Weekend Swim Workout: Pre-Season Test Set

Triathlete contributor and swimming all-star Sara McLarty offers this pre-season swim workout to give triathletes a way to gauge their progress in swim improvements. It offers three levels of workouts to match your fitness or the time you have in the pool.

The workout features a variety of strong, moderate, and FAST efforts. Plus, you’ll get a break while working on technique using a pull buoy.

Pre-season test set: Swim this workout every two weeks to chart your progress as the 2026 race season approaches.

A:
600 warm-up (150 swim/50 kick, repeat)
6×50 swim on :50 (descend 1–3, 4–6)
4×250 swim on 3:45 (moderate effort)
200 easy pull
4×250 swim on 3:30 (strong effort)
200 easy pull
4×250 swim on 3:15 (all FAST, record your times)
200 cool-down
*4,500 Total*

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B:
600 warm-up (150 swim/50 kick, repeat)
6×50 swim on :60 (descend 1–3, 4–6)
4×250 swim on 5:00 (strong effort)
300 easy pull
4×250 swim on 4:40 (all FAST, record your times)
300 cool-down
*3,500 Total*

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C:
400 warm-up (150 swim/50 kick, repeat)
6×50 swim with 15 sec rest (descend 1–3, 4–6)
4×200 swim with 40 sec rest (strong effort)
100 easy pull
4×200 swim with 30 sec rest (all FAST, record your times)
100 cool-down
*2,500 Total*

More swim workouts from Sara McLarty.