Week 6: Efficiency and Stroke Count
Week 6 of this beginner swim workout is not about swimming harder, it is about swimming further on the same effort. You will count strokes, lengthen your glide, and take your first look at sighting, the skill you need the day you swap the black line for Bondi. All done in Salty Johnson recycled ocean plastic swimwear that behaves the same in the pool and the surf.
Week 6 at a glance: 3 sessions · 600m each · 25m pool · kickboard and pull buoy · about 38 minutes per swim.
Session 1: Sprint (600m, ~38 min)
Introduction: Speed with a technique brake on, fast halves followed by easy halves.
- Warm-up: 100m easy freestyle, 50m kick with board.
- Main Set: 6x50m (25m fast/25m easy), 40s rest; 2x25m all-out, 45s rest.
- Cool-down: 100m easy freestyle.
Technique: Fast does not mean thrashing, longer strokes at a higher rate is the goal.
Tips: Count your strokes on a fast 25m and an easy 25m, the gap should be small.
Motivation: Efficiency is free speed, and it never gets tired!
Session 2: Mixed Strokes/IM (600m, ~38 min)
Introduction: All four strokes in one session for the first time, at an easy, controlled effort.
- Warm-up: 150m (50m freestyle/50m backstroke/50m breaststroke).
- Main Set: 4x50m (25m backstroke/25m freestyle), 30s rest; 2x50m breaststroke, 30s rest; 2x25m butterfly kick with board, 30s rest.
- Cool-down: 100m easy freestyle.
Technique: Butterfly kick comes from the hips and belly, not the knees.
Tips: Keep this session easy, it is a recovery swim disguised as variety.
Motivation: Six weeks ago backstroke was a mystery, now it is a warm-up!
Session 3: Endurance (600m, ~38 min)
Introduction: Two 200m swims, the second with sighting lifts, your first taste of open water skills.
- Warm-up: 100m easy freestyle.
- Main Set: 2x200m freestyle, 45s rest. On the first, count strokes per length and hold the number. On the second, lift your eyes to sight twice per length.
- Cool-down: 100m easy kick.
Technique: To sight, press down on your leading hand, lift the eyes only to waterline, then breathe to the side as normal.
Tips: Sight on the stroke before you breathe, never instead of breathing.
Motivation: Sighting is the skill that turns a pool swimmer into an ocean swimmer!
Salty Johnson Spotlight: The moment you start practising for open water, your swimwear has a second job, staying put in chop as well as chlorine. Our women's one-piece and men's briefs are cut from recycled ocean plastic with UPF 50+, tested where it matters, off Bondi. Shop www.saltyjohnson.com.au/collections/sustainable-womens-one-piece-swimsuits for her or www.saltyjohnson.com.au/collections/sustainable-mens-swim-briefs for him.
Efficient in the water and efficient with the planet, which is two more efficiencies than your kick!
Beginner swim workout questions, answered
What is a good stroke count for a 25m length?
Most beginners take 20 to 26 strokes per 25m. Dropping two or three strokes while holding the same time is a genuine efficiency gain. Chasing a very low count by gliding too long is not, it just makes you slow.
How do you sight while swimming freestyle?
Press your leading hand down slightly, lift your eyes just clear of the water like a crocodile, take a quick look, then drop your face and breathe to the side on the next stroke. Two quick looks beat one long one.
How often should you sight in an ocean swim?
Every 6 to 10 strokes in calm water, more often in chop or when swimming into sun or glare. Practise it in the pool first so it costs you no rhythm when it counts.
Should beginners swim in the ocean during this program?
Only at a patrolled beach, between the flags, with someone else, and only once you can comfortably swim 400m nonstop in a pool. A supervised community swim is the safest first step.
Keep the series going
- Previous: Beginner Week 5, Breathing and Rhythm (550m)
- Next: Beginner Week 7, Peak Distance (650m)
- Ready for more? Intermediate Week 6 (1,400m)
- All free plans: Salty Johnson swim workouts and Salty Sundays in Bondi