Mastering the swim leg of a triathlon can set you up for a winning race day — and it doesn’t have to be all work, no play!
With these swim workouts for triathletes, you’ll build endurance, pick up speed, and sharpen your technique while having a bit of fun along the way. Dive in, train smart, and get race-ready with nine dynamic workouts that cover all the basics!
1. Long-Distance Endurance Swim
Building endurance is fundamental for triathletes, especially those tackling longer distances like Olympic, half-Ironman, or full Ironman events. This long-distance workout focuses on maintaining a steady pace and improving your ability to swim continuously for an extended period.
Endurance swimming ensures you can comfortably complete the swim leg without exhausting yourself before the cycling and running portions.
Workout:
- Warm-up: 300m easy swim
- Main set: 3 x 800m at a steady pace (45 seconds rest between each)
- Cool-down: 200m easy swim
Total: 2,500m
The primary goal here is to increase your aerobic capacity, which will allow you to swim long distances more efficiently. Consistent long-distance sets like these will build your stamina, helping you remain strong throughout the race.
2. Speed Intervals For Sprint Training
Speed intervals are perfect for improving your overall pace, particularly in short-course triathlons such as sprints or Olympic distances.
These fast-paced swims teach your body to handle quicker speeds, helping you move through the water more efficiently. Short intervals also train your muscles to recover quickly between bursts of effort, which is essential for triathletes who want to increase their swim speed without losing form.
Workout:
- Warm-up: 200m easy swim + 4 x 50m kick with fins (rest 20 seconds between each)
- Main set: 10 x 100m at race pace (rest 20 seconds between intervals)
- Cool-down: 200m easy swim
Total: 1,400m
This workout improves your swim speed and helps you learn to recover during brief rests, allowing you to push harder for longer periods.
3. Technique-Focused Drills
Perfecting your swim technique is just as important as building endurance or speed. Good technique helps you reduce drag, conserve energy, and swim more efficiently.
Focusing on specific drills can refine your stroke, improve your body position, and optimise your breathing, all of which are crucial for swimming faster with less effort.
Workout:
- Warm-up: 200m easy swim
- Drills: 8 x 50m (25m catch-up drill, 25m swim) with 15 seconds rest between each
- Main set: 4 x 100m focusing on stroke efficiency (count your strokes and aim to reduce your stroke count over the set)
- Cool-down: 200m easy swim
Total: 1,200m
Drills like the catch-up drill are excellent for isolating parts of your stroke, such as arm extension and breathing rhythm, helping you become a more efficient swimmer.
4. Pyramid Swim Set
A pyramid workout is excellent for building both endurance and speed. It involves increasing the distance you swim and then decreasing it, helping you adapt to varied intensities and maintain strong pacing.
This workout mimics the varied intensity you may experience during a triathlon, especially when navigating through competitors or adjusting your pace in open water.
Workout:
- Warm-up: 200m easy swim
- Main set: 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 200m, 100m, 50m (rest 15 seconds between each distance)
- Cool-down: 100m leisurely swim
Total: 1,400m
This workout pushes you to swim longer distances without losing speed, and the descending distances help train your body to speed up as you fatigue, a critical skill for triathlons.
5. Open Water Sighting Practice
One of the unique challenges of open-water swimming is sighting—keeping track of where you’re headed without lane markers to guide you.
Practising sightings will prevent you from going off course during a race, saving time and energy. This workout helps you get comfortable lifting your head to sight while maintaining your stroke rhythm.
Workout:
- Warm-up: 200m easy swim
- Main set: 4 x 300m (sight every 6 strokes) with 30 seconds rest between sets
- Cool-down: 100m leisurely swim
Total: 1,400m
6. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT swim workouts are perfect for improving both aerobic and anaerobic endurance, making them ideal for triathletes. This type of workout alternates between short bursts of high-intensity swimming and rest, pushing your heart rate up and improving your ability to handle race-paced efforts.
Workout:
- Warm-up: 200m easy swim
- Main set: 10 x 50m sprint (rest 30 seconds between each)
- Cool-down: 100m leisurely swim
Total: 800m
HIIT workouts improve your ability to swim faster while building strength and resilience. These short, intense sets are great for triathletes who need to train at race intensity but don’t have much time for lengthy sessions.
7. Kickboard Interval Workout
A firm kick is an often-overlooked component of effective swimming. This workout focuses on building leg strength and improving your kick, giving you more propulsion through the water. A more decisive kick will help support your overall swim technique, especially in rough open water conditions.
Workout:
- Warm-up: 200m easy swim
- Main set: 6 x 100m kick with a kickboard (rest 30 seconds between each)
- Cool-down: 200m easy swim
Total: 1,000m
Improving your kicking ability will reduce drag and give you extra power when needed during your swim.
8. Build Swim Set
In a build swim set, you increase your speed gradually within each interval, which helps train you to accelerate smoothly. This type of workout is excellent for triathletes, as it teaches you how to pick up the pace at crucial moments in a race, such as during the final stretch toward the swim exit.
Workout:
- Warm-up: 200m easy swim
- Main set: 5 x 200m (increase speed within each 50m, starting slow and finishing fast)
- Cool-down: 200m easy swim
Total: 1,400m
9. Mixed Stroke Workout
Incorporating different strokes into your swim training breaks up the monotony of freestyle and helps strengthen different muscle groups. This workout allows you to practise various strokes, improving your overall swim strength and flexibility and benefiting your freestyle technique in the long run.
Workout:
- Warm-up: 200m freestyle
- Main set: 4 x 100m individual medley (25m butterfly, 25m backstroke, 25m breaststroke, 25m freestyle)
- Cool-down: 200m easy swim
Total: 1,000m
Mixing strokes in your workouts will develop your core, improve your breathing control, and ensure a full-body workout.
Conclusion About Swim Workouts For Triathletes
Incorporating these nine swim workouts for triathletes into your training plan will give you a well-rounded foundation, helping you develop endurance, speed, technique, and race-specific skills like sighting.
Whether you’re training for your first sprint triathlon or gearing up for a full Ironman, these workouts will ensure you’re prepared to tackle the swim leg confidently.
Consistency is key — aim to swim at least three times a week, mixing up your workouts to target different aspects of your swimming. By race day, you’ll be ready to hit the water and come out ahead, setting yourself up for a successful triathlon.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Swim Workouts For Triathletes
How Often Should Triathletes Swim Per Week?
Most experts recommend that triathletes swim thrice weekly to build endurance, improve technique, and develop race-specific skills. Advanced triathletes may increase to four or five sessions depending on their training goals and race distance.
What Should A Swim Workout For Triathletes Include?
A balanced workout typically includes warm-ups, drills for technique, main sets focused on endurance and speed, and cool-downs. Adding open-water skills like sighting and practising race starts can also benefit triathletes.
How Can I Improve My Open-Water Swimming Skills?
To adapt to open-water conditions, incorporate sighting drills, practice swimming in choppy water, and work on bilateral breathing. Occasionally, training in an open-water environment will also help you become comfortable with race-day conditions.
What’s The Difference Between Pool Training And Open-Water Training?
Pool training focuses on technique, form, and controlled intervals. Open-water training is essential for getting used to sighting, handling waves, and adapting to the lack of lane markers, which helps simulate race conditions.
