15 Swimming Workouts for Every Type of Swimmer and Goal

Get in the swim of things with the best swimming workouts for every type of swimmer and goal.

Swimming is one of the best sports and forms of exercise on the planet. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced swimmer, the benefits of swimming are all the same.

Swimming, after all, is a full-body workout that engages multiple muscle groups. It’s an excellent pulmonary workout, strengthening the lungs. Swimming is also low-impact, excellent for reducing stress, and effective for weight loss.

But where do you start with swimming workouts in the pool?

How far should you swim, what strokes should you use, and how intense should you push the pace?

In this collection of swimming workouts, you’ll discover a wide range of options for everyone, from beginners to swimmers looking to improve speed and endurance to swimmers in the fast lane.

Let’s dive right in.

Swimming Workouts for Every Kind of Swimmer

The collection of swimming workouts includes:

• The Beginner-Friendly Swimming Workout (30-45 minutes)
• Beginner-Friendly HIIT Swimming Workout (30-45 minutes)
• The Ab-Blaster Swim Workout (45 minutes)
• The Maximum Efficiency Swim Workout (60 minutes)
• Swim Workout for Better Freestyle Stroke Technique (60 minutes)
• Swim Workout for Building Kick Endurance (45-60mins)
• Buoy-oh-Buoy: A Pulling Swim Workout for Upper Body Endurance (60 minutes)
• Learning Proper Pace – (45-60 minutes)
• A Swimming Workout for Building Endurance (60 minutes)
• The Full-Body Medley Workout (60 minutes)
• The Tabata Swim Workout (30 minutes)
• Uncorking Maximum Speed in the Pool (45-60 minutes)
• The Strength and Speed Sandwich Workout (60 minutes)
• The Power Hour (90 minutes)
• Advanced Enduro Swimming Workout (90-150 minutes)

Next, we’ll look at each swim workout in more detail, including key instructions and tips for getting the most out of your swims, so grab your favorite swim goggles and let’s get wet.

1. The Beginner-Friendly Swimming Workout (30-45 minutes)

With this beginner-friendly swim workout, we will get wet with some fundamentals, focus on swimming with great technique, add a little speed, and leave enough rest to return tomorrow.

• 6×50 swim to warm-up – alternate 25 freestyle and 25 choice stroke. Take 20-30 seconds rest between repetitions.
• 100 kick with a board
• 6×25 swim – alternate 25 fast and 25 smooth. Take 20-30 seconds rest between repetitions.
• 100 pull with a buoy
• 6×25 swim – alternate 25 fast and 25 smooth. Take 20-30 seconds rest between repetitions.
• 100 double arm backstroke easy to warm-down

The workout is not heavy on yardage and the intervals should give you enough time to collect most of your composure.

The primary goal of beginner and untrained swimmers is to get more time in the water instead of distance or speed.

Swimming is a highly sensory activity, and your goal should be the feel and movement of swimming.

Don’t worry: there will be plenty of time later to crank up the meters or yards!

2. Beginner-Friendly HIIT Swimming Workout (30-45 minutes)

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a form of training that balances intense effort with active or stationary rest.

And it’s an absolute beast for improving cardiovascular health, building VO2 max, and weight loss (Atakan et al., 2021).

It’s also, unsurprisingly, been found to be a more enjoyable form of exercise than long steady-state training (Thum et al., 2017).

Beginners and intermediate swimmers can use HIIT to get in shape in the pool without spending tons of time in the water.

Here’s a simple HIIT swim workout that is beginner-friendly but that can be adapted by swimmers of every level:

• 300 swim + 200 pull + 100 kick to warm-up
• 12×25 as 4 swim, 4 pull, 4 kick – descend each set of four to 90% effort. Take 20-30 seconds rest between repetitions.
• 20×25 freestyle swim FAST – Rest 30-40 seconds after each repetition.
• 100 swim easy

This type of swimming workout can easily be adjusted as you improve in the water. For example, a month or two from now, the 20x25s fast turns into 20x50s fast.

HIIT is a killer form of swim training that you don’t need to overthink, but you should also thoroughly warm up to reduce the risk of injury due to the maximal exertion required to make it work.

3. The Ab-Blaster Swim Workout (45 minutes)

Swimming is an excellent way to target the core and abs.

Optimal swimming technique requires an engaged core to balance in the water properly. A tight swimming streamline off the wall fires the core. And performing some specific kicking drills can really crank up the core engagement.

This swim workout is kick-centric and requires a set of swim fins (more experienced swimmers can get by without them if they choose) to maximize the core-centric nature of the swim workout.

