One-Hour Workout: IM/Open-Water Cornucopia Swim Set

This dynamic IM/open-water workout is perfect for loosening up those tight, inactive muscles and reminding your body what it’s like move in the water.

This week’s workout is a deceptively tough aerobic session that focuses more on movement and feel for the water than any specific fitness gains. During the holiday season, it’s easy to lose the range of motion and adaptation that makes a successful open-water swimmer, so consider this set a way to build up (and wake up) the swimming muscles that go often inert.

The variety and lack of repetition should help you get out the door. Time this swim either mid work-week or before or after a long period out of the water to get the best benefits and give yourself a good excuse to get into the pool. Remember, this is more about effort than times, so go by rate of perceived exertion and only use the clock to check the rest. Increase more reps for the first two sets for more yardage.

Warm-up
400 easy freestyle
4 x (50 drill, 50 swim) as: sculling, one-arm drill, closed-fist, fingertip drag
4 x (25 heads-up swimming, 25 swim) build 1-4

Main Set
2x
25 fly, 7/10 effort @ 5 seconds rest
50 free, 7/10 effort, sighting every five strokes @ 10 seconds rest
50 backstroke, 7/10 effort @ 10 seconds rest
50 free, 7/10 effort, sighting every three strokes @ 10 seconds rest
75 breaststroke, 7/10 effort @ 15 seconds rest
50 free, 7/10 effort heads-up swimming @ 10 seconds rest
100 free, 8/10 effort @ 20 seconds rest
50 easy free

2x
100 IM, 7/10 effort @ 20 seconds rest
100 swim, 8/10 effort @ 15 seconds rest, turn at the ‘T’–no walls
50 butterfly kick on back easy

1x
8 x 25 start from treading water (no wall pushoff) build 1-4, then 5-8

Cool-down
200 easy swim

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