When I talk to new triathletes and runners one of the most heavily covered topics always seems to be swimming. With new triathletes it’s generally a fear or hesitation to perform a skill they have never truly attempted to master growing up. With runners it’s trying to find ways to improve their fitness without having to continually pound the body out on the roads and trails. But whichever group I talk to the conversation always comes down to a few things:

1) How often should I swim?

2) How far should I swim?

3) What can I do to break up the monotony of swimming lap after lap after lap?

I’ve been amazed to find that one of the primary reasons people avoid the pool is that they just don’t know any good workout sets and when they go they just end up swimming as many laps as they can, take a rest, repeat. In an attempt to help out some of the newer triathletes, runners, and anyone looking to add swimming to their life, I’ve compiled a small 1-month sample workout schedule based on the following answers to the above questions.

1) How often should I swim?

As described perfectly in Dave’s article “Triathlon Training: 3×3=Simple,” as a new triathlete you should be devoting a minimum of three workouts per week to each discipline. For swimming, I highly recommend 2 pool workouts and an open water swim.

For runner’s looking to add swimming to their weekly schedule for cross-training purposes, two days a week should suffice. As you become a better swimmer and stronger athlete you can always add extra pool sessions to your routine. Open water swimming can spice things up for you but obviously isn’t as necessary as it would be for a triathlete racing in the ocean, lake, etc.

2) How far should I swim?

If you are a triathlete looking to compete in a Sprint or Olympic distance race than your swim distances for each pool workout should build to the point where you are performing about twice the distance of the swim leg of your event prior to the race date. Your open water swim workouts should build the same way until you can comfortably swim twice the distance of your event. When you are standing on the water’s edge race morning, there is a huge mental edge knowing you have completed twice the distance in your training. Obviously, this wouldn’t necessarily pertain to Half- and Full-Ironman races but we are focusing on beginners here.

If you are going to be using swimming to cross-train for an upcoming running event, you should be looking to spend a minimum of 30-45 minutes in the pool each time you go. As you become a stronger swimmer you can add time/distance to this, but remember you are in the pool to enhance your fitness and improve your running. You are not there to max out your system and therefore decrease the quality of your next run.

3) What can I do to break up the monotony of swimming lap after lap after lap?

The best thing you can do is implement sets into your workouts: speed sets, drills, ladders. Then add pool toys like paddles, pull buoys, and kick boards to allow yourself to change your workout, keep things fresh, and work different muscle groups.

The following is a sample 1-month workout routine with some arbitrary distances. You can easily adjust the distances by shortening or lengthening the set or the distances within the set. Begin with a distance that you know you are comfortable with. Perform that distance for a period of 2-3 weeks and then begin building the distance gradually.

The specifics of how to build a periodization are way to in-depth to cover in this article. The sole purpose of this sample plan is to give you some ideas of ways to spice up your time in the pool.

Feel free to leave some suggestions below of ways you like to mix it up in the pool.