Wednesday, 10th May 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

This is a tough session. The reps are short, but the effort is high and as you work through the recovery you get drops off. Some very easy 100s offer a reprieve between each block, but for the most part swimmers are working hard through this main set.

Friday, 12th May 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

For the warm up I focussed the drills on rotation in the stroke, using 6-3-6 drill to practice controlled rotation and balance and then finger drag drill to help encourage a controlled rotation and good recovery. The main set is a simple, steady ladder descending from an 800m rep. It’s a big session for those that stay for the full 90 minutes.

Wednesday, 3rd May 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

A new block of drills started last week focussed on the end of the stroke, making sure it finishes with a push. We used two simple drills – a finishing flick splashing water into the air and thumb-to-thigh to make sure we’re pushing back as far as we go. The main set itself was built around threshold over different distances .

Friday, 5th May 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

This session focussed on weaknesses I’d spotted in the stroke of some of my newer swimmers to the group. The emphasis is on body balance and rotation, keeping level in the water and balancing through the stroke. The main set used a series of 50s with hard efforts to start each block. Plenty of rest allowed to help keep the quality high.

Wednesday, 26th April 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

Wednesday’s monthly open water skills session worked a little on breathing as part of the warm up – a light practice making swimmers try breathing to both sides. A useful skill when in choppy waters where clear air may not be on your favoured side. The bulk of the session focussed on drafting, keeping a tight formation and floating starts.

Friday, 28th April 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

There’s a lot of pull in Friday’s session, but we varied where the pull buoy was used. The standard location, between the thighs, and also held at the ankles to put more emphasis on controlling body position in the water and holding a firm core. A long set for the 90 minute swimmers.

Wednesday, 12th April 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

Wednesday, 5th April 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

As usual for Wednesday, more work on the catch. We’re coming to the end of this phase now, not to say there’s not more work that could be done, but as the season progresses we’ll focus on other stroke elements. The main set is made up of relatively short reps 50s or 100s with a moderate amount of rest and, perhaps more importantly, a hard sprint in the middle with an easy length to recover.

Thursday, 6th April 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

The Thursday session is about as simple as they get. Some 200s to warm up with a few building 50s, then onto two or three 800m repeats. A big session for those staying for the full 90 minutes.

Wednesday, 29th March 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

Out first open water skills practice of the year. Some sighting, with head up front crawl to exaggerate the impact of lifting the head and reinforce the idea of keeping that movement controlled. Plenty of race starts to practice getting up to speed without a push off too.

Thursday, 30th March 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

A long set that put the emphasis on the arms. Regular pull buoy use mixed with placing it at the ankles to put more focus onto controlling the core and holding good body position.

Wednesday, 22nd April 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

Again I use the swim start drill, practicing the bending of the elbow, to lead into some doggy paddle with the aim of transferring some of the skills over and then on to the full stroke itself. Backed up with some fist drill to keep emphasising the need to use the forearms too. The main set is built around 200s with bursts of speed scattered over the session.

Thursday, 23rd April 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

A very simple warm up with a couple of drills to work on a mix of balance in the water and rotation. the progression from 6-1-6 to 6-3-6 is a fairly standard package that focuses on both these elements. The main set was made up of blocks of 100s with a step up in pace as each block progresses. This wasn’t too intense a version of the routine, we’ll step up to that later.

Wednesday, 15th March 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

More practice of the stroke start drill to help develop a higher elbow and stronger catch. It’s proving an effective drill and often leads to better doggy paddle after it. The main set this week was a block of threshold swimming with increasing rest to help maintain pace.

Thursday, 16th March 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

A small amount of recovery drills to start the session, but a short warm up overall so we could focus on the long, steady main set. A very large pyramid peaking with an 800m rep.

Wednesday, 1st March 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

A new drill for the group, I’ve called it stroke start, although it may have a better name among other coaches. This drill is about the very beginning of the catch, just the very first motion – bending at the elbow, nothing more. Swimmers kick on their front with both arms ahead of them, as they kick they alternate arms simply initiating a bend at the elbow before returning to a straight position. This video, does a much better job of explaining it: Freestyle – Simple Catch Practice – GoSwim

Thursday, 2nd March 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

Thursday’s warm up was very similar to recent Wednesday sessions – front scull and doggy paddle. After that it was the simplest of endurance sets – long repeats. 600s this session, we’ll build on that in coming months.

Wednesday, 22nd February 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

Wednesday continues it’s focus on catch development through sculling, doggy paddle and fist drill. The main set mixes pull with lots of short sprints on plenty of rest.

Thursday, 23rd February 2017 – Triathlon Swim Session

Thursday’s session also worked on the catch this week – more doggy paddle and fist drill. The main set is long, but consists only of 50s with a mix of hard and easy efforts over the 2,000m.