Weekend Swim Workout: Tarzan Drill

Odds are there’s not a race in your immediate future, but that means this is a great time to work on the little things. While you’re less focused on fitness, give yourself little areas to improve on so that when races do return, you’re a stronger swimmer than you’ve ever been. One thing most triathletes need to work on is sighting. One way to do that is to incorporate the Tarzan Drill into your swim sets. Pick the set that fits your fitness and ability, and dive in!

Tarzan drill: Swim the length of the pool with your head above water to build strength in your neck to prepare for sighting. Look forward as if you were sighting a buoy or landmark in open water.

RELATED: How to Choose the Best Swim Drills For You

Weekend Swim Workout: Tarzan Drill

A:

Warm-up:
500 easy (no walls)

Main Set:
8×75 at 1:10 (25 Tarzan Drill/25 easy/25 FAST!)
3×900 with 60 sec rest (200 FAST!/700 Olympic or 70.3 mid-race pace)

Cooldown:
300 easy (50 kick/100 swim, repeat)

*4,100*

RELATED: Now is the Time to Correct Your Biggest Swim Mistakes

B:

Warm-up:
400 easy (no walls)

Main Set:
4×75 at 1:30 (25 Tarzan Drill/25 easy/25 FAST!)
3×800 with 2 min rest (150 FAST!/650 Olympic or 70.3 mid-race pace)

Cooldown:
300 easy (50 kick/100 swim, repeat)

*3,400*

RELATED: It’s Time to Become an Open-Water Sighting Expert

C:

Warm-up:
400 easy (no walls)

Main Set:
4×75 with 20 sec rest (25 Tarzan Drill/25 easy/25 FAST!)
3×500 with 2 min rest (100 FAST!/400 Olympic or 70.3 mid-race pace)

Cooldown:
300 easy (50 kick/100 swim, repeat)

*2,500*

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