FAVORITE SWIM SET & WHY

By Andy Potts

Being known as a swimmer for so long, I spend a lot of time coaching swimming, answering swim questions and just ‘talking swimming’. Regularly, athletes want to know the ‘magic pill’ for swimming like me and my favorite swim set. While I understand the question, it is difficult to answer as swimming, like anything, is a never-ending pursuit. With that said, there are a few things that make up a great swim set or any great workout.

The Main Elements of a Swim Workout:

Pre-Warm Up (PWU):
Most athletes show up to the pool, do a few arm circles or swings and hop in. Same is true from amateurs to professionals. I show up 15-20 minutes early, get out my stretch bands and go through an activation series.

WARM UP (WU):

The goal of the warm up are:

• Get your body ready for training, to transition form rest to workout mode. 
• Elevate heart rate and respiration
• Activate key muscle groups

PRE-SET (PS)

The goals of a pre-set are:

• Prime the body for the demands of the workout
• Sport/Skill Specific Drills or exercises

MAIN SET (MS)

The ‘meat and potatoes’ of the workout. The main event. The reason for showing up. The goal of the main set in swimming really depends on where you are in your training, what you are doing throughout the week, and what you are doing in other sports. Swimming, unlike running and cycling, is one where you can really ‘touch’ all different effort levels throughout a workout without a major physiological risk like you can get from the pounding of running.  One of my favorite main sets for a 70.3 or 140.6 distance triathlete requires an athlete to build up the skills to buffer and recover. We achieve this through what we define at AP Racing as “Punch and Settle Work”.

COOL DOWN (CD)

The goals of the cool down are:

- Revisit skills and movement patterns to re-enforce good technique

- Lower HR & respiration

A Little Bit of Background I What You Need to Know Before We start:

If you need a refresher on basic swim terminology, check out this article we wrote a few years ago:

AP Racing Swim Terms  I A Basic Guide

Want a full refresher on all things swimming ranging from training strategies to stroke analysis; check out our live Masterclass Series we did a few years ago:

AP Racing MasterClass I The Swim.

PRE WARM UP:

Stretch Cords Routine

WARM UP (WU):

200 swim(build effort), 

200 as 25 kick on side / 25 free, 

200 pull build(no buoy);

r=:10

PRE-SET (PS)

PS: 

8 x 50 @
Odds @ cruise
Evens @ z3/z4
r = :10

8x50 @
Descend 1-4 / 5-8 to z3; 

r=:10

MS:

4 x 100 @ z4; r = base + :10
1 x 400 @ z3; r = base + 20
3 x 100 @ z4; r = base + :10

1 x 300 @ z3; r = base + :20

2 x 100 @ z4; r = base + :10

1 x 200 @ z3; r = base + :20

As you get stronger, you can modify a set like this in a few ways:
Increase distance of z4/z3 intervals. add reps and distances(ie: go up to 500 or 600) or go up and down the ladder (ie: after the 1 x 200, go back to the 3 x 100’s) You can also play with your base & interval times.

CD:

400 easy swim with fins + pads as

25 kick on back
25 single arm, breathe opposite side
25 single arm, breathe opposite side
25 free
*repeat throughout 400

Now it’s time for you to get out there and jump in! Build your own favorite swim sets with the critical components (PWU, WU, PS, MS, CD) or drop me a line and I’ll get you dialed with all of my favorite sets to set you up for success.