Every year more and more swimmers are jumping into the open water scene. As it cools down up in the northern hemisphere here are a few tips to keep your passion for swimming ‘outside the lines’ going when it’s too cold to hit your favorite outdoor swim locale.
No wall swimming: Do sets of 100’s, 200’s or longer with no walls, execute the turns just past the flags or above the “T” on the bottom of the pool without touch the wall. One of the sets we do with our team involves going right shoulder turns at the far wall with left shoulder turns on the right.
Snake swims: Set up with a workout group all in one lane and work together as a team swimming up one side of the lane, back the other and over into the next lane.
Up and outs: open water swimming often involves numerous pace changes throughout a race. Up and outs are a good way to condition your cardiovascular system to adapt to the spikes in intensity. Practice sprinting down the pool and getting out then standing straight up before jumping in for the next lap. Of course be extra cautious when getting out of the pool and diving back in.
Big lane swimming: Take out every other lane line and do “box” swims. You can get very creative with this set up. This is a good configuration for doing team pursuit in the pool with evenly match teams. You can even drop buoys in the pool to mimic open water race conditions.
Get creative and try new ways to mimic open water swimming at your pool.
Do you have a favorite open water set that you do in the pool? Share it with us via email and maybe we’ll feature it in a future post.
Remember, just like in the open water, safety first.