Pull-a-geddon: Try This Swim Workout to Develop a Stronger and More Powerful Pull

Ready to level up your pulling game in the water? Give this nasty workout that I did recently a go and send your pull to new heights.

It’s hard to find a swimmer who doesn’t love their pull buoy. The tricky thing about doing pull work is that we use our pull buoy as a bit of a crutch. With the added hip buoyancy our stroke feels great, but that doesn’t really help us out when it comes to swimming faster.

The swim workout below, that I did earlier this week, mixes some PB work with the hardest type of pull work in the pool, swimming with a rubber band around our ankles. The set mixes some distance per stroke swimming with a pull buoy, along with some high intensity pulling with that cursed, err, awesome ankle band.

The main goodness comes in the form of the 50s freestyle with a band loped around your ankles. Swimming with a band is tough, make no mistake, but it is awesome for you.

Ankle pulling reinforces a better early vertical forearm (otherwise your forward momentum stalls and ya sink), and encourages a higher hip position and face-down stroke (which will also help ya maintain momentum and keep your hips up).

Let’s be doing the pull-pull:

WARM-UP:

• 400 swim mix + 300 pull + 200 kick + 100 double arm backstroke to open up chest

THE APPY:

• 6×150 pull desc. 1-3(x2) @2:30 for round 1; 2:15 for round 2

MAIN COURSE:

• 500 pull strong cruise – focus on distance per stroke @1:30 base
• 10×50 free w ankle band fast @1:15
• 400 pull strong cruise – focus on distance per stroke @1:30 base
• 8×50 free w ankle band fast @1:10
• 300 pull strong cruise – focus on distance per stroke @1:30 base
• 6×50 free w ankle band fast @1:05
• 200 pull strong cruise – focus on distance per stroke @1:30 base
• 4×50 free w ankle band fast @1:00
• 100 pull strong cruise – focus on distance per stroke @1:30 base
• 10×50 free w ankle band fast @1:15

Focus points:

• Maintain a high hip position during the strong/fast ankle band 50’s. This means keeping your face pointed at the bottom of the pool.
• No breaks between the 50s and the distance per stroke pull.
• Finish strong on the last 10x50s.
• No pull buoy on the 50s–just the ankle band. Yes, ouchies will ensue.

WARM-DOWN (RESET and RECOVER)

10×50 single arm backstroke @:15 rest

TOTAL VOLUME: 5,800m

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