A lot of the swimmers I meet tell me that they go to the pool, swim a distance e.g. 1,500m and then get out. They swim the same type of session every time they go to the pool.
That’s fine if you enjoy that – but be aware that improvement with this type of training is slow and limited.
These swimmers would improve much more if they incorporated interval training into their swim training.
What Is Interval Training?
A series of repetitions – breaking the swim up into shorter distances – with some rest breaks. So, instead of a 1,500m steady swim, you could split the session (some ideas below) and swim at a higher pace / with better technique.
15 x 100m
30 x 50m
5 x 100m, 10 x 50m, 20 x 25m
5 x 200m, 5 x 100m
60 x 25m
etc etc
Why Do It?
Why would we want to break the swim up into shorter distances? By breaking the swim, several things can happen …
1. Technique Is Better
Over longer distances, fatigue creeps in and technique suffers. By swimming shorter distances, we can hold a good technique for a short distance, take a break, reset and then go again holding good form.
2. Pace Is Higher
Again, swimming distance leads to lots of one pace swimming. Or swimming that starts strong and gradually gets slower as the swim progresses. Swimming short distances means we can swim stronger, faster, harder – have a short rest – and then go again at the same strong pace. We can develop different paces and gears.
3. Focus Is Improved
When swimming distance, it’s easy for your mind to wander and lose focus. Keeping intervals short allows swimmers to focus on specific things during the shorter distance – whether that’s technique, pace or session intent.
4. Much More Interesting!
There are lots of ways to design a swim session to make it fun, interesting, challenging. Much more interesting than a continuous swim (in my humble opinion!)
Typical Athlete Question …
I’m racing 1500m, shouldn’t I swim 1500m every time I swim so I get good at swimming 1500m?
So you swim 1500m in 30 minutes. You do this every time you swim. Your pace might improve slightly, but not much.
A 30 minute 1500m is 2.00/100m. I would much rather you swam at, say, 1.45/100m for a set of 15 x 100m (with rest intervals). You will challenge yourself more and you will improve your pace faster. Do this type of sessions for a few weeks and the next time you swim a straight 1500m, you will be much quicker. Promise!
Don’t believe me? Have a look below at some of the key sessions Olympic distance swimmers use for their preparation.
Many Ways
There are many, many ways to do intervals – depending on what you want out of the session. By altering the length of the interval, the amount of rest you take and the speed that you swim – you can change the focus and the stimulus.
Still Not Sure …
Not Sure About Intervals For A Long Distance Swim?
Still don’t believe me? You think you would be better swimming long, at a steady pace to prepare for your swim?
I came across two podcasts (in quick succession), both talking to Olympic distance swimmers.
Swimmer One
The first was a podcast from Effortless Swimming. It was an interview with an Australian Olympic 1500m swimmer – talking about her sessions leading up to the Olympics.
The two key sessions that she mentioned?
Broken 1500m
300m with dive start (off 4.30), into 12 x 100m off 1.30
Race Pace 50s
Sets of 50m (off 40s) aiming to hold race pace.
“A lot of race specific work. A lot of 100’s and 50’s at pace.”
Admittedly, her early season work included sessions with longer intervals like 10x400m – getting quicker through the set – but with the focus definitely on intervals, working at specific paces.
Swimmer Two
The second podcast was ‘Inside With Brett Hawke’. It was an interview with Australian Olympic Champion, Ariarne Titmus. This was the swimmer who beat Katie Ledecky on the 400m freestyle, one of the best races in the Tokyo Olympics. She also won the gold in the 200m freestyle and silver in the 800m freestyle.
Amongst other things, she talks about one of her key sessions leading up to the Olympics.
24 x 50 off 1.30.
Two things …
- A distance swimmer swimming lots of 50’s
- Look at the rest intervals!
Next time you wonder whether 50m intervals are good for your distance swimming or think you’re taking too much rest between intervals, remember this key set from an Olympic champion!
Interesting that some of the quickest distance swimmers in the world love swimming 50m & 100m intervals to help them prepare for the biggest race of their lives.
Hopefully, you’re now convinced on the power of intervals in your swim training and will include them in pretty much every session from now on!
If you need any help or guidance or inspiration for some interval-based sessions, please get in touch as I would be happy to help!
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