All triathlons are races, and so it always comes down to speed, even in the longest races. You have to speed to compete successfully.
And while endurance training is rightfully the emphasis of most training programmes, some triathletes forget about speed altogether. Skill is also key, particularly learning to create more length with each stroke – but that gets overlooked, too.
So I’m going to show you one simple strategy that you can start implementing today that will improve both your speed and your stroke length, and it doesn’t require much time or any special equipment or expertise.
Stroke count sprints
Here’s what you do. Swim 25m at normal relaxed effort and count your strokes. Then, perform another 25m as fast as you can.
However, you have to take the same number of strokes. If you took 20 strokes on your smooth 25m, take 20 strokes on your fast 25m.
Then perform 3-5 more sprints while continuing to control your stroke count. The benefit is that it requires you to stay long and swim fast. You’re working on two key skills, speed and stroke length, both of which are critical for long-term progress.
Take about twice as much rest as you spend time swimming. If you’re really pushing yourself, you can even take up to three times as much rest.
If the sprint took 20secs, take 40-60secs rest. If it took 30secs, take 60-90secs rest. You can perform more repetitions if you have the time and energy, but it’s not necessary. It’s about quality, practising length and speed, rather than quantity.
Turn it up
Once you get comfortable performing sprints with stroke counts, you can start changing the stroke counts. You can perform sprints with a stroke or two more, or you can perform sprints with a stroke or two less.
When you take more strokes, you want to go faster. When you take less strokes, try to keep as much speed as you can, even though you’re taking fewer strokes.
The goal is to swim as fast as possible while staying as long as possible in all situations. Variability can really improve your learning. That’s what’s going to build your speed and skill over time.
Be consistent
It doesn’t take a lot of work to make big progress here. Just like with your endurance work, it’s about consistency.
One workout isn’t going to isn’t going to transform your fitness. It takes a series of workouts performed over time that makes the difference.
Performing some stroke count speed work 1-2 x for 10mins can really add up over time. Sooner than later, you’ll have the speed and skill to match your endurance.
Top image credit: Remy Whiting