It will also challenge you to streamline like a pro; a tight streamline recruits the core like crazy to keep a slim profile in the water and lock the arms over the head.

Here’s the swim workout for a stronger core:

• 400 swim mix strokes warm-up
• 8×25 push-off and streamline for distance. Get into the tightest streamline possible, push off, and see how far you can get without kicking. Swim the rest of the 25 once you come to a stop.
• 8×50 dolphin kick with swim fins. Position yourself on the back, arms at your side, and focus on undulating from the sternum down to the tips of your toes. Take 20 seconds of rest after each rep.
• 8×30 seconds on, 30 seconds off vertical kicking. Focus on kicking with equal force in both directions and maintain a rigid, straight spine.
• 200 swim warm-down

This workout is kick-focused, but the streamlining, dolphin kicking on the back, and vertical kicking are all about core engagement!

4. The Maximum Efficiency Swim Workout (60 minutes)

Fast swimmers are efficient swimmers.

When you look at elite athletes in the pool, whether it’s Michael Phelps, Caeleb Dressel, or Katie Ledecky, we can be forgiven for thinking it’s easy… because their world-class distance per stroke and efficiency make it appear easy.

Increased efficiency helps us swim through the water with less effort, conserve energy, and master the delicate balance between force and feel for the water.

While most of us will never swim in the waters of Olympic gold, you can strive for better efficiency in the pool by counting your strokes.

This swim workout encourages you to focus on maximum distance per stroke in the water without sacrificing speed.

• 400 swim choice warm-up
• 8×25 free swim – Count your strokes for each 25. For example, 15 strokes. Take 20 seconds of rest after each rep.
• 8×50 free swim – Count your strokes for each 50. Based on the example of 15 strokes per 25 above, we will double it to 30 strokes per 50. Take 30 seconds of rest after each rep.
• 8×75 free swim – Count your strokes for each 75, trying to maintain 15 strokes/per lap. Take 30 seconds of rest after each rep.
• 8×50 free swim fast – Speed things up without sacrificing the number of strokes. Aim for faster times with the same number of strokes. Take 30 seconds after each rep.
• 8×25 free swim ALL-OUT – Go as fast as possible while keeping as close as possible to the original stroke count of 15 strokes per lap.
• 200 swim easy

Counting your strokes in the pool is a great way to stay focused on swimming efficiently, keep you mentally engaged, and reduce the daydreaming and mind-wandering that can happen when swimming around the black line.

5. Swim Workout for Better Freestyle Stroke Technique (60 minutes)

Swimmers spend most of their time doing freestyle in the pool. Whether you are a medley specialist or a breaststroker, most of the swimming at the pool will be freestyle.

This means you should use excellent freestyle stroke technique whenever you hit the water.

This swim workout uses a collection of freestyle drills to increase your feel for the water and use a more efficient pull.

• 300 swim choice warm-up
• 8×50 freestyle alternating 25 freestyle with closed fists and 25 freestyle swim build – Take 25 seconds rest after each repetition.
• 100 easy
• 8×50 freestyle alternating 25 front scull (with arms extended in front of you, scull to increase feel for the water where you “catch” the water) and 25 freestyle swim build – Take 25 seconds rest after each repetition.
• 100 easy
• 8×50 freestyle alternating 25 super-slow-swimming drill (swim at half your regular pace, focusing on maintaining high hips and excellent body position) and 25 freestyle swim build – Take 25 seconds rest after each repetition.
• 100 easy

The various drills combined with build swimming will challenge you to swim with better technique at different speeds.

6. Swim Workout for Building Kick Endurance (50-60mins)

This swim workout is one of my favorites, a true “meat-and-potatoes” swim set for burning a ton of calories and building overall kick endurance.

The one-hour swim workout will challenge you to kick fast, and then use that same fast kick while swimming.

• 400 swim choice warm-up
• 4×25 free kick with a board – build to 95%. Take 25 seconds of rest after each rep.
• 10×100 freestyle as 50 kick with a kickboard fast, 50 swim maintaining the same kick intensity. Take 30 seconds rest after each repetition.
• 100 easy
• 10×75 freestyle as 25 kick with a board fast, 50 swim maintaining the same kick intensity. Take 30 seconds rest after each repetition.
• 200 easy

Alternating fast kick and swim is an excellent way to get the heart rate up and keep it there for extended periods in the pool.

Do this swim workout and variations of it often, and you’ll find that you can kick like a monster when swimming and close out your races with stronger legs.

