6 Open Water Swim Workouts For All Levels
Photo Credit: Helen Cogan Photography
We love seeing people flock to the sea but if you are looking to continue to make improvements in your swimming you need structured workouts! Going to the ocean, lake or river and swimming 30 to 60 minutes is great for fitness but it isn’t going to make you faster. If you would like more structure to help you improve, then check out our 8-week training plan! If you are new to open water swimmer, check out our beginner’s guide before hitting the water!
We have put together some of our favorite open water workouts to help you continue to get faster when training in the open water! Whether you are a triathlete or straight up open water swimmer, you will benefit from these workouts.
Workout 1: Entries & Exits
1 x 10 minutes Do whatever you plan to do on race day!
1x 10 minutes build the first 7 minutes to goal race pace then 3 minutes holding race pace.
Swim toward shore and exit.
Main Set
6-10x: Entry & Exits @ 1:00 rest between each one
Start out of the water or ankle deep water if it is safe to do so.
Run in as if it is a race and once you get to a little deeper than knee depth dive forward and start swimming.
Do 30 strokes hard out then turn right or left .
Do 80-100 strokes hard swimming parallel to shore, then turn into shore.
Sprint to shore and run out of the water to practice your exit.
Repeat this in the opposite direction so you end where you started the first one.
Cool Down: 5 minutes focus on technique and feeling good.
Workout 2: Longer Race Pace Work
5-10 minutes of warm up. Do what you plan to do on race day.
5x: Alternating 30 strokes hard/30 strokes easy
Main Set
2-4x:
8 minutes @ 1:00 rest All done as:
2 minute fast-The speed you would start an open water race or triathlon
5 minutes race effort-this should be uncomfortable about 80-85% of max effort
1 minute easy swim focus on technique
Cool Down: 5-10 minutes Just swim until you feel good!
Workout 3: Fartlek Session!
5-10 minutes of warm up. Do what you plan to do on race day.
5x: Alternating 30 strokes hard/30 strokes easy. Get ready to rock!
Main Set:
2-3 x 10 minutes @ 1:00 rest Fartlek!
This means you will alternate 1:00 hard effort/1:00 easy effort
Cool Down: 5-10 minutes of easy swimming focusing on technique and feeling good.
Workout 4: Race Pace Work
5-10 minutes of warm up. Do what you plan to do on race day.
5x: Alternating 30 strokes hard/30 strokes easy. Get ready to rock!
Main Set:
2-4 x 1/2 mile @ 1:00 rest/light swimming
All of these are holding goal race effort. This is about 85% of max effort. The lungs will be burning and each one of these will be pretty uncomfortable if you are doing it right!
Cool Down: 5-10 minutes of easy swimming focusing on technique and feeling good.
Workout 5: Long Straight Swim
5-10 minutes of warm up. Do what you plan to do on race day.
Main Set:
1 x 30-45 minutes @ For max distance.
Try to hold an even pace or negative split this. You want to finish with nothing left in the tank! if you are feeling good with 5 to 10 minutes left, pick up the pace and finish with everything you have left!
Cool Down: 5-10 minutes of easy swimming focusing on technique and feeling good.
Workout 6: Speed Work
5-10 minutes of warm up. Do what you plan to do on race day.
5x: Alternating 30 strokes hard/30 strokes easy. Get ready to rock!
MS:
4-8 x 1/4 mile @ :30 rest
If you plan to do 4 then do one round of what is described below and if you plan to do 8 then do 2 rounds:
1st 1/4 mile Fast like the start of a triathlon or open water race.
2nd & 3rd 1/4 mile at goal race pace or 85%-90% of max effort.
4th 1/4 mile FAST Hold 90-95% of max effort start using your legs a bit more!
Cool Down: 5-10 minutes of easy swimming focusing on technique and feeling good.
We hope that you enjoy these workouts or maybe they will get your creative juices flowing enough for you to write your own! Don’t forget to use our pace calculator to figure out your swim pace for any of the workouts above. If you give these a try, please let us know what you think in the comments!
If you are looking for more free workouts then check out these great resources: Beginner to 1 Mile Swim Plan and 8 week triathlon swim program!