Novice Training Plan

 As a new, novice swimmer, there is a simple truth that you must come to terms with – Technique trumps everything else.  You can get in the water and swim lap upon endless lap, but if your technique is flawed, you are wasting your time.  Once you accept that fundamental truth you will have taken the first step towards becoming a successful swimmer!

 Before you start this novice program you should be able to swim at least one lap without stopping.  I encourage any new swimmer to master the fundamentals so even if you can swim a couple of laps, I strongly suggest you read the ‘Fundamentals of Freestyle’ article found in the stroke technique section.  If swimming a couple of laps is a challenge, then the article will help you to acquire the skill necessary to begin a novice swimming program.  Really, it will only take a few days at most to go through all of the drills in the article; your swimming career will thank you for it!

 If one or two of the drills in the ‘Fundamentals of Freestyle’ article cause you to feel a bit silly, consider this, you are embarking on a triathlon journey that will eventually include running in public wearing spandex – you may as well get use to the feeling!

 Great!  Now that you understand the basics of swimming, we can begin to build upon that foundation.  As I said earlier, technique trumps everything in swimming.  It is important to learn and to train with proper technique.  I encourage you to read ALL of the stroke technique articles found here on the website.

 TIP – During EVERY rest period in each of the following workouts you should be thinking about PERFECT technique.  Review in your mind all the various tips you have heard.   Periodically review the stroke technique articles here on the website and revisit ‘Mr. Smooth’ each week just to confirm proper technique in your mind.

 The workouts below assume a short-course 25-yard pool.  If you are using a long-course 50-meter pool, use the same total workouts and rest periods then adjust the repetitions accordingly.

 Week 1 – 3 workouts, 400 yards each workout

 16 x 25 @ 60 seconds rest between repetitions

 YOU ARE NOT CONCERNED WITH PACE AT ALL.  The ENTIRE focus of these workouts is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT STROKE TECHNIQUE.  If you fatigue to the point that your technique breaks down, take an extra minute of rest.  If that does not improve the technique, get out of the water, go home, and try again next time.  This is important – when you have gone 400 yards, get out of the water and go home!  Don’t try and add yards, you will defeat the whole purpose which is to commit perfect technique to muscle memory.

 TIP – Pacing is truly not important at this stage of your swimming career.  Your maximum pace through Week-6 should allow you to converse in a normal manner at the end of each repetition (don’t worry, we will tell you when to pick it up).  If you are gasping for breath you are going to fast – SLOW DOWN!

 Week 2 – 3 workouts, 400 yards each workout

 16 x 25 @ 45 seconds rest between repetitions

 Everything else applies exactly as ‘Week 1.’  Make sure that you are breathing to both sides (bi-lateral breathing).

 Remember technique!

 Week 3 – 3 workouts, 600 yards each workout

 4 x 25 easy warm-up @ 60 sec RI (rest interval)

 4 x 25-50-25 ladder @ 60 sec RI (between each individual distance, i.e. 25 then rest, 50 then rest, etc.)

 4 x 25 cool down @ 60 sec RI

 The same thing applies here as all the previous workouts.  If you fatigue to the point your technique begins to break down, take an extra 60 seconds rest.  If that does not improve the technique, get out of the water, go home and try again next time.

 I CAN NOT overstate this – if you are continuing to swim after your technique breaks down, you are doing yourself a disservice!

 TIP – If you can get with a coach, even for a session or two, this would be the time to do so!  There is no replacement for a coach on deck.

 Week 4 – 3 workouts, 600 yards each workout

 4 x 25 easy warm-up @ 45 sec RI (rest interval)

 4 x [25-50-25 ladder] @ 45 sec RI (between each rep., i.e. 25 then rest, 50 then rest, etc.)

 4 x 25 cool down @ 45 sec RI

Note the rest intervals have changed!

 Remember to focus on perfect technique and keep your pace slow and easy.

 Week 5 – 3 workouts, 800 yards each workout

 4 x 25 easy @ 30 sec RI

 4 x [25-50-75 ladder] @ 45 sec RI

 100 easy cool down

 This is a milestone week!  At the conclusion of the first workout in week 5 you will have gone further in one workout than the distance in a sprint triathlon swim – You’re getting there!

 TIP – As your workout distance increases and your repetitions lengthen it becomes increasingly important to focus on technique.  Strive for perfect stroke mechanics as you fatigue.

