Open Water
Open Water Acclimatization, 3 x 5 min
3 × (5 min easy freestyle, 1 min rest)
Open Water Swim Workouts
Open water swim sessions for sighting, race starts, surge and settle, drafting and long swims, with pace targets from your CSS.
Workouts
14 workouts
Open Water
Open Water Sighting Basics, 3 Rounds
3 × (3 min sight every 6 strokes, 1 min easy, 3 min sight every 9 strokes, 1 min easy)
Open Water
Surge and Settle, 6 Rounds
6 × (45 s very hard, 4 min at sweet spot, 1 min easy)
Open Water
Drafting Practice with a Partner, 3 Rounds
3 × (4 min at tempo, 4 min at sweet spot, 2 min at tempo, 1 min easy)
Open Water
Open Water Race Start Practice, 6 Starts
6 × (1 min very hard, 2 min at sweet spot, 1 min rest), 10 min at tempo
Open Water
Open Water Fartlek, 3 Rounds of Pace Changes
3 × (4 min at tempo, 1 min at VO2max, 2 min easy, 30 s sprint, 90 s easy)
Open Water
3 km Open Water Race Simulation
200 m at VO2max, 1200 m at sweet spot, 100 m at VO2max, 1100 m at sweet spot, 400 m at CSS pace
Open Water
Long Open Water Swim with Surges, 60 min
8 × (5 min at tempo, 30 s at VO2max)
Open Water
Continuous 20 min Open Water Swim
20 min steady freestyle
Open Water
Entries and Exits, 6 Short Swims from the Shore
6 × (3 min out and back, 1 min rest), 5 min steady
Open Water
Out and Back with a Negative Split, 2 x 15 min
15 min at tempo, 15 min at sweet spot
Open Water
Buoy Turns in Both Directions, 10 Turns
5 × (90 s at tempo, 20 s very hard, 90 s at tempo, 20 s very hard, 1 min easy)
Open Water
Open Water Time Pyramid 4, 8, 12, 8, 4 min
4 min at CSS pace, 1 min easy, 8 min at sweet spot, 1 min easy, 12 min at tempo, 1 min easy, 8 min at sweet spot, 1 min easy, 4 min at CSS pace
Open Water
Leapfrog Group Swim, 6 Rounds of Surge to the Front
6 × (3:15 min at tempo, 45 s at VO2max, 2 min at sweet spot)
Open Water Workouts
Open water workouts prepare you for swimming in lakes, rivers and the sea, where there are no walls, no lane lines and no black line on the bottom. Besides fitness, open water calls for skills the pool does not train by itself. You need to sight to stay on course, start from treading water or a beach, change pace when a group surges, draft behind or beside other swimmers and settle back into your rhythm afterwards.
The sessions here are built around those skills. Beginner workouts help you get used to cold water and open space, practice getting in and out from the shore, build up to a continuous 20 minute swim and teach sighting with a short lift of the eyes every six to nine strokes. Intermediate sessions cover surge and settle, race starts, drafting with a partner, buoy turns in both directions, an out-and-back swim with a negative split and fartlek pace changes. Advanced workouts include a 3 km race simulation, a long swim with regular surges, a time pyramid and a leapfrog group swim. The steps are mostly time based, so you do not depend on exact distances, while the race simulation uses distance from a GPS watch.
Pace targets come from your pool CSS. A wetsuit, waves, current and water temperature all change how that pace feels, so treat the targets as a guide and swim by effort. One open water session a week during the season works well, with more in the last weeks before a race. Never swim alone, wear a bright cap, use a tow float and get to know the venue before you swim there.
Questions about Open Water Workouts
How often should I sight in open water?
A common starting point is every six to nine strokes. Swimmers who hold a straight line well can sight less often, every 10 to 15 strokes, while waves, current or a crowded start call for more. Sight with a short lift of the eyes during the forward reach, then turn your head to breathe. Practice in the pool first to learn which way you drift.
Can I sync open water workouts to my watch?
Swim workouts sync to Garmin, COROS and Suunto. On Garmin, open water workouts arrive as a generic workout rather than as a swim workout, and not every Garmin device supports that type. In that case the FIT file download is the alternative. Pool workouts arrive as lap swimming workouts with the pool length already set.
How do I train for open water if I can only swim in a pool?
Many open water skills can be practiced in the pool. Sight on a target at the end of the lane, swim deep-water starts without a push-off, swim side by side in one lane to practice drafting, and add surges inside longer repeats. The triathlon category has pool sessions built for this. Before race day, swim in open water a few times to get used to the conditions.