Hey Gang,

This #WorkoutWednesday session is a mixed threshold swim set. I’ll be posting more mixed threshold workouts for the bike and run in the coming weeks. I love these sessions! They will improve your fitness and get you race ready. If you give this workout a try, let me know how it went. Get in touch with me on Facebook or Twitter.

Dave

Mixed Threshold Workout

Purpose: Varying the pace at threshold (and slightly below) will increase:

  1. Lactate Tolerance: Your ability to perform at a high level of endurance for longer periods.
  1. Lactate Clearance: You will adapt over several sessions to more efficiently resynthesize the lactate back into energy. Simply put, your recovery at these workloads will improve without a decline in speed.
  1. Race Simulation: These sessions simulate the intensities of a race and prepares your mind for the output and maintenance of solid form.
  1. Increase in Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers: Mixed threshold workouts will increase the contribution of the faster twitch muscle fibers that are used extensively in all race distances –particularly as your fitness improves. Fast twitch muscle fibers have a high contractile force and recover quickly, but if these fibers are not trained, then they burn up energy at a ferocious rate.

Threshold pace workouts can vary based on your background and experience level, but you’ll want to strive for the highest attainable pace at a steady-state effort. I recommend the following time intervals:

Beginners: 20’

Intermediates: 35’

Advanced 50’

If you need to scale back the workout according to your current fitness, then please do so.

Mixed Threshold 60 Minute Swim Set

Before you start, note your average pace per 100m or yards. This is your Lactate Threshold. I’ll refer to this as Level 3 or L3. L 2 will be 1 to 2 seconds slower per 100m, and L 1 will be 3 seconds slower per 100m.

Training at all three intensity levels will stimulate your tolerance to — and ability to clear — accumulating lactate.

WU – 8’ with the even laps of backstroke.

1st Set: Paddle on right hand only for 4 x 25m, Rest Interval (RI) 10” and then 4 x 25m with paddle on the left hand only. (RI) 10”. Finally, 4 x 25m with paddle on both hands, and (RI) 10”.

Keep the palm pressure even and don’t let your fingers creep over the sides to hold the paddle in place.   Swim each 100m progressively, with lengths 4, 8 and 12 the fastest! Make sure to tighten your core while swimming.

Main Set:

200m @ L1

2 x 150m @ L2

2 x 100m @ L3

Begin with a RI of 30” between all repeats. As you become more fit, see if you can maintain the pace but reduce the RI to 10″.

After the 2 x100m set, stretch for a 50m and repeat the main set.

3rd Set: 300m with paddles at an aerobic pace, with offside breathing on the even laps.

4th Set: Kick, 4 x 75m, RI 20” , with alternate lengths fly on your back, back flutter kick, fly on your back. No boards!

Stretch out for an easy 100m.