Best Beginner Swim Workout

Just like every other sport or activity, the best way of becoming a better swimmer is to practice constantly over a long period of time. After a new technique or skill is taught, swimmers must practice what they learned until it becomes second nature. The goal is to get swimmers to not have to think about swimming correctly, so that all of their attention and energy can be used towards efficiency in the water. Since swimming requires a large amount of aerobic training, swimmers with different skill levels usually participate in different workouts. As a swimmer progresses as an athlete, their workouts will also be modified according to their skill level.

In this article, I will go over an easy swim workout that most beginner swimmers should be able to do to begin to form a strong swimming base. When going through each swim set during a workout/practice, I believe it is important to understand why we are doing the things we are doing and how they will benefit us in the long run. It is also important to understand that not every beginner will be at the same level and that is perfectly fine. Some people will be able perform workouts better than others, but that does not mean that everybody can’t improve from practicing over a longer period of time.

Swim Warm up

Warming up is something every swimmer of every level should for more reasons other than injury prevention, which is already a good enough reason for everyone to warm up correctly. Warming up gets swimmers ready for the more intense main sets coming up later in the workout by loosening up muscles, increasing heart rate, and getting used to the water temperature. One of the hardest parts about workouts for some people is actually getting inside the pool because of the lower water temperatures. Once a warm up is completed properly, swimmers should no longer feel cold in the water.

Beginner Swim Workout Plan:

Here is an example 30 minute swim workout for beginners...

200 EASY yard freestyle

Emphasis on the “easy”. Freestyle is the most essential stroke in swimming and warm up is not an exception. This will help loosen up a swimmer’s arms and legs while slightly increasing the heart rate. Swimmers should not push themselves too hard on this 300 as it could potentially lead to injury.

4x50 yards Kicking

Swimmers can choose to use a kickboard or kick on their backs (in a tight streamline position). Swimmers can also choose what kind of kick they would like to do based off of what they are currently working on improving. These 50s will help a swimmer single out and activate the leg muscles without having to worry about arm movement. The interval of these 50s should depend on a swimmer’s speed.

4x50 yards Pull Freestyle

Swimmers can choose whether they would like to use paddles on their hands or not, but unfortunately a pull buoy is necessary for this. Much like the kick set, this set allows swimmers to single out and activate the arm and shoulder muscles without having to worry about leg movement. The buoy also serves to hold the legs up, so that swimmers can also perfect body position within the water. If swimmers decide to use paddles, I advise not to any of the strokes other than freestyle to prevent shoulder injuries. The interval of these 50s should depend on a swimmer’s speed.

2x 100 yards IM

“IM” stands for individual medley, which means that swimmers will go through all four strokes in a specific order (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle). Warming up strokes other than freestyle is important because each stroke works different muscles that may not be warmed up from doing just freestyle. It is okay for swimmers to push themselves a little harder on these two 100s to slightly increase their heart rate. Make sure to work on proper swimming technique and take as much time as you need between both 100s.

Main Set

The main set is usually the most physically intense part of the workout. After completing the warm up, swimmers should feel ready to begin. Swimmers should take a few minutes to drink water or fill up their water bottles to have within reach during the main set.

An example of a main swim set for beginners that includes aerobic training, speed training, and uses all 4 strokes is:

*Intervals can be adjusted if needed*

4x 50 yards Freestyle descending on 2:00 interval

The main set begins with 4x50s freestyle in descending order. This means that swimmers should gradually improve (time-wise) every 50 that they swim. Descending is one of the biggest strategies that swimmers of all levels use in order to conserve energy, so practicing it during a workout is a great idea.

4x 50 yards IM order on 2:15 interval

The main set continues with 4x50s in IM order. This section of the main set is useful because it teaches swimmers to handle the transition between different strokes while being somewhat fatigued. The goal of this section should be to make the intervals while practicing things like underwaters, walls, and controlling heart rate.

2x 100 yards Freestyle on 3:15 interval

This section should be the hardest part of the workout up until this point. Swimmers should not hold anything back on this set. The goal of this is to go as fast as possible over the course of two 100s. Swimmers should aim to match or improve their second 100 from the first. There is no better way to improve in swimming than to physically push yourself to limits in workouts. Over a long period of time, high intensity sets will train a swimmer’s body to not get as tired as they progress.

2x100s Main Stroke on 3:30 interval

Much like the previous freestyle section, this will be aerobic training for most beginner swimmers. The difference in this section is that swimmers will not be doing freestyle unless it is their “best” stroke. The purpose of this section is to provide swimmers with a chance to train their best stroke while being fatigued from previous sections. Swimmers that decide to do butterfly or breaststroke can choose to add 10-15 seconds to the interval.

Cool Down

Like a warm-up, a cool down serves as a great method for injury prevention. The total amount of yards that a swimmer cools down varies from person to person, but it should never be less than 10 minutes. The purpose of cooling down is to lower the heart-rate that had previously been elevated from the middle of the workout.

Here is an example of a cool down for most “beginner” swimmers:

300+ yards choice easy swim

Swimmers can choose what strokes they will do for the cool down (I advise not to do butterfly). The goal of the cool down is to feel good after a workout in preparation for the next workout. The goal down does not have to be straight through. It is common for swimmers to break up their cool down into different parts. Some swimmers choose to kick for some of the cool down in order to relax their overworked legs.

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Mariano Adame’s bio:

Swim Instructor in San Diego, CA

My name is Mariano Adame and I am a swim instructor from San Diego, California. I was a competitive swimmer for the majority of my life. I swam up to the collegiate division one level at West Virginia University where I received my bachelor’s degree in Public Health and my minor in Forensic Science. I specialized in the 100 and 200-meter butterfly events. Swimming played a major role in shaping me into the person I was and continue to be. Swimming can benefit people in many different ways including exercise, discipline, and most importantly the importance of understanding water safety. As a public health major, I understand that lack of water safety education is a major concern around the world. I hope that I can teach others what I have learned about swimming throughout my life and hopefully make a difference in people’s lives.