I always see Instagram reels of college swimmers/olympic swimmers saying their hardest swim sets that they have done. I was just curious and wanted to hear from other people; what are the hardest sets you have done?
Everyone is posting distance sets, so I’ll change it up with a brutal sprint set. 10x100s all out on around 10 minutes. The 1st and 2nd one had to be within 2 seconds of your best time or we all started over. The rest had to be within 4 seconds. We had to start over like 5 times. It was absolutely brutal. Another one was 5 50s race, all within 2 seconds of your best time. If anyone failed, we started over. Puked a bunch during both. But a good part was if anyone got a best time, we got to play water polo the rest of practice. Only happened once though.
@Kip
Did a very similar 10x100s on 1:05, but there was an extra wrinkle that the 5th person in the send off had to finish first. I don’t remember all of the details, but basically, we had 4 or 5 swimmers per lane, and the guy who left the wall last had to take over and lead the pack by the end of 100. You couldn’t just totally loaf it and let him pass because we all had to make the send-off. At least twice during the set, you had to all-out sprint to catch the leader. I’m sure there’s a name for this, but it’s escaping me at the moment. In any case, it was kind of fun, but it sucked.
@Bevan
I don’t see how that’s even possible unless everyone going behind was leaving like right after. If you had 4-5 in a lane and went 5 behind, the person going last would have to make up a 20-25 second difference on 100s at that send-off. The math ain’t mathing unless you guys were casually going 40-45s on 100s during an aerobic send-off lol
@Nari
Yeah, I can’t really make it make sense either! I’m very likely combining 2 different sets; this was probably in like 1997. I think the “pass the leader” thing must have been a distance set separate from the 100s on the 1:05. I definitely remember it being both exhausting and confusing.
A guy yesterday posted about 100x100 at 1:10. mind blown
Adi said:
A guy yesterday posted about 100x100 at 1:10. mind blown
1:15*
Adi said:
A guy yesterday posted about 100x100 at 1:10. mind blown
1:15*
I still can’t get over that. That’s a good 20 seconds faster than my current PB.
@Adi
Oh for sure. It’s unreal how anyone can sustain that for 2h.
Alix said:
@Adi
Oh for sure. It’s unreal how anyone can sustain that for 2h.
The human body is so awesome
50 50’s on the 50 was memorable but probably not the hardest.
Sai said:
50 50’s on the 50 was memorable but probably not the hardest.
Yeah, this was always a classic return from summer break staple during water polo/swim in high school. I think we usually did it on the :40 though. Brutal.
10 x 500s on 6:00
Florian said:
10 x 500s on 6:00
So 5000 yards straight for us non-distance guys!
40x200 IM. Each set of 10 had a faster interval than the last, ended at 2:40 if I remember correctly, but it’s been years.
Keaton said:
40x200 IM. Each set of 10 had a faster interval than the last, ended at 2:40 if I remember correctly, but it’s been years.
Yikes, that’s near my lcm pb
Keaton said:
40x200 IM. Each set of 10 had a faster interval than the last, ended at 2:40 if I remember correctly, but it’s been years.
Yikes, that’s near my lcm pb
Oh god, LC I might have died; this was done in a SCY pool, thank goodness.
Keaton said:
40x200 IM. Each set of 10 had a faster interval than the last, ended at 2:40 if I remember correctly, but it’s been years.
That actually sounds really fun, I’m not gonna lie.
A few off the top of my head that I did over my career that stuck out.
SCY- 12x100s pull @1:00 short break into 30x100s @1:00 swim. Held 56s on them.
LCM- 4x400s pull @4:30 4x300s 100 swim 100 kick 100 swim @3:40 4x200s @2:15 4x100s @1:05
SCY- Urbanchek Rainbow Set
4x300s 2@4:15 1 white (4:02) 1 pink (4:00) 1@4:05 red (3:46)
1x300 @4:00 white (2:58)
5x200s @2:10 1 pink (1:56) 1 red (1:52) 3x blue (1:50)
1x300 @4:00 white (2:58)
8x100 4@1:05 2 white (58) 2 pink (56) 4@1:10 2 red (55) 2x blue (53)
1x300 @4:00 white (2:58)
LCM- 9x500s descend 1-3(each 3 get faster) 3@5:50 3@5:40 3@5:30
SCY- 20x200 fly 5@3:00 5@2:50 5@2:40 5@2:30
3000 for time SCY a few times to determine pace for rainbow sets. Fastest I ever swam was a 28:40 holding 57s for the majority of it.
