About the workout:

Often when triathletes come from more of a bike/run background, swimming can seem like having to learn a second language. There is no denying that the better your swimming is from a technical perspective the more efficient you are going to be in a triathlon swim, especially over longer distances. This workout includes some drills that I think help develop a smoother and more efficient technique for triathlon swimming. It is important to remember that while drills can often feel pointless and unnatural, the more you practice them and learn to do them correctly, the more they will transfer over and pay off in your racing. It is a good idea to incorporate drills into a small section of every swim workout you do!

The two key drills involved in this workout are:

Fist drill: For fist drill you close your fists (as if you are going to throw a punch) for the duration of the drill. It is important to still keep a high elbow when you are doing this drill, and the idea is that you’re over exaggerating the freestyle catch to get the feel for how hard it is to swim without it, so that you can realize how important it is to develop a good catch in your freestyle stroke.

Single arm with paddles (FINIS Agility paddles work best): For single arm drill you want to hold one arm out in front, and only stroke with one arm, focusing again on a high elbow catch, and also following through to your thigh with your stroke. It is important to alternate sides after each lap, and it is a good idea to always start with your ‘weaker’ arm.

Lots of coaches stress how important it is to do drills slowly, and they emphasise that drills ‘aren’t a race’. While this is true, it is also important that when you do drills you have a bit of momentum once you get used to a drill, so that it can be carried over into your normal swimming. It’s easy to swim slow and hold good technique, the challenge is holding the good technique when you add speed when you are tired.

Workout outline:

Warm Up:

1000m free

Main Set:

4x50m fist drill – 15 sec rest in between

100m DPS (distance per stroke) – 1 min rest

4x50m single arm drill – 15 sec rest in between

100m DPS – 1 min rest

200m free (moderate pace, focusing on high elbow catch and following through with each stroke)

2×50 max (trying to maintain good technique)

400m free pull

Warm Down:

4x100m kick (with Finis foam board) – 20 sec rest

300m Free easy

Total distance: 3km