I am always thinking of ways that change can help with triathlon, swimming, and fitness in general. I regularly get asked what people can do to get faster as they feel like they are banging their head against a brick wall training hard. Equally, I love the responses I get from athletes who have followed my swim sets when they say the swims are completely unlike what they have done before!
The biggest issue is that regardless of how hard they are working, many athletes are just doing the same things every time they get in the water.
Are you currently doing the same routine each day? Each week? Is your schedule flexible or fixed?
With swimming, do you do the same workouts all the time?
Create Variety For Swim Set Success
One of the things I found challenging when I moved into competing and coaching in triathlon was that all the sets were the same, and it was predominantly freestyle based – if not wholly freestyle! Nothing wrong with these sets and sessions but they get boring and stale after a while! Many triathletes and fitness swimmers also get hung up on the number of meters they did.
“I did 2200 meters yesterday so I’m going to do 2300 today!”
I prefer to think quality over quantity. Changing things up on a regular basis is healthy and great for your swim and triathlon success.
Do you always swim in the same pool? Maybe it’s time to try a different pool.
Do you always do the same format for sessions? Like, Warm-up, drills, main set, cool down?
Maybe time to mix in some different types of workouts. Here are some ideas on changing it up to maximize motivation & performance:
1. Use fins. Put on your fins when practicing drills. They make things so much easier! It’s not cheating! If you feel that is a little easy, alternate drills with and without the fins to perform the skill better.
2. Use a snorkel. This allows you to focus on your stroke without breathing.
3. Do different strokes. You don’t HAVE to do butterfly, and you don’t need to be perfect at backstroke or breaststroke – but just the act of doing them will make you a stronger swimmer; you’ll break up all that freestyle tedium too!
4. Wear different swimsuits. Are you wearing the same suit every time you practice? Why not mix it up? I love the suits from our friends at Blueseventy You can get 20% suits off today with our discount code TRIJOHN at their website: https://www.blueseventy.co.uk/
5. Practice “deck push-ups” in between your sets next time. Good strength training, and dryland workout to help your freestyle pull.
Poolside push ups
6. Swim with a friend. Who cares if you’re not the same speed? It gives you more accountability and makes things fun.
7. Bike or run to the pool. 2 birds, 1 stone.
8. Mix in sprints. You can decrease the distance and increase the intensity once a week or so for a different type of workout.
9. Challenge yourself with different skills – see how far you can swim without breathing, or stay under water. See how straight you can swim with your eyes closed, or even how slowly you can travel with good form…
There are a few ideas to change things up while you improve.
Any more ideas on how change can help with your training? Let’s hear them!
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to get in touch; either by email, facebook or leave a comment on here! Remember, you can always get your swimming reviewed in the endless pool with our video swim analysis packages.
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