After spending some time putting yourself through the paces using our Maximal Heart Rate test for swimming, you now should be armed with 2 pieces of valuable information:
- Your Heart rate training zones
- Your approximate swimming split times for various swimming distances.
Well, here is a sample session, perfect for the Winter period of training (Pre-season), that will challenge you, but not over-extend you at this time of the year.
It not only shows you how the interaction of Heart rate and swimming velocity can be inter-twined, but what a Base conditioning session might look like. Obviously this volume of work would be for an individual who has been swimming through the fall.
WARM UP: 400m
4X100m
100m Freestyle @ 50% HRmax @ 2:10
100m Drilling @ 50% HRmax
100m Backstroke @ 50-60% HRmax @ 2:20
100m Drilling @ 50%Hrmax
The goal here is to steadily increase the Heart rate and the respiration rate to allow the body to prepare for the main body of the session.
50% HRmax - is the heart rate intensity you should strive to swim at
@ 2:10 - means you should be swimming at a speed fast enough to complete the set in under 2 minutes 10 seconds.
Let us say you finish the 100m in 1 minute 55 seconds, you will have a 15 second rest before beginning the drilling sequence.
If you find you are not achieving the time set for yourself, make the time a little longer to allow for some recovery time.
MAIN SET: 2 800m
2 X 200m
200m Pulling with pool buoy @ 60% HRmax @ 4:10-4:20
- Really use this set to work on your stroke efficiency - apply the drills your worked on in the warm up, into this 200m repetition.
- Hold your speed for the final 50m.
5X100m @ 70% HRmax @ 2:00-2:10
5X100m @ 75% HRmax @ 2:00-2:10
5X100m @ 75% HRmax @ 2:05-2:15
5X100m @ 80% HRmax @ 2:10-2:20
- By the final 5X100m, you might notice that your Heart rate begins to increase, without you actually being able to increase the velocity at which you are swimming. This is a result of Cardiac Drift is a totally normal occurrence.
200m Freestyle with increasing speed for each 50m @ 60%, 65%, 70%, 70% HRmax @ 4:00
- Hold your speed for the final 50m.
- Really use this set to work on your stroke efficiency - apply the drills your worked on in the warm up, into this 200m repetition.
50m breast stroke (HR Not Applicable), 50m Backstroke (HR Not Applicable).
100m Freestyle @ 50%-60% @ 1:10 X 2
100m swim down (HR NA)
TOTAL DISTANCE: 3 600m
* Remember to end the swim with 5 - 10 minutes of stretching *
I hope this gives you a better idea of how to incorporate your test data results into your program.
I will do the same for Cycling and Running later this week.
