Top 5 Beginner Swimming Workouts for New Triathletes

beginner swimming workouts

Success is the best revenge, especially in someone proving their own body wrong.

Training for a new fitness goal is never easy. It’s a lot of time, frustration, grunts, and groans. Not only is someone training their body, they’re training their mind to overcome the painful obstacles.

Beginners at triathlons have a lot to train for, and it won’t be easy. Many of them are unfortunately lost and don’t know where to start.

Luckily for them, here’s a list of 5 beginner swimming workouts to help kick some butts into gear. Keep reading to get closer to a triathlon goal.

1. Switch It Up

Warm it up a little by floating for 2 minutes on the back. It may seem silly, but it’s just to get the body used to the water and focused on the moment.

After floating, breathe through the mouth and go underwater to exhale through the nose. Repeat this until the time reaches 2 minutes. This will get the inside fired up and ready to go.

Next, it’s time to swim. Start out by swimming 25 meters 4 times, resting on the wall after each rep.

(Note: Not knowing the dimensions of a standard pool is okay for beginners! They can study up the dimensions and dive back in.)

Take a quick break and grab a kickboard. With the kickboard in hand, kick 25 meters with it. Repeat this twice.

Now it’s time to get to get down to business. Swim 100 meters, two times. Try not to rest on the wall between reps.

After that, ditch the kickboard and kick for 25 meters, repeating it once more when done. It’s almost over!

Finish up with swimming 25 meters, 4 reps. Resting on the wall is okay for this.

2. Make It Burn

This one is a hefty order. Make sure a breathing pattern is down and the body is ready to go for this beginner swim workout.

Warm up by completing a 200-meter swim and then a 200-meter pull. Make sure in the pull to keep elbows high during the pull motion.

To start the main set off, freestyle swim 4 sets of 50 meters. Rest 10 seconds between each rep. Amp this up to 3 sets of 100 meters with 15-second rest in between.

Finish this chunk of the workout with 2 sets of 150 meters with 20-second rests in between the sets. Once that part is done, take a breather by swimming 200 meters at an easy pace.

The next chunk is going to require using a pull buoy. This is a piece of equipment used to strengthen power and endurance.

With the buoy, pull for 50 meters and repeat this 4 times. For the next few sets, decrease the number of reps by 1 but increase the distance by 50 meters.

For instance, pull for 100 meters next but only do 3 reps.

Stop once you pull for 200 meters. After that set, cool off with leisurely swimming 400 meters.

3. 400 Meters Is Nothing

Well, it’s definitely something, but nothing that can’t be accomplished.

With this swim workout for beginners, start with a warm-up consisting of swimming 4 reps of 25 meters, taking 10 seconds to breathe between each rep.

For the first part of the main set, grab a pull buoy. Swim with the pull buoy for 25 meters at a quick and steady pace. Repeat this one more time.

Next, ditch the buoy and swim 25 meters. Then swim 2 reps of 50 meters. Take a quick breather and swim another 25 meters.

Once this is all through, enter the cooldown time. For cool down, swim 2 reps of 25 meters at a much slower pace.

See, it was barely anything! Don’t forget that not only training keeps an individual powered and ready to go. A great diet and other healthy habits contribute to success as well.

4. Breathing Drill

This beginner swim workout isn’t necessarily for a major power boost, but it will help anyone in getting breathing under control and ready for any condition, especially a triathlon.

First, swim 25 meters at a steady pace breathing every 6th stroke. Now that the breathing warm-up is taken care of, switch to bilateral breathing for the next set.

For those who don’t know yet, bilateral breathing is breathing in both sides of the body while swimming. It’s not only being able to turn the head to the right and breathe, it’s also being able to switch and turn it to the left to breathe as well.

It’s beneficial for many reasons. It can keep someone from swimming at an angle because turning the head back and forth keeps a straighter line. Also, it keeps certain muscles from getting too tired too quickly.

Not only does it keep the body running better, but it also helps the swimmer gain a competitive edge. If a swimmer on the left of someone’s face is splashing, the swimmer can simply switch to the right and vice versa. It allows the swimmer to be more adaptable.

Going back to the workout, swim 50 meters using bilateral breathing, breathing every 5th stroke. Go back to regular breathing and swim 75 meters with a breath on every 4th stroke.

Lastly, hop back on the bilateral breathing train and swim 100 meters breathing every 3rd stroke. Cool off by leisurely swimming 100 meters.

5. Taper Workout

This is one of the best swim workouts for beginners if the beginner needs to build major speed.

Warm up by doing 8 reps of 25 meters. Breathe 10 seconds between each rep. Then switch it up by swimming 5 reps of 50 meters with 10 seconds rest in between.

For the main chunk of the workout, break up 100 meters. Start out with a fast 25 meters. After this, rest for 10 seconds and catch your breath.

Once the rest period is up, swim 50 meters at a quick pace and rest for another 10 seconds. Swim 25 meters, and then take a 1-minute break.

Repeat this 6 times and make sure to keep up a fast pace through it all. Cool down with an easy 200-meter swim.

Beginner Swimming Workouts Guaranteeing Success

This can all be a lot to take in, especially for a beginner. But with these beginner swimming workouts, everyone is guaranteed a victory. Combine these workouts with your other running and biking workouts, healthy eats, and sleep to reach full potential.

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