Happy Hump Day!

We’ve put together a Hump Day Themed workout that’s sure to keep you engaged physically and mentally!

Workout Statistics:

Distance: 2,400 yards

2,400 yards Duration: 45 Minutes

45 Minutes Focus: Aerobic Conditioning

Warmup

This is a basic warmup that consists of three blocks: Free, Kick, IM. The free is a long 300 stretched out Easy. The 4 x 50s kick get the body warmed up, and the final component of the warmup is a series of 4 x 50s IM order. These can be done in the standard IM order: Fly-Bk-Br-Fr.

Main Set: Super Hump Day Ladder

This ladder starts with a single 50 and builds off of that in 50 yard increments. The average pace of the individual set should speed up so that your highest intensity (Threshold) swim is the 200 in the middle. To keep with the workout’s theme, let’s call this “The Hump”! After that, it’s all downhill from there – just like your week after hump day 🙂 This is the “Super” Hump Day Workout because you repeat this main set twice through.

1 x 50 Free @ :50 (1:40)

1 x 100 Free @ 1:30 (1:30)

1 x 150 Free @ 2:00 (1:20)

1 x 200 Free @ 2:20 (1:10)

1 x 150 Free @ 2:00 (1:20)

1 x 100 Free @ 1:30 (1:30)

1 x 50 Free @ :50 (1:40)

In the parentheses of the main set you can see the average pace per set within the ladder. The pace drops from 1:40 on the first 50 to 1:10 pace on the 200. This is a pretty aggressive drop. For example you could start at 1:00 on the first 50 and only drop :05 seconds per set.

Why?

To maximize your time in the water, it’s really important to vary the energy systems you train. For example, to simplify this set – we could say the ‘hump’ middle is the hardest and most high intensity part, while the start and end are relatively easy. A variance on this set would be to do the opposite: hard, easy, hard. The goal to a successful training plan (in any sport) is to vary your muscle groups and energy systems just enough so that you do not plateau and can keep pushing yourself to improve every workout of the week.

Cool Down

It’s important to let your body recover and cool down after a physically fatiguing set like this one. 100-200 yards is the minimum recommended to flush out lactic acid that was built up during the main set. A cool down and post-swim recovery can easily take up to 30 minutes or more. Hot tub?

Be sure to download the MySwimPro app in the App Store for iPhone and Google Play Store for Android!