Designing a swimming exercise plan requires that you understand your goal for the workout and the fitness level of the swimmers involved. When you're in the water, you can swim for endurance, technique refinement or simply to provide variety to your overall exercise plan. Pay attention to fatigue and how your swimmers respond. If you have a big meet that night, don't plan a tough workout or your swimmers will be too tired. Conversely, if the big meet is weeks away, intensify the workout to ensure your swimmers are ready to taper---rest and minimize their workout---in preparation for the big day.
Step 1
Include a warm-up. Regardless of the level of swimmer, you need to swim a few laps to start your swim exercise plan. Warm-ups not only allow your body to get used to being in the water, they also loosen your joints and stretch your muscles. In addition, they give you a chance to ensure that your goggles, cap and suit are all working properly.
Step 2
Break each section into repeated sets. A set is a series of laps for a defined distance. For example, a four by 100 is four sets of 100 meters or yards, typically four laps. Breaking workouts into sets allows you to control a large group by keeping the swimmers running through the set. In addition, it breaks up the monotony of simply swimming endless laps.
Step 3
Include a technique focus. With every workout, determine in advance which stroke will be the stroke of the day, and use drills that break that stroke down into its component parts for a portion of the workout. For example, if you're focusing on breaststroke, you can include both kick and overall stroke drills. A kick drill allows swimmers to focus on the whip motion of the breaststroke kick while using a kickboard. An overall stroke drill---such as 1-2-3 glide, where a swimmer glides for three counts after a full stroke before repeating---allows swimmers to enhance their glide, a key part of the breaststroke.
Step 4
Include fitness drills. For example, a descending set challenges swimmers to maintain a steady time throughout a set, while also practicing their sprinting. In a descending set, swimmers complete up to four laps, increasing their speed with every lap. As the swimmers get to each new set, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain their overall set time. This type of set increases aerobic capacity.
Step 5
Use water tools. To alleviate any monotony, as well as improve stroke technique, use pull buoys, fins, paddles and kickboards. Swimming doesn't have to be lap after lap, as even with a variety of strokes this can be boring. Instead, mix up the technique sets by adding some fin, pull buoy and paddle work. Add fitness drills that include sprinting laps of kicking to add variety and still meet the workout goal.
Step 6
Include a cooldown in every workout. Swimmers need to bring their heart rates back to normal before exiting the pool to avoid injury and for overall safety. A cooldown is typically five to 10 laps of easy freestyle that allow the swimmer to slowly recover from the exertion of the workout. The Mayo Clinic says that cooldowns also minimize muscle stiffness and should be part of every aerobic workout.
Member Comments