The swim portion of an Olympic Distance Tri is 1.5K or about 1 mile and you find a set of swimming workouts for the entire program at the bottom of this page. They were designed for training in a 25 yard pool. If you are swimming in a 25 meter pool you can use the same workouts. For a 50 meter pool, there will be some changes. You are certainly not bound by these workouts so feel free to tweak them as you see fit. Please see the breakdown below:
When you read the swim workouts, you will notice that I did include yardage for stroke drills but did not specify the type of drill. If you are having difficulty with your stroke and you are without a swim coach.
The main set of each workout is based on repetitive swims with very little rest between each. Swim these relaxed. The idea is to build endurance while swimming aerobically, NOT fast. You will find your speed will begin to increase naturally.
You have your choice of workouts for each distance during your training. You may choose whichever workout you wish. For example, there are two workouts totaling 750 yards. Take your pick! I suggest not doing the same workout each time to break things up.
These workouts can be used with the Olympic Training Plan or the Half Ironman Training plan. If you’re getting started swimming, check out the our swimming equipment guide.
750 Yard Triathlon Workout #1 Warm-up (100 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim) – 200 yards 4 x 100 swim with 15 seconds rest in between – 400 yards 150 swim down real easy – 150 yards Total – 750 yards | 750 Yard Triathlon Workout #2 Warm-up (100 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim) – 200 yards 8 x 50 swim with 10 seconds rest in between – 400 yards 150 swim down real easy – 150 yards Total – 750 yards |
1,000 Yard Triathlon Workout #1 Warm-up (200 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim) – 300 yards 5 x 100 swim with 15 seconds rest in between – 500 yards 200 swim down real easy – 200 yards Total – 1000 yards | 1,000 Yard Triathlon Workout #2 Warm-up (200 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim) – 300 yards 10 x 50 swim with 10 seconds rest in between – 500 yards 200 swim down real easy – 200 yards Total – 1000 yards |
1,000 Yard Triathlon Workout #3 Warm-up (200 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim) – 300 yards 500 swim – 500 yards 200 swim down real easy – 200 yards Total – 1000 yards | 1,250 Yard Triathlon Workout #1 Warm-up (200 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim) – 300 yards 8 x 100 swim with 15 seconds rest in between – 800 yards 150 swim down real easy – 150 yards Total – 1250 yards |
1,250 Yard Triathlon Workout #2 Warm-up (200 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim) – 300 yards 16 x 50 swim with 10 seconds rest in between – 800 yards 150 swim down real easy – 150 yards Total – 1250 yards | 1,250 Yard Triathlon Workout #3 Warm-up (200 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim) – 300 yards 800 swim – 800 yards 150 swim down real easy – 150 yards Total – 1250 yards |
1,500 Yard Triathlon Workout #1 Warm-up (300 swim, 100 kick, 100 swim) – 500 yards 4 x 200 swim with 20 seconds rest in between – 800 yards 200 swim down real easy – 200 yards Total – 1500 yards | 1,500 Yard Triathlon Workout #2 Warm-up (300 swim, 100 kick, 100 swim) – 500 yards 16 x 50s swim with 10 seconds rest in between – 800 yards 200 swim down real easy – 200 yards Total – 1500 yards |
1,500 Yard Triathlon Workout #3 Warm-up (300 swim, 100 kick, 100 swim) – 500 yards 800 swim – 800 yards 200 swim down real easy – 200 yards Total – 1500 yards | 1,750 Yard Triathlon Workout #1 Warm-up (300 swim, 100 kick, 100 swim) – 500 yards 5 x 100s swim 15 seconds rest in between – 500 yards 10 x 50s kick 15 seconds rest in between – 500 yards 250 swim down real easy – 250 yards Total – 1750 yards |
1,750 Yard Triathlon Workout #2 Warm-up (300 swim, 100 kick, 100 swim) – 500 yards 1 x 100 swim with 15 seconds rest between each 2 x 50s kick 10 seconds rest between each Do this set 5 times – 1000 yards 250 swim down real easy – 250 yards Total – 1750 yards | 2000 Yard Triathlon Workout #1 Warm-up (200 swim, 50 kick, 50 swim) – 300 yards 500 swim, 400 pull, 300 kick, 200 swim, 100 pull – 1500 yards 200 swim down real easy – 200 yards Total – 2000 yards |
2250 Yard Triathlon Workout #1 Warm-up (300 swim, 100 kick, 100 swim) – 500 yards 1000 swim – 1000 yards 500 drill – 500 yards 250 swim down real easy – 250 yards Total – 2250 yards | 2500 Yard Triathlon Workout #1 Warm-up (500 swim, 200 kick, 100 swim) – 800 yards Stroke drill – 500 yards 10 x 100’s swim with 15 seconds between each – 1000 yards 200 swim down real easy – 200 yards Total – 2500 yards |
2500 Yard Triathlon Workout #2 Warm-up (500 swim, 200 kick, 100 swim) – 800 yards Stroke drills – 500 yards 5 x 200 swim with 20 seconds in between each – 1000 yards 200 swim down real easy – 200 yards Total – 2500 yards |
