
An athlete swims in a pool during a one-hour weekend workout. (Photo: Getty Images)
Want to get the most bang for your buck? You’ll want to do a kitchen-sink swim workout, where you hit a little bit of everything – kicks, pull, non-freestyle, and descending sets. But such workouts can get really complicated, really fast, which is why coach Sara McLarty came up with the concept of “The Perfect 10” – 10 sets in one workout. To keep things simple, the distance remains the same for all 10 sets. Choose a set based on your ability level or how much yardage you need to get in at the pool. The A set is 4,000 yards/meters, the B set totals 3,000, and the C set is 2,000.
A:
10×400 with 30 sec rest
#1 Easy, warm-up
#2 50 kick/50 non-free/repeat
#3–5 Pull, descend time 1–3
#6 50 non-free/50 drill/repeat
#7–9 Swim, descend 1–3
#10 Easy, cool down
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B:
10×300 with 30 sec rest
#1 Easy, warm-up
#2 50 kick/50 non-free/repeat
#3–5 Pull, descend time 1–3
#6 50 non-free/50 drill/repeat
#7–9 Swim, descend 1–3
#10 Easy, cool down
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C:
10×200 with 30 sec rest
#1 Easy, warm-up
#2 50 kick/50 non-free/repeat
#3–5 Pull, descend time 1–3
#6 50 non-free/50 drill/repeat
#7–9 Swim, descend 1–3
#10 Easy, cool down
Shake up your swim routine with more Weekend Swim Workouts from coach Sara McLarty.