Swimming for 10, 20 or 30-plus minutes non-stop is good general exercise and will help you increase your speed and strength from a baseline level. However, without including some form drills and swim sets with rest in between intervals, you will plateau in speed and fitness in just a few weeks.
See below a freestyle swimming workout we have come up with for you to try on your next swim:
- 3 x 100m warm up with 10-20 second rest between. Goal: To get the blood flowing to your muscles and loosen up your joints.
- Rest 1 minute (stretch, relax)
- 6 x 50m holding a kickboard and focusing on your freestyle arm technique, with 20-30 second rest between. Goal: Working on improving your technique which is a critical step to becoming a faster swimmer.
- Rest 1 minute
- 6 x 100m of higher effort than steady swimming with between 10 to 30 seconds rest after each 100m. Goal: To increase your effort into the 80-90% of maximum range. If you are a newer swimmer, keep this closer to 80% and take more rest. Experienced swimmers swim closer to 90% and take less rest. This is roughly the fastest pace you might attempt to hold in a sprint.
- Rest 1 minute
- 1 x 100m of kicking on your front with torpedo arms.
- 1 x 100m of an easy stroke. Goal: Cooling down and stretching out.
Credit Team USA.
