Weekend Swim Workout: Some IM And Speed Bursts

Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle: of the four fundamental swim strokes, how many of these do you actually utilize in training? Mixing up your swim stroke comes with a host of benefits for the triathlete. In addition to building aerobic capacity, different strokes help you to build the complementary muscles in your arms and shoulders. This set from coach Sara McLarty incorporates a mix of strokes, plus short bursts of speed, to help build a bigger swimming engine for race day. Choose a set that fits your current fitness level and schedule, and dive in!

RELATED: How to Get Better at Every Swim Stroke

A:
600 warm up (200 swim/100 kick/200 swim/100 drill)
8×50 on :60 (easy swim, kick hard on wall until next interval)
4×200 pull on 2:50 (descend 1-4)
4×150 on 2:30 (fly/free/back/free/breast/free by 25)
4×100 w/fins on 1:30 (50 dolphin kick on back/50 swim free)
4×50 w/ fins on :60 (kick as FAST as possible!)
50 easy swim
20×25 swim (1 FAST/1 ez/2 FAST/1 ez/3 FAST/etc. Fast on :20/easy on :30)
600 snake cool down swim (see below)
*4150 total*

RELATED: The Benefits of the Backstroke for Triathletes

B:
600 warm up (200 swim/100 kick/200 swim/100 drill)
6×50 on 1:10 (easy swim, kick hard on wall until next interval)
3×200 pull on 3:30 (descend 1-3)
3×150 on 3:00 (50 non-free/50 free/50 non-free)
3×100 w/fins on 1:45 (50 dolphin kick on back/50 swim free)
3×50 w/fins on :60 (kick as FAST as possible!)
50 easy swim
16×25 swim (3 FAST on :30/1 easy on :45)
400 snake cool down swim (see below)
*3250 total*

RELATED: A Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming

C:
500 warm up (200 swim/100 kick/200 swim)
4×50 w/ :10 rest (easy swim, kick hard on wall for :10 seconds)
3×200 pull w/ :20 rest (descend 1-3)
3×150 w/ :20 rest (50 free/50 non-free/50 free)
3×100 w/ fins w/ :15 rest (50 dolphin kick on back/50 swim free)
3×50 w/ fins on :60 (kick as FAST as possible!)
300 snake cool down swim (see below)
*2500 total*

Snake:
Start in the far left lane of your pool (or of the space that is available to swim in). Swim ONE length of the pool in the first lane. When you reach the far side of the pool, move one lane to the right. Swim ONE length of the pool in the second lane. When you reach the other side of the pool, move to the next lane and continue swimming ONE length in each lane. When you reach the other side of the pool (or the other side of the available area), get out of the pool, walk to the first lane, and repeat the SNAKE!

Looking for more swim-spiration? Check out our complete archive of Weekend Swim Workouts from Coach Sara McLarty.