This plan is designed to help beginner swimmers improve and be able to swim 3800m 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 towards 4000m in the sessions focussed on replicating the full swim volume. This means sessions towards the end of the plan are longer and require more time in the water however, with a gradual build up you will be used to that.
The plan consists of drill work to help with technique improvement and sets of consistent swimming to help build fitness and because most 3800m swims are found in open water, open water specific training is introduced towards the end of the plan.
Due to the lower volume of training during the week when compared to training for multi-sport or at a higher level, 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.