Week 4: Threshold and Pace Control
Week 4 is where this intermediate swim workout stops adding metres for the sake of it and starts adding quality. You will swim at threshold, hold pace across repeats instead of fading through them, and cover 1,300m a session, wearing Salty Johnson recycled ocean plastic swimwear that handles chlorine better than most of us handle the 4:45am alarm.
Week 4 at a glance: 3 sessions · 1,300m each · 25m pool · kickboard and pull buoy · about 55 minutes per swim.
Session 1: Sprint (1,300m, ~55 min)
Introduction: Descending repeats teach you the difference between fast and merely tired.
- Warm-up: 200m freestyle, 100m choice.
- Main Set: 8x50m fast freestyle, 30s rest; 4x100m (50m fast/50m easy), 30s rest.
- Cool-down: 200m easy kick.
Technique: Hold a high elbow through the catch even when the set turns ugly.
Tips: Descend the 50s in pairs, so 1 and 2 hard, 3 and 4 harder.
Motivation: Anyone can swim fast once, you are learning to do it eight times!
Session 2: Mixed Strokes/IM (1,300m, ~55 min)
Introduction: Shorter IM repeats with tight turnaround to sharpen your stroke transitions.
- Warm-up: 300m (100m freestyle/100m backstroke/100m breaststroke).
- Main Set: 4x150m IM, 35s rest; 4x50m (25m butterfly kick/25m freestyle), 25s rest.
- Cool-down: 200m easy freestyle.
Technique: The transition wall costs more time than the stroke does, so turn with intent.
Tips: Substitute butterfly kick for full butterfly if your form falls apart mid-repeat.
Motivation: IM exposes your weakest stroke, which is exactly why it is worth doing!
Session 3: Endurance (1,300m, ~55 min)
Introduction: A 400m steady swim plus negative split 200s, building the control an ocean swim demands.
- Warm-up: 200m freestyle, 100m kick.
- Main Set: 1x400m freestyle steady, 45s rest; 2x200m freestyle negative split, 40s rest.
- Cool-down: 200m easy.
Technique: Negative split means the second half is faster, so start slower than feels right.
Tips: Count strokes on the 400m, if the count climbs your stroke is falling apart, not your fitness.
Motivation: Control is a skill, and you are building it 400m at a time!
Salty Johnson Spotlight: Threshold sets are not the moment to be adjusting a strap. Our women's one-pieces hold through every push-off and our men's briefs stay put at race pace, all made from recycled ocean plastic with UPF 50+ for the outdoor 50m pool. 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.
Our suits hold their shape at threshold, which is more than can be said for your pace clock face!
Intermediate swim workout questions, answered
What is threshold pace in swimming?
Threshold is the hardest pace you could hold for around 30 minutes, roughly 8 out of 10 effort. It feels controlled but conversation is off the table. Most aerobic gains come from training here, not from all-out sprinting.
How many times a week should an intermediate swimmer train?
Three quality sessions a week is the sweet spot for most people balancing work and training. Four works if one is an easy technique swim, but three focused swims beat five rushed ones.
What does negative split mean?
Swimming the second half of a repeat faster than the first. It teaches pace discipline and it is how almost every strong distance swim is actually executed.
Can I do this plan in a 50m pool?
Yes. Keep the distances identical, add about 5 seconds to each rest interval, and expect it to feel harder because you get half the number of push-offs.
Keep the series going
- Previous: Intermediate Week 3, Volume Increase (1,200m)
- Next: Intermediate Week 5, Speed Endurance (1,350m)
- Too much? Beginner Week 4 (550m). Not enough? Advanced Week 4 (3,000m)
- All free plans: Salty Johnson swim workouts and Salty Sundays in Bondi