Week 6 – 3 workouts, 800 yards each workout

 2 x 50 easy @ 60 sec RI

 6 x 100 @ 60 sec RI

 2 x 50 cool down

 This will be the first week of true endurance training.  The goal is to build to at least 1.5-2.0 times the race swim distance in any given workout (750 yards swim distance, workout goal 1,125 – 1,500 yards).

 TIP – The goal at this stage of your swimming career is to commit perfect stroke technique to muscle memory, building base fitness is secondary.

If your stroke technique begins to break down, take an extra 1:00 minute rest.  If that does not restore your technique to proper form, take an additional 5:00 minute rest break.  If that still does not restore technique to proper form, get out of the water, go home, and try again next workout; if you need to get out of the water, repeat all of the current week workouts next week – not as punishment, rather to make sure you are progressing properly.  If five minutes of rest does not restore your stroke this far into this training plan then there is likely a bit of a fitness issue.  Repeating the week will help build more fitness.

 Week 7– 3 workouts, 1,000 yards each workout

This is the first week in which the workouts are different on different days.  Note the rest interval is reduced in each workout and the pace is a bit faster.

 To this point, we have been working on building an aerobic base – the primary energy pathway for endurance swimming.  This week, by stepping up the training pace just a bit and beginning to lower rest intervals, we are going to begin to work on raising your swim threshold pace.

 We use four general descriptions for pace: easy, strong, hard, fast.  Easy is exactly what it says, an easy pace, fast is an all-out effort.  Strong is faster than easy but a bit slower than hard.  Hard is slower than all-out but faster than strong.  Using rate of perceived exertion – RPE – to attempt to quantify the paces:

 Easy – 4/5

 Strong – 6/7

 Hard – 8/9

 Fast – 10

TIP – When given pacing instructions, it is important to maintain the same pace across all the repetitions in the set.  Try not to go out to fast and then slow at the end.

Week 8 – 3 workouts, 1,200 yards each workout

Remember!  If your stroke technique begins to break down, take an extra 1:00 minute rest.  If that does not restore your technique to proper form, take an additional 5:00 minute rest break.  If that still does not restore technique to proper form, get out of the water, go home, and try again next workout; if you need to go home, repeat all of the current week workouts next week.

TIP – As you fatigue, focus on maintaining proper stroke technique and holding a steady pace.  Both will be increasingly difficult to do as you get deeper into the set.

 Week 9 – 3 workouts, 1,400 yards each workout

Before every workout you should visualize proper technique in your mind.  Then take your mind’s eye to the water.  Once a week it is a good idea to review the technique articles here on the website and visit “Mr. Smooth” at www.swimsmooth.com.

 Week 10 – 3 workouts, 1,600 yards each workout

To put the current training volume into perspective – to properly prepare for a Sprint Triathlon 750 meter swim you should be swimming roughly 1,500 yards/meters per workout.  This week puts you at that volume!  For a full Ironman 2.4-mile swim, you would need a minimum of 8,000 yards/meters per workout, at least 3, preferably 4, and ideally five times per week.

 Week 11 – 4 workouts, 1,600 yards per workout

As you can see, there are four workouts this week.  Each workout includes a bit of extensive endurance training that continues to build your aerobic base, and also includes an intermediate endurance set that works on raising your swim threshold pace.

Many age-group triathletes under prepare for the swim.  They say, “The swim is only about 10% of the race, why should I spend as much time swim training as I do cycling and running?”  While it is true that the swim comprises only a small portion of a triathlon and you cannot win a triathlon in the swim, it is also true that you can lose a triathlon in the swim.  Consider this; you don’t build an adequate swimming aerobic base.  On race day, the horn goes off and you get caught up in the moment.  Suddenly you are swimming well above your swim threshold pace (the one that you didn’t properly develop), you’re swimming anaerobically, and your heart rate goes to high zone 4 maybe into zone 5 – that is a bad place to be for an endurance athlete.  You come out of the water, your heart rate is 30 beats per minute above the highest level it has EVER been when you were on your bike, and your day is already done.  Oh sure,  you may finish, but you left any chance for a strong result back in the water.  On the other hand, if you had prepared for the swim properly, you would have been aerobic for the entire swim.  You would have come out of the water with your heart rate solidly in zone high zone 2 maybe tickling zone 3.  You would have reserve energy to take to the bike.

 There aren’t any shortcuts!

 Week 12 – 4 workouts, 2,000 yards each workout

This is the final week of the Novice plan.  Here is the really cool thing – You are no longer a novice swimmer!  At the end of the week, you will have a sufficient fitness base that you can go into either a Sprint or Olympic base plan.

  TIP – Give yourself a pat on the back.  Congratulations and job well done!

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