5 Awesome Swim Workouts for Triathletes

When it comes to triathlon, the swim portion is what typically scares most athletes. There’s no need to worry though – with some strategic swim training, you’ll be zipping right along in the water at your race. Today, I’ve asked the coaches over at Multisport Mastery to share some swim workouts for triathletes – and they’ve been kind enough to share a five new ones for you to try!

These workouts are broken down by the race distance you’re training for, so you’ll find the perfect workout for you whether you’re training for a sprint or an Ironman. For each, you’ll find a warm up, a main set, and a cool down.

With these swim workouts for triathletes, the warm up serves two purposes. The first is pretty obvious – it gets your muscles working and ready to take on the faster paced swimming in the main set. But the second reason is important too – you’ll do some drills and focus work to help you refine your form.

Enjoy these workouts – if you try them, be sure to let me know what you thought in the comments! And of course, pin for later so you have this to refer to anytime. 🙂

5 Swim Workouts for Triathletes

1. Swim Workout for the Sprint-Distance Triathlete (1500):

Warm-up:

100 Easy Free
4X50 as Drill/Easy Free; Rest: 15 seconds
50 Pull
50 Kick
4X50 as Build/Fast; Rest: 15 seconds

Main Set:

25 Fast; Rest: 5 seconds
50 as Build/Fast; Rest: 10 seconds
50 Pull; Rest: 10 seconds
75 as 50 Fast/25 Easy; Rest: 15 seconds
100 Fast; Rest: 20 seconds
100 Pull; Rest: 20 seconds
100 Fast; Rest: 20 seconds
75 as 50 Fast/25 Easy; Rest: 15 seconds
50 as Build/Fast; Rest: 10 seconds
50 Pull; Rest: 10 seconds
25 Fast; Rest: 5 seconds

Cool-down:

200 as 75 Easy Free/25 Backstroke or Breaststroke

2. Swim Workout for the Olympic-Distance Triathlete (2500):

Warm-up:

200 Easy Free
4X50 as Drill/Easy Free; Rest: 15 seconds
100 Pull
100 Kick
4X50 as Build/Fast; Rest: 15 seconds

Main Set:

2X200 as 75 Fast/25 Easy; Rest: 30 seconds
4X150 as 50 Fast/25 Easy; Rest: 20 seconds
4X100 Fast; Rest: 15 seconds
2X50 Fast; Rest: 10 seconds
4X25 Fast; Rest: 5 seconds

Cool-down:

100 as 75 Easy Free/25 Backstroke or Breaststroke

3. Swim Workout for the 70.3-Distance Triathlete (3500):

Warm-up:

200 Easy Free
4X50 as Drill/Easy Free; Rest: 15 seconds
200 Pull
200 Kick
4X50 as Build/Fast; Rest: 15 seconds

Main Set:

500 Pull as 25 fast/25 easy/50 fast/50 easy/75 fast/75 easy/100 fast/100 easy; Rest: 1 minute
5X100; Odds-Fast; Evens-Easy; Rest: 20 seconds
2X250 Pull as 75 steady/100 fast/75 stead; Rest: 30 seconds
5X100 Fast; Rest: 20 seconds
2X125 Pull as 50 steady/50 fast/25 easy; Rest: 30 seconds

Cool-down:

250 Easy Free

4. Swim Workout for the Iron-Distance Triathlete (4500):

Warm-up:

400 with every 4^th length backstroke or breaststroke
8X50 as Drill/Easy Free; Rest: 15 seconds
100 Pull
100 Kick

Main Set:

1000 at IM pace; Rest: 1 minute, 30 seconds
50 Pull, breathe every 9 strokes; R: 15 seconds
800 as 25 fast/150 IM pace/25 easy; Rest: 1 minute
50 Pull, breathe every 7 strokes; Rest: 15 seconds
600 as 50 fast/150 IM/50 fast/50 easy; Rest: 45 seconds
50 Pull, breathe every 5 strokes; Rest: 15 seconds
400 as 75 fast/100 IM/25 easy; Rest: 30 seconds
50 Pull, breathe every 3 strokes; Rest: 15 seconds
200 as 100 fast/100 IM; Rest: 20 seconds
50 Pull, breathe weak side only; Rest: 15 seconds
100 Fast
50 Pull, breathe bilaterally; Rest: 15 seconds

Cool-down:

100 Easy Free

5. Open Water Swim Workout for Every Triathlete:

Warm-up:

5-10 minutes Easy, sight every 7-10 strokes

Main Set:

Beach Start to 1-minute Fast/2 minutes Easy (Repeat 3-6 times)
Deep-water Start to 1-minute Fast/2 minutes Easy (Repeat 2-4 times)
60 seconds fast/3 minutes steady/60 seconds easy (Repeat 3-6 times)

Cool-down:

5-10 minutes Easy, sight every 7-10 strokes

Download a printable PDF version of these swim workouts right here!

About the Authors: Multisport Mastery specializes in individualized performance plans for multisport athletes of all abilities. Whether your goal is to run a marathon, compete in a triathlon, ride in a week-long cycling event or finish an Ironman, we offer customized coaching to bring out the best in each athlete no matter who you are or where you want to go.

Share: Are you training for any triathlons right now – and if so, which ones?! Is the swim your favorite or least favorite part of the race? What did you think of these swim workouts for triathletes?

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Chrissy Carroll

Chrissy Carroll is a Registered Dietitian and USAT Level I Triathlon Coach. She specializes in sharing nutrition and fitness tips, as well as recipes, for runners, triathletes, and active women.Chrissy holds a Bachelor's Degree in Nutrition, a Masters Degree in Public Health, and is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer.