I built this set for my triathletes (a couple of my elites in particular) that need to work on maintaining their pace in the back half of the swim during their races.
They’re quite strong during the first half of longer sets, but start to fall off towards the end. The main set here was built to work on both lactate tolerance, as well as strength endurance…an interesting combination that really works the athletes hard.
Workout
Warm up:
250 easy swim
200 kick
250 pull
8 x 50 1st length drill (Fist swim, dog paddle, whatever is required for the athlete). 2nd length swim easy On 1:00 – 1:10
8 x 100 Descend 1-4, 5-8 On 1:35
Main set:
3 x 800
Broken out as 4 x 200 on :10 rest
Descend the 200’s in each 800
1 minute rest after each 800
Cool down:
200 pull – easy – focus on form
200 swim easy
Workout Total: 4700
Additional Comments:
The warm up set send-off times can be adjusted as needed for your athletes. For the 8 x 100 – descending – I like to ensure they have at least :20 rest for the first effort. The main set can be adjusted to 3 x 600’s or 400’s depending on the athlete and their ability…they can still descend each effort by 200’s or 100’s as the case may be.
If you have athletes that need to work on maintaining pace and speed in the back half of longer swimming events or races, this is a great set to build up that speed endurance.
This free workout was provided by Podium Training Systems Coach Dave Burgess.
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If the 800’s were broken in to 100’s with 15 seconds rest @ the race pace you are aiming for would be much more appropriate to the energy demands of the race. 200’s at 800m race pace is asking too much of an athlete and they begin to you non-specific energy systems with regards to the distance/event they are swimming. I would highly recommend against the 1 min rest – as the body will need to readapt aerobically/anaerobically after this period (just keep it going). The athlete should also stop when they technique begins to break down (a 1 min… Read more »
Stuart – I replied earlier, but it didn’t take….so doing so again. Thanks for the comments. You know, I find that working the anaerobic engine by working at a pace faster than race pace, with minimal rest, helps with lactate tolerance and clearance. And with the elite athletes that the full set was written for, 800’s broken up in an anaerobic fashion to really work on lactic acid tolerance and buffering it works well. As stated in the workout, other athletes did 600’s or 400’s with differing efforts. So you’re spot on that all swimmers can’t necessarily do the same… Read more »