The best training for swimming is, of course, swimming -- but not just splashing across a backyard pool. Training for competitive swimming, for triathlons or just to improve fitness or lose weight requires workouts in the pool and on dry land. Water training will build endurance and cardiovascular strength, while dry land training with weights or resistance bands will increase strength to make strokes more powerful and effective.
Start Slowly
Start slowly. If you are just beginning swim training, master the four basic strokes -- freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke -- and swim short distances with each until you are comfortable with them. Swim laps with rest between them until you build enough endurance for longer workouts. Start even longer training with slow warm-up laps and finish with slow cool-down laps.
A Basic Drill
Warm up with four lengths, then flutter kick on your side for two lengths, one length on each side. Flutter kick with a kickboard with your head in the water, breathing to each side. Swim five laps at moderate to hard intensity, resting briefly between laps if necessary. Do two lengths at a leisurely pace. Swim four laps at moderate intensity without stopping. Swim four easy laps for cool down. That's 750 yards in all, which is a good workout.
Medley Drills
Another good drill is to warm up with freestyle and alternate with individual medley training, all four strokes in order. Start with backstroke, then breaststroke, then butterfly and finish with freestyle. Alternate moderate-intensity medleys with more intense stroking, with brief rests between medleys. Finish with a 100- or 200-yard freestyle and a 100-yard cool down.
Pulls and Kicks
Put a buoy between your ankle and swim laps using only arm strokes, breathing normally. Intensify this with fist pulls, using your arms with your hands closed instead of open. Vary this with fingertip pulls, dragging your fingers across the water as your arm recovers for the next stroke. Use a kickboard to kick laps, with freestyle flutter kick, breaststroke frog kick or butterfly dolphin kick. Intensify this drill by doing flutter kick laps without the kickboard, with arms extended in front, head in the water, pressing down into the water with your chest.
Vary Training
Vary your drills to avoid boredom. Swim long distances one day, short sprint intervals the next. Work in creative drills, like one-arm drills in which you pull with only one arm and alternate arms. Try a combination drill: Swim six strokes freestyle, roll to your back and swim six strokes, then roll back on your stomach and so on for a lap.
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