Swimming: Changing Pace

How do you change pace?

Specifically, what do you differently to take you from easy swimming to fast swimming?

That was the challenge for our swimmers at our Swim Squad recently.

Before reading further, take a moment to think whether you would be able to confidently answer this?

Change One Thing

We started the set swimming very easy – with very little swim pace.

I then asked swimmers to introduce ‘one thing’ to make them go faster. I then asked them to introduce one more thing. And then one more. So by the end of the short set they were swimming quickly – but very aware of the three things that helped them increase pace.

By doing this simple set, the swimmers found they immediately had four different speeds. Instead of having an easy pace and a fast pace, they were able to gradually increase speed by adding ‘one thing’ – rather than everything.

The Short Set

2 x 25m very easy with good technique.

2 x 25m increasing pace by increasing the force of the pull (keeping everything else the same).

2 x 25m increasing pace by maintaining the force on the pull, but also increasing stroke rate slightly.

2 x 25m increasing pace again by maintaining both force on the pull and increased stroke rate, as well as ‘getting more from each stroke’.

‘More From Each Stroke‘

When we swim fast there is a temptation to shorten the stroke as we move our arms that little bit quicker.

I wanted our swimmers to try and keep the stroke long, even lengthening the stroke a little by reaching out at the front and then pushing more water backwards, exiting the stroke when the hand was near the hip. Swimming long and strong.

So, by the end of this short set, our stroke had power, a slightly higher cadence and length.

And our swimmers were zooming along!

Slight Change Of Session

In the 8-9pm Squad session I asked swimmers to introduce their own changes, rather than me directing them. Swimmers identified some different things to help them increase speed – including stronger core to improve body position, more kicking, faster hand entry, less breathing, better underwater streamlining.

In the 9-10pm session I directed them a bit more, doing the set as described above.

Main Set

We followed the skills set with a set of 100s for some, 50s for others. The aim was to increase pace through the set – but be very aware of what it was they were doing to swim faster than the previous rep.

Mindful and deliberate (and fast) swimming!

A simple set of 8 x 100m – increasing pace every 2 x 100m.

What Did The Swimmers Think?

“Great session! Really thinking about what I am doing – I didn’t feel like I was changing pace but I did.”

By making speed deliberate and not frantic, focusing on a few key areas, swimming fast is a little easier and more controlled for this swimmer.

“Arms fatigued by the end, but the last couple of 50s were faster than I’ve managed for a long time.”

Swimming well whilst suffering from some muscle fatigue – still able to swim fast by focusing on a few key areas.

“Really enjoyed that session especially working on various speeds. I’m getting more confident & consistent.”

“I loved everything about that session. It was all so focused and purposeful. Everything linked together really well.”

Longer Distances

During the session, I had a conversation with some swimmers about trying this approach on longer distance swims.

We started thinking about what a longer distance pace change might look like.
What would the difference between an easy 400m and a strong 400m look like?
What technique changes would we make to change pace in this scenario?

All of the swimmers I spoke to about these longer distance pace changes are 1.10 to 1.15 100m swimmers, able do long sets of 100s in the low 1.20s. However, their 400m times do not currently reflect this speed. In this case, we may need to think about what can we do differently to slow down slightly, to make the pace sustainable, to help them drop times on their 400s.

Swimming: Changing Pace