7. Buoy-oh-Buoy: A Pulling Swim Workout for Upper Body Endurance (60 minutes)

Swim workouts with a pull focus, whether using a pull buoy, swim paddles, or some combination of these two swim aids, are a great way to isolate the upper body and develop more pulling strength.

Swimming with a pull buoy also teaches better body position in the water, as the added buoyancy raises the hips and helps swimmers reduce excess drag from dangling legs and low hips.

• 200 swim + 200 pull warm-up
• 8×50 freestyle with pull-buoy – build 2^nd 25 of each 50 to fast. Take 20 seconds of rest after each repetition.
• 4×100 freestyle with pull-buoy – build 2^nd 50 of each 100 to fast. Take 20 seconds of rest after each repetition.
• 2×200 freestyle with pull-buoy – build 2^nd 100 of each 200 to fast. Take 20 seconds of rest after each repetition.
• 100 easy
• 6×50 freestyle with pull-buoy and swim paddles – fast. Take 25 seconds of rest after each repetition.
• 3×100 freestyle with pull-buoy and swim paddles – fast. Take 30 seconds of rest.
• 1×200 freestyle with pull-buoy and swim paddles – fast.
• 2×100 swim (or pull with just a pull buoy) warm-down.

Note: Swim paddles are an excellent tool for developing upper body strength in the pool but should be sized appropriately–aim for a paddle about 25% larger than your hand–and should be introduced once swimmers have a firm grasp of proper swimming technique.

8. Learning Proper Pace – (45-60 minutes)

This swim workout helps teach swimmers how to learn pace in the water.

Pace is a crucial skill for swimmers to learn. After all:

• Start a race too fast, you spin your wheels, expend a ton of energy, and have difficulty closing.
• Start a race too slow, and you risk not giving yourself a chance to compete towards the end.

For this swim workout, you must have a goal pace in mind (average time per 100m, for example).

• 200 swim + 100 kick + 100 pull + 100 swim build to warm-up
• 3-5 rounds:
  • 50 swim at 70% effort – 30 seconds rest
  • 50 swim at 80% effort – 30 seconds rest
  • 50 swim at 90% effort – 30 seconds rest
  • Take extra 30 seconds rest
  • 100 swim at target goal pace
  • 50 easy
• 100 swim easy

The workout focuses on body movement in the water at various effort levels to help you grasp the sensation of race pace.

9. A Swimming Workout for Building Endurance (60-75 minutes)

One of the most common things I see in the pool is swimmers performing long, unbroken swim workouts.

While this may be a great way to mind-wander and unplug from life on the pool deck and beyond, swimmers tend to drift into slower speeds and sloppy technique the longer they swim.

Split up those longer swims into intervals with short rest to build swimming endurance. Your average velocity will increase, the small chunks of rest will encourage better technique, and you’ll get a better workout.

For example, a study published in the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology compared the performance of cyclists who did a 30-minute session on a bike versus cyclists who broke it up into two 15-minute “long” intervals.

See also: 7 Types of Interval Training Swim Workouts

The “long intervals” group produced significantly higher lactate and excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) levels.

• 300 swim choice + 100 kick + 100 choice drill to warm-up
• 6×50 freestyle swim descending 1-3, 4-6 – Take 20 seconds rest after each rep
• 30×100 freestyle swim at 70-80% effort – Choose an interval that gives you 20-25 seconds of rest after each repetition.
• 100 swim easy

The swimming workout is simple and to the point, helps you get a lot of quality yardage in the pool, and will help you develop epic swim endurance without the boredom of staring at the bottom of the pool for an hour straight.

10. The Full-Body Medley Workout (60 minutes)

One of the big benefits of swimming is that it’s truly a full-body form of exercise.

Unlike most forms of cardio or aerobic exercise, which are primarily leg-focused, swimming engages all major muscle groups simultaneously, including the legs, arms, back, core, and chest.

• Fun Fact: Swimming is awesome for strengthening the lungs. In a study comparing experienced swimmers and runners, swimmers exhibited significantly better lung function and more efficient air exchange (Sable et al., 2012).

This swimming workout takes advantage of the versatility available in the pool, running through all four swimming strokes to get you a truly full-body training session.

• 200 swim choice + 100 kick choice + 200 individual medley drill to warm-up
• 16×25 alternating drill and swim build to fast [4 butterfly, 4 backstroke, 4 breaststroke, 4 freestyle] – Take 20-25 seconds rest after each repetition.
• 8×100 alternating freestyle smooth and IM fast – Take 30 seconds rest after each repetition.
• 100 easy
• 8×50 alternating freestyle smooth and IM-order fast – Take 20-25 seconds rest after each repetition.
• 100 easy
• 200 IM swim fast!
• 100 easy

For more all-stroke swim sets, check out this article that includes a collection of swimming workouts for individual medley.

