It’s important to remember that Wild Swimming can be dangerous. Conditioning your body in a safe location such as your local swimming pool is the best way to prepare for the open water. These training plans will help you do just that. Regardless of your level of fitness or experience, we recommend you take a look at all of the plans posted and begin where you feel comfortable. All plans have been developed by expert and accredited swimmers and are available in PDF format so that they can be easily downloaded and printed.
Beginner
The Beginners Plan entails 3 sessions of warm-ups, main sets, and cooldowns that you can mix and match to make your own. All total 1000 – 1200m.
The Beginners plan is targeted at the swimmer interested in improving form and preparing for the open water. It is important to complete and understand the content in this plan before moving on to the Intermediate level.
Intermediate
The Intermediate Plan entails 6 sessions covering distances of 1200 – 1600m which will allow you to focus on important aspects of your training – Technique, Endurance and Speed.
The Intermediate plan is for the swimmer that wants to add structure and variety to their routine. We also encourage those that have completed the Beginners plan to advance to Intermiediate level.
Advanced
The advanced Plan entails 6 sessions ranging from 2000 – 2500m. It focuses on building a balanced training plan that suits you and incorporates key skills such as Endurance, Pacing, Technique, and Critical Endurance.
The Advanced Plan is targetted at confident swimmers who wish to develop their routine further whilst building speed and critical endurance.
Understanding the Plans
Don’t get overwhelmed when you first see a training plan. It may seem like a lot of information to digest but in reality, they are very simple to understand.
Each plan contains a key at the very bottom to help you understand what each abbreviation means. In this example, you can see that your focus should be on steady breathing and good body position. You should swim at a steady pace for 4 repeats of 50 meters with your preference of stroke (no 1). R20s means that after completing each 50-meter repeat you should rest for 20 seconds. You should finish in the stroke of your choice for 100 meters maintaining a steady pace.
The aim of these plans is to improve your fitness level for open water swimming. You should find that when using a plan you will no longer feel that plodding up and down the pool is boring or counter-productive. These plans will freshen up your training in a structured way, whilst improving Endurance, Technique and Pace. Having fun is important but remember that the transition from a pool to outdoor swimming can be dangerous. Make sure to read and familiarise yourself with our Wild Swimming Safety Page.