Weekend Swim Workout: Dive-In 25s

Published July 26, 2024 07:00AM

It’s time to dive in to the weekend – literally! This weekend swim workout from coach Sara McLarty will have you adding a new skill set to your swimming repertoire – diving. Some races (the famous Escape from Alcatraz, for one) do have athletes diving in at the swim start. If you’re not planning to jump into your next race, there’s something here for you, too – a set where you’ll start in the middle of the pool, climb out at the wall, and dive back in. This mid-pool start can help you simulate an in-water race start, where you won’t be able to push off a wall. Climbing out and diving back in will really spike your heart rate, which is great practice for race day. This will also help you practice for race day by helping you to get used to how it feels exiting the swim and going from horizontal to vertical in a very short space of time.

Have fun, and maybe throw in a cannonball to celebrate finishing this set. It’s the weekend, after all.

A:
400 choice/100 kick w/ 20 sec rest
300 pull/100 kick w/ 20 sec rest
200 IM/100 kick w/ 20 sec rest
100 drill/100 kick w/ 20 sec rest
20×25 swim (2 FAST! on :20/2 easy on :30)
8×150 on 2:15 (25 kick/25 Sailboat Drill/100 build)
10×25 swim on :30 (Start in middle of pool, climb out at wall and dive back in)
5×100 swim on 2:00 (RACE from a dive!)
300 cool down
*4100 Total*

B:
400 Choice/100 Kick w/ 20 sec rest
300 Pull/100 Kick w/ 20 sec rest
200 non-free/100 Kick w/ 20 sec rest
100 Drill/100 Kick w/ 20 sec rest
16×25 swim (2 FAST! on :30/2 easy on :40)
4×150 on 3:00 (25 Kick/25 Sailboat Drill/100 build)
8×25 swim on :30 (Start in middle of pool, climb out at wall and dive back in)
4×100 swim on 2:00 (RACE from a dive!)
300 cool down
*3300 Total*

C:
400 choice/100 kick w/ 20 sec rest
300 pull/100 kick w/ 20 sec rest
200 non-free/100 kick w/ 20 sec rest
100 drill/100 kick w/ 20 sec rest
12×25 swim w/ 15 sec rest (2 FAST!/2 easy)
8×25 swim w/ 10 sec rest (Start in middle of pool, climb out at wall and dive back in)
3×100 swim w/ 60 sec rest (RACE from a dive!)
100 cool-down
*2300 Total*

Sailboat Drill:
Hold a kick board between your thighs. Make sure half of the board is sticking below your body when you swim freestyle. Use your core muscles to control your hip rotation while the board tries to prevent rotation.