How to Speed Up Your Interval Training

Struggling to speed up your interval training can be frustrating if, no matter how hard you work, you just can’t move your main set to a faster interval.

Here’s how you can speed up your interval training.

The Rule of Three

When creating sets, focus on three variables: distance, interval, and velocity. Playing around with them can help you reach a higher level of fitness.

• Distance. This is how far you swim each repeat. What’s required of you to complete a 50 freestyle is much different than what’s required for a 200 freestyle. You’ll need to swim at a slower pace and with more efficiency for the latter.
• Interval. This is how much rest you get between repeats. Intervals are the most crucial element in upping your fitness level, and there are things to be gained from both long- and short-rest sets. If you’re working on building your speed, take longer rest; if you’re working on building your aerobic capacity, take shorter rest.
• Velocity. This is how quickly you swim. Remember: The faster you swim, the higher your stroke rate will be and the worse your efficiency will be. If you slow down, you’ll reduce your stroke rate and increase your efficiency.

How to Do It

Here are a few ways to use distance, intervals, and velocity to help you reach your goal. Here’s an example of someone who wants to go from doing 10 x 100s on 1:40 to doing them on 1:30.

Note: When setting your goal to go to a faster interval, realize that it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to get there. Set realistic goals, and don’t get discouraged. Even dropping 10 seconds, as we chose in the example to make for easier math throughout, can be an enormous undertaking.

• Distance. To build into doing 10 x 100s on 1:30, try covering a shorter distance on your goal interval. In this case, that would be 20 x 50s on 45 seconds. Once you’re able to do that, try 12 x 75s on 1:07 (even though it’s not the 1,000 total yards) before moving to 10 x 100s on 1:30.
• Interval. Try switching your 10 x 100s to 1:30 and see how it goes. You might only make two or three or five, but try the set again the following week with a goal to make one more. If you keep building on your progress, you’ll eventually get to your goal of doing 10 x 100s on 1:30. This is referred to as a test set.
• Velocity. Swimmers sometimes do what are called best average sets, which require them to swim the fastest times they can hold on a slower interval than they normally do. If you can do your 10 x 100s on 1:40 and hold 1:30, try doing 10 x 100s on 2:00 and holding 1:20 or 1:25. The extra rest will allow you to have a little more speed. Keep reducing the interval every week until you reach your goal interval.

Final Thought

One thing is for sure: You can’t swim faster without swimming faster. That sounds silly, but as Masters swimmers, we often show up and swim our same metronomic cadence because it’s comfortable. Step out of your comfort zone and try something new. No one ever gets better by staying where they are.