Intermediate Swim Session: Building Speed, Efficiency, and Endurance

Why This Workout Matters

This Intermediate Swim session is designed to refine your technique, build endurance, and improve your speed. We will focus on kick variations, streamlining, breath control, and race-pace swimming to develop a well-rounded stroke. The drills emphasize proper body positioning, strong kicking fundamentals, and efficient breathing mechanics to help you move through the water faster and more efficiently.

By the end of today’s session, you will have:

• Improved kick control across multiple strokes
• Mastered transitions and rotations with corkscrew flips
• Enhanced propulsion and efficiency with fingertip and side kick drills
• Pushed race pace effort with a full 100-yard sprint

Warmup: Preparing the Body for High-Intensity Swimming

Warmups are crucial in swimming as they increase blood flow, activate muscle memory, and prepare your breathing rhythm for the main set. This warmup combines kick drills, freestyle strokes, rotational techniques, and deep-water entry practice.

Warmup Routine:
✅ 3 × 50 Kick (Freestyle, Backstroke, Dolphin Kick) – Focus on a strong, consistent kick and maintain a streamlined body position.
✅ 2 × 50 Free Dolphin – Use a dolphin motion throughout freestyle, keeping the body fluid while maintaining speed.
✅ 2 × 50 Free + Corkscrew Flips (every 25 yards) – This drill teaches efficient rotation for freestyle and backstroke while improving breath control.
✅ 2 × 50 Dolphin Dive – Focus on underwater efficiency and controlled depth changes to mimic racing starts and turns.

Pre-Set: Developing Explosive Speed and Kick Efficiency

The pre-set is short and intense, getting your muscles primed for maximum effort. The goal is to execute a fast sprint with enough recovery to maintain quality technique.

Pre-Set Routine:
🔥 6 × 25 FAST on 75s (Free Dolphin, Free Flutter, Backstroke – Rotate Each Interval)

• First two reps: Dolphin kicking freestyle for powerful hip-driven propulsion.
• Middle two reps: Freestyle flutter kick to develop leg endurance.
• Last two reps: Backstroke kick, keeping hips high and using strong, continuous motion.

Drill Set: Technique Refinement for Stroke Efficiency

Drills help fine-tune your body mechanics to maximize your speed and endurance with less effort. These two drills develop balance, body position, and a strong catch.

Drill Set Routine (Repeat 2x):
✅ 100 Side Kick – Head down, one arm extended, controlled breathing. Enhances balance, streamlining, and breath control.
✅ 100 Fingertip Drag Drill – Lightly drag fingertips across the water during recovery. Improves a high elbow position for a more efficient freestyle stroke.

Main Set: Race-Pace Execution

The main set is where you push your limits. After the technical work, it’s time to execute a full-effort swim, simulating a sprint race effort.

🏁 100 Free FAST – All Out

• Full-speed effort, maintaining technique and controlled breathing.
• Focus on stroke count, even pacing, and a powerful finish.

Summary of Today’s Workout

• Warmup:

  • 3 × 50 Kick (Free, Back, Dolphin)
  • 2 × 50 Free Dolphin
  • 2 × 50 Free + Corkscrew Flips (each 25 yards)
  • 2 × 50 Dolphin Dive

• Pre-Set:

  • 6 × 25 FAST on 75s (Rotating Free Dolphin, Free Flutter, Backstroke)

• Drill Set: (Repeat Set Twice)

  • 100 Side Kick
  • 100 Fingertip Drag Drill

• Main Set:

  • 100 Free FAST – All Out

Additional Learning Resources

For deeper insights into swimming mechanics, hydration strategies, and endurance training, check out these articles:

📌 Smarter Hydration for Endurance Athletes
📌 How to Write an Effective Training Summary
📌 Learn to Swim Session 3: Mastering Sculling, Floating, and Breath Control

After-Workout Reflection:

Think about how today’s drills affected your efficiency in the water. Were you able to stay streamlined through the dolphin dive? Did the fingertip drag drill improve your arm recovery? Small improvements in technique add up over time, making you a stronger, faster swimmer!

Next Steps:

This workout lays the foundation for faster freestyle technique. Continue practicing these drills in warmups and focus on explosive, efficient stroke mechanics in every swim session.

Tags for Intermediate Swimming Drill Workout

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