Workout of the Week: Fast & Fun!

In this expertly crafted workout, U.S. Masters Swimming Coach Celia Wolff delivers a fun bunch of fast 25’s to help you crank out some speedy swimming.

Don’t worry about the intervals here, feel free to adjust anything you need to get these quick sprints in!

Appropriately named “Fun Friday”, this workout is all about 25’s! But why wait until Friday to swim it? If necessary, set your own interval so you have less than :05 rest at a moderate pace. Then add or subtract from that interval as you go through. 

This workout is all about swimming fast and having fun! Swimming fast is more than just swimming harder or with more effort. It’s about feeling the water and moving through the fluid in a more athletic and streamlined fashion.

One way to maximize your speed and help you create that fast feeling is the use of fins and paddles. Fins not only help with speed, but also body position and leg strength. Regardless of your workout goals, fins can help you crank out some speedy swims!

The use of paddles can also help your speed during a fast-swimming workout like this. Simply put, paddles increase the surface area of your natural paddles (aka, your hands!). The more surface area your paddles occupy, the more water you hold, the more water you hold, the faster you can go!

Butterfly can be an intimidating stroke. But with the Finis snorkel, you can master the dolphin-like undulation without having to bring the head out of the water to breath. The breathe is, perhaps, the most difficult part of the stroke, but with a snorkel mounted on your head during butterfly, training the correct flow and feel of the stroke becomes all the more easy.

We also have some kicking in this main set – so don’t forget your kickboard!

Feel free to mix up the strokes throughout this one, and have some fun while you’re at it!


Gear for this Workout

  • Finis Edge Fin – Who doesn’t love fins!? Especially in a workout with a lot of FAST swimming! Use these Finis Edge Fins to help speed through these sets!
  • TYR Catalyst Paddle – Fast swimming can also be aided with paddles. Check out these durable strapless paddles on SwimOutlet.
  • Finis Front Snorkel – Butterfly can be intimidating, but did you know snorkels can help you learn the butterfly motion, without having to lift your head all the way out of the water? Try using the Finis Front Snorkel for the butterfly portion of your workout!
  • KEMP Kickboard – Tired of kicking on your back? Hop over to SwimOutlet and get your hands on a discounted KEMP Kickboard for all your kicking sets.

Click on the below button on your mobile device to view this workout in the Swim.com app.


Warm up:

  • 400 choice

Main Set:

  • 8×25 drill @ :30
  • 8×25 free @ :20 (or your own interval)
  • 4×25 kick @ :30
  • 8×25 free @ :25 (your last interval +:-5)
  • 4×25 choice @ :30
  • 8×25 free @ :30 (your last interval +:-5)
  • 4×25 kick @ :30 stroke of choice
  • 8×25 choice @ :30 (:10-15 rest)
  • 4×25 breast @ :40 double pullouts
  • 8×25 pull @ :35 IMO
  • 4×25 free @ :15 (or fastest possible interval)
  • 8×25 choice @ :40 2 ez, 2 fast

Cool Down:

  • 4×25 free @ :40 easy warm down or 100 easy choice 

How’d you do on this one? Let us know how it went on Instagram or Facebook!

2 thoughts on “Workout of the Week: Fast & Fun!

  1. Hello, although I used to swim in a pool pre-Covid, now I swim in my Swim Spa. Are there any plans to include stationary swimming (aka endless or tethered swims) as an option for the swim apps? It would be nice to continue keeping track of the time, distance, swim style, calories burned, etc, while in the Swim Spa. I can think of several ways that this could be accomplished through averaged algorithms. Thanks

    1. Hi Joseph – Thanks for supporting Swim.com! Right now, you can manually input your overall time, average pace and perceived effort right from your mobile device.
      We do have plans to implement tracking for tethered swims down the road, but we’re focusing on some other features right now.

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