This plan is designed to help beginner swimmers improve and be able to swim 1500m without stopping. In this context a beginner is someone who can swim around 1000m with breaks using a combination of front crawl, back stroke and breast stroke or all front crawl and be willing to use/practise the other strokes. The plan suggests 3 swims a week and by the end the idea is that you will be able to swim 1500-2000m per swim session.
The plan consists of drill work to help with technique improvement and sets of consistent swimming to help build fitness and because a number of 1500m swims are now found in open water, open water specific training is introduced towards the end of the plan.
Building up from a beginner standard to 1500m over 8 weeks is a steep challenge, doable but definitely a challenge. you need to be prepared for larger jumps in consistent swimming from one week to the next. If you think you need a bit more time to be sure of covering the distance comfortably then look at plans from 16 weeks and more.
Due to the lower volume of training during the week, there are no easy weeks scheduled as recovery between the sessions is enough for the volume being completed.
I’m a high-performance triathlon and endurance coach with 20+ years of experience coaching athletes from beginner to elite level, including World and National Champions. With Master’s degrees in Exercise Physiology and Sport Psychology, I combine evidence-based training with mindset support to help athletes improve sustainably. I offer personalised coaching, race preparation, performance analysis, and athlete development across all triathlon, running, cycling and swimming distances.