Weekend Swim Workout: Swim And IM Switch-Up

If freestyle is the only stroke you’re doing in the pool, you’re missing out on extra swim strength and speed. Incorporating other strokes – namely, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly – will build complementary muscles to prevent injury. You’ll improve your aerobic capacity and become more in tune with individual elements of your stroke as you experience how your body moves through the water in new ways. Swimming the occasional IM – shorthand for “individual medley,” or swimming all four strokes in one set – is also a great way to prevent boredom in the pool.

The biggest thing stopping most triathletes from swimming anything other than free is that the other strokes are different, and therefore hard. But different is good, and we promise, things become much easier with practice. For tips and drills on swimming the different IM strokes, check out this primer from coach Marcus Fitts: How to Get Better at Every Swim Stroke.

If you’re game for taking on the full IM rotation, we recommend the first set (A) below. But if you can’t (or just don’t want) to swim all four strokes, at least choose one non-free stroke and tackle set B or C instead. Dive in and enjoy!

RELATED: Why Triathletes Should Swim Different Strokes

A:

Warm-up

4 x (100 swim/50 kick)

Main Set:

4×100 IM on 1:45
3×200 swim on 2:50
4×100 IM on 1:35
3×200 swim on 2:40
4×100 IM on 1:30
3×200 swim on 2:30
100 easy/recovery
12×50 on :50 (2 FAST!/1 easy, repeat)

Cooldown:

200 easy

*4500 total*

RELATED: The Benefits of the Backstroke for Triathletes

B:

Warm-up:

4 x (100 swim/50 kick)

Main Set:

4×75 on 1:30 (free/non-free/free)
3×150 swim on 2:40
4×75 on 1:20 (free/non-free/free)
3×150 swim on 2:30
4×75 on 1:15 (free/non-free/free)
3×150 swim on 2:20
50 easy/recovery
9×50 on :60 (2 FAST!/1 easy, repeat)

Cooldown:

200 easy

*3500 total*

RELATED: Five 30-Minute Swim Workouts

C:

Warm-up:

4 x (100 swim/50 kick)

Main Set:

4×75 w/ :15 rest (free/non-free/free)
3×100 pull w/ :10 rest
4×75 w/ :15 rest (free/non-free/free)
3×100 pull w/ :10 rest
9×50 w/ :15 rest (2 FAST!/1 easy, repeat)

Cooldown:

200 easy

*2500 total*

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