Dive sets that hurt were
6x100s @6 mins
8x125s @5mins @goal 200 pace
8x50s dive 4@2:00 2@1:00 2@50
Pace sets that really hurt were
3 rounds of (4x50s @goal 200 pace 10 seconds between each 50)
4x100s LCM @goal 400 race pace 10 seconds between each 100
3 rounds 4x75s @goal 500 pace @1:00 4x50s @50 @goal 200 pace
SCY - 12x100s Pull @1:00 → Short Break → 30x100s @1:00 Swim (Held 56s)
- SCY (Short Course Yards) means a 25-yard pool.
- 12x100s Pull @1:00: Using a pull buoy to isolate the arms, swimming 100 yards on a 1:00 interval.
- Short break before transitioning to:
- 30x100s @1:00 Swim: Swimming without equipment, maintaining a pace of 56 seconds per 100.
- Goal: Endurance and pace holding.
LCM - Distance Set
- LCM (Long Course Meters) means a 50-meter pool.
- 4x400s Pull @4:30: Longer pulling reps at a steady interval.
- 4x300s (100 Swim, 100 Kick, 100 Swim) @3:40: Mixing swimming and kicking for endurance.
- 4x200s @2:15: Fast-paced 200s with a tight interval.
- 4x100s @1:05: Speed-focused 100s to finish strong.
- Goal: Aerobic endurance with a mix of pulling, kicking, and swimming.
SCY - Urbanchek Rainbow Set
- Urbanchek Rainbow Set uses intensity zones based on colors:
- White = Recovery
- Pink = Aerobic endurance
- Red = Threshold
- Blue = Race pace
- Purple (not included here) = Max effort
- 4x300s (2@4:15, 1@4:05):
- 1 White (4:02)
- 1 Pink (4:00)
- 1 Red (3:46)
- 1x300 @4:00 White (2:58): Recovery swim.
- 5x200s @2:10:
- 1 Pink (1:56)
- 1 Red (1:52)
- 3x Blue (1:50) → Race pace.
- 1x300 @4:00 White (2:58): Recovery swim.
- 8x100s Split into Two Sets:
- 4@1:05:
- 2 White (58) → Easier pace.
- 2 Pink (56) → Slightly harder.
- 4@1:10:
- 2 Red (55) → Threshold.
- 2 Blue (53) → Race pace.
- 4@1:05:
- 1x300 @4:00 White (2:58): Recovery swim.
- Goal: Train different intensity zones for pacing control.
LCM - 9x500s Descending
- 3 Sets of 3x500s: Each set gets progressively faster.
- 3@5:50 (easier pace)
- 3@5:40 (moderate effort)
- 3@5:30 (fastest set)
- Goal: Build endurance while learning how to descend pacing.
SCY - 20x200s Butterfly
- 4x200 @3:00
- 4x200 @2:50
- 4x200 @2:40
- 4x200 @2:30
- Goal: High-intensity endurance, improving fly strength and pacing.
SCY - 3000 for Time
- Swam multiple times to determine pacing for Rainbow Sets.
- Best time: 28:40, averaging 57s per 100.
- Goal: Gauge pacing ability for different race distances.
Dive Sets (High-Intensity, Max Effort)
- 6x100s @6:00 → Full recovery between efforts, simulating race conditions.
- 8x125s @5:00 @Goal 200 Pace → Sprint endurance for 200 race pace.
- 8x50s Dive Starts:
- 4@2:00 → More recovery.
- 2@1:00 → Moderate recovery.
- 2@50 → Minimal recovery, simulating the end of a race.
- Goal: Max effort, speed, and race simulation.
Pace Sets (Threshold and Race-Specific Training)
- 3 Rounds of 4x50s @Goal 200 Pace (10s Rest) → Focused on maintaining race tempo.
- 4x100s LCM @Goal 400 Pace (10s Rest) → Simulating 400m race conditions.
- 3 Rounds of Mixed-Pace Work:
- 4x75s @Goal 500 Pace @1:00 → Threshold endurance.
- 4x50s @:50 @Goal 200 Pace → Speed work.
- Goal: Build race-specific endurance and simulate fatigue conditions.