This swim workout will push you to swim fast and faster. After warming up with swimming, technique and stroke work, kicking, and pulling, and then making sure you are ready to go by doing some quick 25s, the workout really starts.

There is a longer swim that should be done as a relaxed, steady effort; not easy, but more toward the easy end of the spectrum. Then there are two fast 50 swims, followed by two fast 25 swims.

These fast swimming efforts should be very fast, the best you can do. Then you move on to another longer, relaxed swim effort, then back to the shorter, faster efforts. Repeat that workout pattern a few more times.

Want to do a longer workout? One option is to make the relaxed swim distances longer and keep the faster parts the same distance. Enjoy your swim workout!

The Swim Workout

Warm-up1,200
4 x 100 (:15 Swim and drill mix. Do drills for technique practice for one length, then swim for one length, then repeat.
8 x 50 (:15 Kick. Alternate one 50 easy effort and one 50 moderate effort.
2 x 200 (:15 Pull. Alternate one 50 easy effort and one 50 moderate effort.

Take a bit of extra rest, sip some water or sports drink, and get ready for the main set.
Main Set
4 x 25 (:30 Swim. Fast efforts to make sure you are ready to go.
1 x 400 (:30 Swim. Steady, relaxed, almost easy effort. Think about good technique.
2 x 50 (:60 Swim. Fast, strong, powerful effort. Still think technique, but think fast as the #1 priority.

2 x 25 (:30 Swim. Faster and stronger!
1 x 300 (:30 Swim. Steady, relaxed, almost easy effort.
2 x 50 (:60 Swim. Fast, strong, powerful effort.
2 x 25 (:30 Swim. Faster and stronger!
1 x 200 (:30 Swim. Steady, relaxed, almost easy effort.
2 x 50 (:60 Swim. Fast, strong, powerful effort.
2 x 25 (:30 Swim. Faster and stronger!
1 x 100 (:30 Swim. Steady, relaxed, almost easy effort.
2 x 50 (:60 Swim. Fast, strong, powerful effort.
2 x 25 (:30 Swim. Faster and stronger!

1 x 100 Swim. Easy loosen to end the workout.
TOTAL DISTANCE = 3,000

Click on the "print" icon on the upper right to get a copy formatted for printing so you can print it and take the workout with you to the pool

About Swimming Workouts

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.

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 five more times.

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
• stroke drills or swimming technique work
• kicking
• pulling
• a main set
• a loosen or cool-down

More Reading for Swimmers on Swim Workouts:

• Aerobic Swimming Speeds - How Fast Should I Swim?
• Swimming Technique Help
• More Swimming Workouts for Swimmers

Swim on!