11. The Tabata Swim Workout (30 minutes)

Tabata is a high-intensity interval training protocol that alternates between 20 seconds of all-out effort and 10 seconds of rest for eight rounds.

Yup, that’s it! I know; it almost seems too good to be true.

The original study that evaluated the efficacy of Tabata, published in the Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, showed that this type of training improved VO2 max by 15% in just two months of training.

This type of swim workout is perfect for more experienced swimmers who want to crush a quick session in the pool.

Here’s a swim workout using Tabata:

• 400m swim choice stroke
• 8×25 swim with 20 seconds rest after each 25, build each 25 to 95% effort
• 50 easy recovery swim
• 8×25 swim all-out for 20 seconds. Take 10 seconds rest.
• 6×50 choice swim warm-down

There are two keys to making this type of training work:

1. The all-out efforts should be 20 seconds in length. This might mean doing the 25s on a kickboard or with a swim parachute to keep each repetition ~20 seconds of full effort.
2. And by full effort, we mean full effort! The original study had participants exercising at 170% of VO2 max when going maximum effort.

12. Uncorking Maximum Speed in the Pool (45-60 minutes)

This workout is perfect for intermediate and advanced swimmers who want to raise their top-end swim speed.

The name of the game when it comes to swim workouts for speed is adequate rest.

The maximal effort requires sufficient rest to recover enough to deliver top-end speeds.

• 200 swim + 200 kick + 100 choice drills to warm up.
• 8×25 kick alternating 25s of “no bubbles” smooth with fast at 80-85% effort – Take 30 seconds rest between repetitions.
• 8×25 swim alternating 25s of smooth with fast at 80-85% effort – Take 30 seconds rest between repetitions.
• 100 easy swim
• 8×25 kick with a kickboard ALL-OUT – Take 45-60 seconds rest between repetitions.
• 100 easy swim
• 8×25 swim ALL-OUT – Take 45-60 seconds rest between repetitions.
• 200 easy swim choice

Swimmers with a mind for speed should do this type of swimming workout in the pool regularly, 2-3x per week, to grow their top-end velocity.

13. The Strength and Speed Sandwich Workout (60 minutes)

Swimming isn’t a resistance training workout in the same sense that we think of lifting weights and other forms of resistance training.

But there are some fun ways you can do swim workouts to become a stronger swimmer.

Resistance tools like a swim parachute, DragSox, resistance tubing, or, for more advanced swim teams, power towers (or power racks), offer a way to increase swim-specific strength.

This advanced swim workout unleashes a stronger swimming stroke and kick.

See also: How to Get Faster at Swimming

To wrap things up, you will uncork 2x25s swim after shedding the resistance to hit top-end speeds.

Here’s the workout:

• 400 swim + 100 kick + 100 pull choice stroke warm-up
• 4×25 pull build to 95% effort – Take 20 seconds rest after each rep
• 4×25 kick build to 95% effort – Take 20 seconds rest after each rep
• 4×25 swim build to 95% effort – Take 30 seconds rest after each rep
• Extra two minutes rest
• 8×25 swim all out with medium to heavy resistance (swim parachute or DragSox), taking 90 seconds after each rep. The goal is maximum intensity!
• 6×25 kick with a board, all out, with medium to heavy resistance (swim parachute or DragSox), taking 90 seconds after each rep.
• 4×25 pull with a pull buoy, all out, with medium to heavy resistance (swim parachute or DragSox), taking 90 seconds after each rep.
• Extra minute rest
• 2×25 swim all out, taking 90 seconds rest between reps.
• 200 choice warm-down

Tip: Anytime you perform high-intensity swimming, you should warm up thoroughly before the main set. This should include a quick pool warm-up and dynamic stretches beforehand to increase the range of motion and promote blood flow.

14. The Power Hour (90 minutes)

The swimming workout takes swimmers through three velocities and sensory experiences of maximum effort swimming.

The first round uses light resistance (a small to medium swim parachute or a set of DragSox, for example).

The second round is pure swim (after dropping the resistance, you will feel incredible in the water).

The third round is swimming with fins for overspeed training (teaching your body to move through the water at race pace or faster speeds).

