Training the Swimming Energy systems

As triathletes were all familiar with the 5 training zones but in swimming, we like to make things more scientific and slightly more technical. This month I will be explaining the Swimming Energy systems with an easy-to-follow guide to help you put together your own swim session plan.

                             

A1 – Basic Endurance. This is your Warm up & Cool down set.

Swim this @ 60-70% effort and cover distances between 600m+ depending on your ability.

Energy source used in this zone: Fat.

 

A2 – Medium Aerobic. This is you Drills set. Swim this set @ 70-80% effort.

Use repeat distances of 25m to 200m+ depending on your ability.

*Top Tip* Ensure the drills that you’re doing are relevant to you and your stroke and that you understand the purpose of the drills you’re doing.

Rest times required: 5 to 30 secs.

Energy source used in this zone: Fat & Glycogen.

 

A3 – Threshold Endurance. This is to improve Aerobic Capacity without overstressing the swimmer.

Swim this set @ 80-90% effort. Use repeat distances of 50m to 400m depending on your ability.

Rest times should be 10 secs to 40 secs. Note: If your repeats are over 600m then more rest is required.

Energy source used in this zone: Glycogen.

 

A4 – Overload Endurance. High Intensity work to improve Aerobic Capacity, V02Max & Aerobic Power.

Swim this set @ 90-95% effort.

Use repeat distances 50m to 300m depending on your ability.

Rest times should be 30 secs to 2 mins.

Energy source used in this zone: Glycogen.

 

A5 – Lactate Tolerance. High Intensity work with medium rest / passive recovery. This type of training helps the swimmer to build and remove lactic acid. It is also called ‘buffering’.

Swim this set @ 95-98% effort. Use repeat distances of 25m to 150m but with a maximum total set distance of 1000m.

Rest times should be 1 to 5 mins.

Energy source used in this zone: Glycogen.

 

A6 – Lactate Production. This type of training Improves the swimmer’s ability to finish a race as fast as possible or in other words it will stop them from ‘blowing up’.

Lots of rest is required but NO passive recovery is allowed. Swim this set @ 95-98% effort. Use repeat distances of 25m to 100m but with a maximum total set distance of 800m.

Rest times should be 1 to 5 mins.

Energy source used in this zone: Glycogen.

 

Speed – This type of training is often confused in the swimming and triathlon world.

I often hear athletes talking about 50s or 100s ‘speed work’.

This is incorrect and speed training should be to a maximum of 25m repeats at a time. However, ideally speed set distances should be 10m to 15 metres with a maximum of 200m total set distance. Rest times should be 1 to 5 mins.

Energy source used in this zone: ATP-PCr / Glycogen.

 

 

If you’d like to learn more or have any questions, then drop Dave and his team a line at Heathwood swimming.