ arms. These open-water techniques practiced in the pool help swimmers see the value of working on this type of “defensive” swimming.
An important distinction between swimming and the other two sports in triathlon is that, in general, training intensity and frequency can be much higher for swimming than for the other sports since the water is very supportive to the body, and the risk of going too hard (intensity) or too often (frequency) is not an issue. This is advantageous because swimming frequently can help a swimmer learn new neuromuscular patterns. In addition, since gauging intensity is not as critical as in biking and running, pace and the swimmer’s perceived effort can be relied on to define intensity, and the swimmer doesn’t need to worry about monitoring physical aspects such as heart rate, which is difficult to determine in real time while swimming.
When designing a swim program for triathlon training, the phases of the season need to be taken into account before defining intensity and frequency. It would take an entire book to cover all the variables for the various phases of the season. In general, the earlier in the season, the easier the effort and the less rest an athlete should have in order to focus on building endurance. As competition approaches, the effort and rest time should increase to improve speed and pace.
Here is how a set of 10 × 100s would change in intensity and frequency for the six phases of the season just listed:
Prep phase—The interval time would allow for a short rest, and the intensity would be defined as relatively easy. The set would be done once a week.
Base phase—The set would be similar to the prep phase; however, the goal would be to do it more than once per week and perhaps even add volume (e.g., 12 × 100s).
Build phase—The set would be done a few times per week with more volume. (e.g., 15 × 100s)
Peak/taper—The set would be adjusted to a lower number of intervals, such as 1, 3, or 5 × 100s at a high intensity, for a long interval, and with lots of recovery.
Race phase—The set would be done once per week, with the intensity and rest increased.
Off-season—The off-season set can go in many directions depending on the goals of the athlete (e.g., it can morph into a technique set; it can be used to work on off strokes; it can ease back to the sets done in the prep-phase set to maintain a level of fitness). Also note that swimming is one of the best off-season activities because this is a great time to work on technique, the properties of the water are very restorative for muscles that have been overloaded from many miles of running and biking, and the risk of overuse injuries in swimming (other than shoulder tendinitis, perhaps, if stroke mechanics are off) is not an issue, so the more swimming the better!
In addition, test sets are helpful to keep athletes on track and to act as benchmarks for technique, speed, and endurance to ensure the desired training effects are taking place. An example of a good test set is 10 × 100s at a threshold pace (very intense) on an interval allowing for 10 to 15 seconds of rest in between. This is a good indicator of fitness because as an athlete gets in shape, she can go a faster average pace or decrease the interval time. If no improvement is indicated, this can tell you that training needs to be adjusted; it can also indicate the athlete is sick or overtrained or she has reached a plateau and needs to be patient. This is part of the art of coaching and sport—being able to distinguish what test sets and race results actually indicate and then adjust the training appropriately.
Other good test sets are time trials of key distances: 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, and 3,000. PRs of these distances should be logged for any serious swimmer to chart his progress. These times (especially the longer ones, 1,500 to 3,000) can be used as a threshold pace to determine targets on interval sets. As an example, if an athlete goes 45 minutes for a 3,000-meter time trial, that would be a pace of 1:30 per 100. This would lead to the ability to prescribe a set of 10 × 100s on 1:45 for this athlete, with the goal of swimming each repeat in 1:30 or better, allowing for 15 seconds’ or more rest for each one. This pace can then be used as a target for shorter intervals. As the time-trial pace increases, so does the workout pace.
This chapter covers the importance of a well-designed swim training plan for the pool, not only for getting swimmers ready for their first time in open water but also for showing seasoned veterans how essential it is to work on continual improvement in the swim discipline. The controlled environment of the pool is ideal for doing technique and open-water preparation drills in addition to correctly quantifying distances and times for training purposes. Eleven of the most popular and effective drills are explained so they can be implemented in the four-part workout template suggested. Some main sets are reviewed to assist the reader in creating effective main sets for different times of the season for swimmers of different levels. The reader should now be able to create an effective swim workout for any level of swimmer to prepare for participating in a triathlon.
One final caveat: No matter how well a swimmer does in the pool or how much open-water simulation she experiences, she should still do several practices in the open water in preparation for an event, especially for any first-timer, so the first time she swims in open water is not at an event.