3 Swim Workouts For Beginner Triathletes

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Print off the workouts below or copy them onto a piece of paper that you can bring to the pool and affix to a kickboard (that you leave on the pool deck) for reference.

Workout 1

2 minutes floating on stomach and back
2 minutes exhaling underwater out of nose
4×25 swim (rest on each wall)
2×25 kick (with a kickboard)
2×100 swim (try not to rest on the walls)
2×25 kick (without a kickboard)
4×25 swim (rest on each wall)

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Workout 2

100 warm-up swim
4×75 as 25 kick/25 Fingertip Drag Drill (see right)/25 swim
100 with pull buoy
4×75 as 25 free/25 non-free/25 free
100 cool-down swim

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Workout 3

100 warm-up swim
4×25 Fingertip Drag Drill
4×25 Catch-Up Drill (see right)
4×25 kick without a board
200 swim (No Walls: turn at the “T” or before you get to the wall)
6×50 with a pull buoy
100 cool-down swim

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Drills

Fingertip Drag Drill: Swim regular freestyle. When your arm is out of the water (recovery phase) keep your elbow pointed toward the sky and your fingertips pointing down toward the water. Allow your fingertips (about 1/2 inch) to drag through the water from your hips all the way past your head.

Catch-Up Drill: Swim regular freestyle. As you take a stroke with your right arm, keep your left arm extended forward in the water. Complete the stroke with your right arm and after it enters the water above your head, tap your left hand. This signals the start of the stroke with your left arm. Keep your right arm extended forward in the water until the left stroke is completed and hands tap together.

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