Workout of the Week: Anaerobic Booster

This Workout of the Week is geared towards building on our anaerobic base. A good long warmup and extended pre-set should set you up nicely for the active-rest main set. This workout is great for any competitive swimmer, triathlete or fitness swimmer as the rest intervals are flexible and the alternation of fast and easy swimming is perfect for fluctuating our heart rate and putting in some good, honest work.

The warmup is a decently long 1200 yards with some pulling and kicking to help get the whole body ready to go for the rest of the swim. Alternating between free and non-free swimming is important to activate all our muscle groups early in the swim. 

The pre-set helps set us up for the “meat-and-potatoes” of the workout by forcing us to change speeds and get the heart rate up. 

Our main set challenges our anaerobic threshold by asking us to go as fast as possible for a short distance and then recover over the same distance. The longer, smooth swims (the 250, 200, 150 etc.) are meant to help you reset and get ready for the fast swims – be sure to keep an eye on the technique here to make sure we aren’t getting sloppy on the fast swims.

While the main set does pack a punch and you might find yourself gassed by the time the cool down rolls around, warming down is equally important as warming up. Be sure to hone in on your technique when you’re fatigued here – working on your stroke and trying to be as flawless as possible when tired, is the best way to make sure our form doesn’t break down at the end of a race or long workout.

The workout:

• Warmup: 1200yds
  • 400 (50 FR/50 No-FR)
  • 4×100 Pull @ :10-:15 rest 
  • 8×50 Kick @ :05-:10 rest
• Pre-set: 800yds
  • 3×100 Free @ :10 rest
    • Descend 1-3
  • 6×50 FR or No FR 
    • Build to FAST 
  • 8×25 Free @ :10 rest
    • #1 First half fast
    • #2 Second half fast
    • #3 All EZ
    • #4 All Fast
• Main set: 1700yds
  • 250 smooth @ :15-:20 rest 
  • 8×50 @ :05-:10 rest
    • Odds = FAST
    • Evens = EZ
  • 200 smooth @ :15-:20
  • 6×50 @ :05-:10 rest
    • #1-2 FAST
    • #3 EZ
    • #4-5 FAST
    • #6 EZ
  • 150 smooth @ :15-:20 rest 
  • 4×50 @ :05-:10 rest
    • #1-2 FAST
    • #3 EZ
    • #4 FASTER
  • 100 smooth @ :15-:20 rest
  • 2×50 @ :05-:10 rest
    • ALL FAST!
• Cool down: 400 yds
  • 2 rounds…
    • 100 EZ Kick
    • 4×25 Perfect Technique

Total yardage: 4,100yds 

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