Swimming will be the worst part because I've never done distance. I found a workout I'm going to try to stick to.

Come on in!

To gauge your workout intensity, let's use five zones described by your perceived exertion during the workout and your breathing rate:

* Zone 1 — Gentle, rhythmic breathing, pace is easy and relaxed.
* Zone 2 — Breathing rate increases slightly above Zone 1 and is slightly deeper. A conversation held after one of your intervals is still comfortable.
* Zone 3 — Breathing rate is faster and it is more difficult to hold a conversation at the end of each swim interval.
* Zone 4 — You are breathing harder, holding a fast pace.
* Zone 5 — Heavy, labored breathing.

For this plan, you will be using the first three training zones. As you gain more fitness, you can increase the intensity of you workouts. Make all warm-up and cool-down segments Zone 1 intensity.
Weeks 1 Through 4

For workouts 1 through 8, make the odd-numbered workouts Zone 1 intensity and the even-numbered workouts Zone 1 to 2 intensity.

Week 1 - Workouts 1 and 2: This plan assumes you can swim down and back (50 yards or meters) in a standard pool. Although "yards" is used in each description, yards and meters are interchangeable. The first workout is simply swimming 10 x 50 yards, resting about 20 seconds between each 50. If you do not use a specific warm-up or cool-down, make the first and last couple of 50s very easy.

Week 2 - Workouts 3 and 4: Swim 12 x 50 yards; take 20 seconds of rest between each 50 yards.

Week 3 - Workout 5 and 6: Swim 14 x 50 yards; take 15 seconds of rest between each 50 yards.

Week 4 - Workout 7: Swim 5 x 100 yards; take 20 seconds of rest between each 100 yards.

Week 4 - Workout 8: Swim 500 yards straight through at a steady pace.
Weeks 4 Through 8

For workouts 9 through 16, make the odd-numbered workouts Zone 1 to 2 intensity and the even-numbered workouts Zone 1 to 3 intensity. The goal is not to maximize the highest intensity possible, rather include some intensity as you feel up to it.

Week 5 - Workout 9: Swim 16 x 50 yards; take 15 seconds of rest between each 50 yards.

Week 5 - Workout 10: Swim 6-8 x 100 yards; take 20 seconds of rest between each 100 yards.

Week 6 - Workout 11: Swim 18 x 50 yards; take 15 seconds of rest between each 50 yards.

Week 6 - Workout 12: Swim 6-8 x 100 yards, take 20 seconds of rest between each 100 yards.

Week 7 - Workout 13: Swim 10 x 50 yards; take 15 seconds of rest between each 50 yards. Take 2 minutes of recovery, then swim 10 x 50 yards, taking 15 seconds of rest between each 50 yards.

Week 7 - Workout 14: Swim 5 x 200 yards; take 20 to 30 seconds of rest between each 200 yards.

Week 8 - Workout 15: Swim 6-8 x 100 yards; take 20 seconds of rest between each 100 yards.

Week 8 - Workout 16: Swim 1,000 yards straight through at a steady pace.

For workouts 17 through 24, make the odd-numbered workouts Zone 1 to 3 intensity and the even-numbered workouts Zone 1 to 2 intensity. For the longer swims, try to swim them at a negative-split effort. This means that if someone were to time you, the clock would reveal that you swam the second half of each long swim faster than you swam the first half.

Week 9 - Workout 17: Swim 3 x (6-8 x 50 yards, take 15 seconds of rest between each 50 yards.) Take 1 minute of bonus recovery between each set of 6 to 8.

Week 9 - Workout 18: Swim 4 x 300 yards; take 20 to 30 seconds of rest between each 300 yards. Or, swim 1,200 yards at a steady pace.

Week 10 - Workout 19: Swim 3 x (6-8 x 50 yards, take 15 seconds of rest between each 50 yards.) Take 1 minute of bonus recovery between each set of 6 to 8.

Week 10 - Workout 20: Swim 3 x 400 yards; take 20 to 30 seconds of rest between each 400 yards. Or, swim 1,200 yards at a steady pace.

Week 11 - Workout 21: Swim 6-8 x 100 yards; take 30 seconds of rest between each 100 yards.

Week 11 - Workout 22: Swim 3 x 500 yards; take 20 to 30 seconds of rest between each 500 yards. Or, swim 1,500 yards at a steady pace.

Week 12 - Workout 23: Swim 6-8 x 100 yards; take 30 seconds of rest between each 100 yards.

Week 12 - Workout 24: Swim 1,500 yards at a steady pace.

Gale Bernhardt was the USA Triathlon team coach at the 2003 Pan American Games and 2004 Athens Olympics. Her first Olympic experience was as a personal cycling coach at the 2000 Games in Sydney. She currently serves as one of the World Cup coaches for the International Triathlon Union's Sport Development Team. Thousands of athletes have had successful training and racing experiences using Gale's pre-built, easy-to-follow cycling and triathlon training plans. Let Gale and Active Trainer help you succeed.