Weekend Swim Workout: Recovery Swim

There is no better way to recover from racing than to dive into the pool for a relaxed easy recovery swim. Although sometimes the thought of actually doing it seems very unappealing, once you’re there, you’re swimming and getting your body moving, you will feel infinitely better (trust us on this one).

There’s nothing glamorous about this recovery swim workout; there are no intervals or efforts to think about, but that’s the point. It’s just about helping to flush the body of some of the junk that’s built up from racing and/or training hard while also giving the brain a chance to switch off, recharge and just enjoy being in the water. For this reason, this is also a great workout if you’re simply looking for a straightforward off-season swim.

Begin with a 400 swim, 300 pull, 200 kick and 100 drill (as 50 drill of your choice/50 swim). Next up is a short medley set (don’t panic, it’s very short) of 8 x 50, where you’ll swim the first 50 as 25 fly, 25 freestyle; the second 50 as 25 back, 25 freestyle; the third 50 as 25 breaststroke, 25 freestyle; the final 50 as all freestyle. Repeat this pattern once more.

The main set of this recovery swim involves putting on fins and getting ready to flush your legs with some kick-swim. The pattern is as follows and this should be done as a continuous swim. Effort level is low/moderate, and alternates between kicking on your back and swimming freestyle.

Be sure to kick from your hips, not your knees, and keep enough tension in your body to ensure you’re pencil-straight in the water. You should have your arms outstretched behind your head with your biceps squeezing your ears.

Finish by taking off your fins for a 200 easy cooldown – swim or pull, your choice. See? Easy-peasy, and a great way to recover this weekend.

Recovery Swim

Warm-up

400 swim, 300 pull, 200 kick, 100 drill/swim
8 x 50 medley as fly/free, back/free, breast/free, all free x 2

Main Set: Recovery Swim

Continuous swim in fins, structured as:
200 – first 50 kicking on your back; remainder swim
175 – first 50 kicking on your back; remainder swim
150 – first 50 kicking on your back; remainder swim
125 – first 50 kicking on your back; remainder swim
100 – first 50 kicking on your back; remainder swim
75 – first 50 kicking on your back; remainder swim
50 – kicking on your back
25 – kicking on your back

Cooldown

200 easy swim

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