Increasing Speed 300's to 75's - Swim Workouts for Swimmers

Try To Control Your Effort And Pace - And Go Faster As The Workout Progresses

By Mat Luebbers, About.com Guide

The Swim Workout

2 x 200 (:15 swim as desired, include some technique work
8 x 25 (:15 Drilling (swimming technique work)
4 x 100 (:15 Pull - focus on the arms/pull. Hold an even pace. Options: use a float between legs.
8 x 50 (:15 Kick - focus on the legs/kick. Alternate 25 easy, 25 fast. Options: hold a float/kickboard with arms, wear flippers.
Take about 30-seconds extra rest.
4 x 25 (:45 Fast efforts.
Take about 60-seconds extra rest.
3 x 300 (:15 Do each one slightly faster; #1 easy to moderate, #2 moderate, #3 moderate to fast.
4 x 75 (:30 Do at an even paced effort, faster than the pace used for the 300's.
4 x 75 (:45 Do at an even paced effort, faster than the pace just used for the above 75's.
1 x 100 Easy loosen.
WELL DONE!
TOTAL DISTANCE = 3,100

About's Swimming Workouts

This swimming workout features three longer swims followed by two sets of shorter swims at a faster effort. The goal is to gradually swim at a faster pace as the workout proceeds, starting with three easy 300's and concluding with a fast set of 75's.

This workout is designed to take between 75-minutes and 90-minutes. If that is too much time or distance, then cut things out, but do not always cut out the same thing every workout. And never skip the loosen at the end of the workout. Use that as one last bit of technique work before you leave the swimming pool at the end of the workout.

There is nothing special about these swim practice sessions, other than what you bring to them. Lots of freedom here. You control how hard or fast you swim and what swim strokes you want to use while swimming the workouts. Normally the amount of rest per swim will limit your top-end speed on a workout, but that does not mean go as fast as you can all of the time. A few guidelines:

• The more rest you get, the faster the swim.
• The early parts of a workout should always be easy to moderate and very deliberate. Use your best swimming technique.
• Stop the workout if you are too tired, go for it again in the future.
• You get to be a better swimmer by recovering from the workouts you do, not by doing more and more swimming without resting and recovering from that swimming.
• Have fun with the workouts.
• Change the strokes you are doing from time to time, try new things, and don't get caught in a rut.

Each workout has:

• a warm-up
• drilling (swimming technique work)
• kicking
• pulling
• a main set
• a loosen or cool-down

After the description of the set there is a number in a half-parentheses, like this - (:30 - that is how much rest you get after each swim. For example, 6 x 100 (:30 means you are to swim a 100 (yards or meters), rest 30-seconds, then repeat six times.

Swim On!