All in all, this swim workout is all about speed, awesome body position, and hitting new, unfelt velocities in the water:

• 400 swim – 300 kick – 200 pull – 100 build swim
• 6×25 swim as 15m ALL-OUT, 10m smooth on 50 seconds
• 100 easy
• 60×25 freestyle swim fast on a 60-second interval
  • 20 – with light resistance (swim parachute or DragSox)
  • 20 – swim
  • 20 – with swim fins
• 300 choice easy

Beginner and intermediate swimmers who want to get in on the fun can adjust the workout for lower duration and yardage:

• 30×25 freestyle with 40-50 seconds of rest between 25s
  • 10 pull fast
  • 10 swim fast
  • 10 kick fast

15. Advanced Enduro Swimming Workout (90-150 minutes)

This advanced distance swimming workout is high on yardage and requires you to be Johnny-on-the-Spot with split taking.

You’ll need to be able to see a pace clock from the starting end of the pool or a swim watch to check splits.

The swimming workout was lifted from former University of Florida Gators head coach Gregg Troy, who coached countless Olympians and swim stars, including Ryan Lochte, Elizabeth Beisel, and Caeleb Dressel.

The goal of the workout is to build epic swimming endurance, learn proper pacing, and how to close out an endurance race with focus and speed.

• 500 swim – 400 pull – 300 kick – 200 drill – 100 swim build to fast
• 3-5 rounds–
  • 500 swim — Note the split at the 400.
  • 400 swim — Note the split at the 300 and go faster than the 400 split from above.
  • 300 swim – Note the split at the 200 and go faster than the 300 split from above.
  • 200 swim — Note the split at 100 and go faster than the 200 split from above.
  • 5×100 swim – Go faster than the 100 split from above.
• 200 easy to warm-down

The main set can be increased or decreased to your ability, and when discussing the set with Troy, he noted that intervals are to be adjusted according to the swimmer.

That said, this is an endurance swim workout, so include enough rest to keep the heart rate up but enough to ensure that you are accomplishing the descending time goals.

Tips for Better Swimming Workouts

Here are some tips from my decades of swimming and coaching to help you get the most from your time in the water:

• Focus on technique: Swimmers are in a constant battle against the drag forces of the water. Focus on swimming with high hips to maintain a hydrodynamic profile in the water, maximize the distance of each stroke, and count your stroke cycles from lap to lap to stay focused on efficiency.
• Measure what matters: Swimmers all have different goals in the water. Whether it’s time spent in a specific heart rate zone, calories burned, target race pace times, or overall yardage, what gets measured gets focused on. There are plenty of tools to help you measure the good stuff, including waterproof fitness trackers, swim watches, swim goggles with heads-up displays, and a wide variety of swimming apps to help you stay on top of the important stuff in the water.
• Combine with core training: A strong core is essential to fast swimming in the water. The benefits of core training for swimmers are wide-ranging, including faster starts, turns, and increased distance per stroke. The right core exercises for swimmers will help beginners and even advanced swimmers stay balanced in the water, exert more power, and reduce the risk of injury.
• The more you swim, the better you’ll feel in the water: The more often you hit the water, the better you will develop that elusive “feel for the water,” which is that mythic but awesome-when-it-happens feeling of pulling more water than ever. Even experienced swimmers can notice how their hands suddenly slip through the water after only a few days away from the pool, so aim for frequency with swim workouts to improve feel.
• Break things up: Swimmers typically want to jump in and treat a workout like running or using a stationary bike. Crush 40 minutes or 15km and be done with it. But breaking up your swim into intervals and chunks will help ensure faster overall velocity, improve metabolic response, and encourage better swimming technique.

Wrapping Things Up

Longtime swimmers often struggle to describe their deep connection with the water. The pool serves as a sanctuary, a place to unwind, push limits, boost fitness, and, of course, swim faster.

These swimming workouts are flexible and adaptable to your skill level and goals.

By incorporating them into your training and consistently pushing your boundaries, you’ll not only enhance your swimming prowess and physical well-being but also reap the mental rewards of the sport.

Now, pick a swim workout or two, head down to the pool, and hit the water!

Disclaimer: Before kicking off a new swim workout regimen or engaging in vigorous exercise, it’s always wise to consult with a healthcare professional to ensure it’s the right fit for you.

ABOUT OLIVIER POIRIER-LEROY

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national-level swimmer, author, swim coach, and certified personal trainer. He’s the author of YourSwimBook, a ten-month logbook for competitive swimmers.

He’s also the author of the recently published mental training workbook for competitive swimmers, Conquer the Pool: The Swimmer’s Ultimate Guide to a High-Performance Mindset.

It combines sport psychology research, worksheets, anecdotes, and examples of Olympians past and present to give swimmers everything they need to conquer the mental side of the sport.

Ready to take your mindset to the next level in the pool?

Click here to learn more about Conquer the Pool.