Top Tips,  Training Sessions

Winter training 2 – 1hr, 3km with torpedo drill

This is another set aimed at easing you back into the pool and chlorinated water after the summer outside. This set concentrates mainly on front crawl technique work. Nothing too strenuous whilst we acclimatise to the warm water once again for the winter season.


Warm Up

  • 200m f/c. Nice and easy. High elbows, keeping the hand close to the body throughout the recovery phase, lean into each catch, so concentrating on engaging a full stretch.
  • 50m fast leg kick with a float
  • 200m f/c (as above)
  • 50m fast leg kick with a float
  • 200m f/c (as above)

Total = 700m


Drill Work

I recently returned from Dan Bullock’s Open Water Training Camp in Lanzarote (thoroughly recommended by the way: see http://www.clublasanta.com/Open_Water_Swim_Camp-13765.aspx) and saw again the importance of working on drills to improve technique. For open water swimmers the beginning of winter is a great time to concentrate on technique before the really hard work begins in spring. If you’re able, I’d recommend you get yourself filmed from above and below the water. I did, and was shocked to see how out-of-sync my own stroke has become.
In this session I’d like to work on a drill known as the ‘torpedo drill’ which is used to develop correct body rotation. You can see how to do this drill in the video of Dan Bullock at the bottom of this page.

  • 100m torpedo drill as per video
  • 100m full stroke but thinking about that shoulder rotation.

Repeat the above 200m 3 x through
Total = 600m


Main Set

  • 75m, f/c hard. Take just 15 secs rest.
  • 25m, easy. Keep the stroke long and focus on incorporating the rotation drill from above.

Take 30secs rest and repeat 10 times

  • Continuous 400m swim focusing completely on the earlier drills, so nice shoulder rotation, combined with strong even leg kick

Total = 1400m


Cooling Down

  • 300m swim down – incorporate some back stroke into your swim down.

Total distance swum = 3k

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