Swim Squad: Swim Speed In The Winter

Swim Squad: Swim Speed In The Winter

Why we’re adding speed this winter.

As we move into autumn and winter, you’ll notice some faster, short sets appearing in our Swim Squad sessions.

Why now?

Because the off-season is the perfect time to sharpen skills and build speed without the pressure of racing.

• Technical focus: Swimming fast exposes flaws in posture and stroke. With no races around the corner, we can take the time to iron those out.
• Foundation for the year: Building speed and efficiency now means your steady swimming in spring will already feel smoother and easier.
• Freshness & variety: Winter training can feel like “just grinding out lengths.” A sprinkle of fast work keeps sessions fun, sharp, and engaging.
• Raising the ceiling: When your top-end speed improves, your triathlon pace feels more comfortable underneath it.

So when you hear me ask you to do some fast efforts, know they’re not about turning you into sprinters. They’re about making you better, more efficient triathletes when race season arrives.

Alactic Sprints

We started this work recently, with some alactic work – short, very fast efforts (~10 seconds), followed by plenty of recovery. These bursts of speed don’t leave you fatigued like big endurance sets, but they do sharpen your nervous system, coordination, and confidence in the water.

Why do this in swimming?

• It sharpens your stroke mechanics at high speed – streamline, posture, and catch are tested to the max.
• It improves neuromuscular coordination – training your brain and muscles to fire faster and more efficiently.
• It raises your top-end speed – and when your ceiling goes up, your steady pace feels easier.

We’ve used two different types of sets for this work:

• 15 metres at maximum pace, easy swimming to finish the length
• 10 metres easy swimming, strong powerful and fast swimming to finish the length

Technique + Alactic + …

Alongside the alactic speed work and technique focus, we’ll also be weaving in some VO₂ max sets and the occasional threshold set over the coming weeks.

VO₂ max work helps expand your aerobic engine – pushing your capacity to take in and use oxygen, which is key for sustainable speed in the water. Threshold sets sit just below that, teaching you to hold a strong pace efficiently and comfortably for longer.

Together, these sessions will give you both the top-end fitness and the race-relevant durability you’ll need when the season comes around. I’ll share more detail on what these sets look like – and why they matter for you – in our next post.