Physiological data indicates that when you train at high-intensity intervals, you develop an increased endurance capacity and burn more calories. Interval training is standard in the pool, but what about intervals in open water?

Swimmers often map landmarks on the shore and use these as reference points for intervals, doing easy-medium-hard laps or loops as one example.

Other swimmers wear a watch and swim hard for specified time periods (e.g., 5 minutes to 20 minutes). Still other swimmers simply count their strokes. “One of my favorite sets was going 10 x 100 strokes (or 50 stroke cycles) with 50 strokes easy between,” said ocean swimmer Mike Lewis (shown above doing some bodysurfing practice). “When counting strokes you may find it easier to count by two’s. For me, this is comparable to swimming 10 x 100s in the pool. This also gives me specific training related to open water racing where the pace is often variable. I enjoy incorporating some interval training into my workout rather than just swimming point to point.”

When 67 solo swimmers and over 30 relays compete in the U.S. Master Swimming 25K national championships this weekend in Indiana, there is going to be a lot of fast swimming by some very serious endurance athletes who have put in many hundreds of miles in fast interval training, both in the pool and open water.

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