Swim Training: Is it really that important for a triathlete?

Swimming is that part of a triathlon that many of us "just make it through so we can then start the race!".  Triathletes often train in the pool just enough to finish the distance they need to finish in their races.  But, many triathletes underestimate the real value of training in the pool.  Swimming not only improves your swim fitness, but it also serves to improve your overall fitness, and has proven time and again to contribute to fitness gains on the bike, and even more so on the run.  Swimming allows an athlete to improve their cardiovascular fitness and endurance without over-stressing the muscles, joints, bones and ligaments that we use repetitively during cycling and run training. 

So how much swimming should you do as a triathlete?  Well, that depends on what your goal is.  If your goal is to simply finish your first triathlon, then swimming once or twice per week may be all you need to build up the endurance to swim for the required duration.  However, if your goal is to improve on previous performances, upping the swim frequency will be beneficial!  As a general guideline, swimming 1 to 2 times per week is necessary for pure maintenance of swim fitness.  Swimming 3 times per week consistently will lead to slow improvement for most athletes.  Swimming 4 to 5 times per week will lead to the most significant improvements in swim times as well as overall fitness. 

Now - for most athletes, swimming 4 to 5 times per week may seem unrealistic if you are trying to maintain your run and bike volume of workouts.  However, at the right time of year, it may be worth it for you to take an 8 week period of time to focus on the swim, and decrease the number and duration of run and bike workouts.  The added fitness has been shown to positively affect overall triathlon performance.