Workouts in a Binder: Swim Workouts for Triathletes (Spiral-bound)

~ (Author), Nick Hansen (Author) "If training for a sprint-distance triathlon, swim 3 x 100s with twenty-second rests between each one..." (more)
Key Phrases: bonus rest, swim interval, anaerobic endurance, Total Yards, Muscular Endurance, Anaerobic Endurance (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Triathletes who hope to improve their swimming too often mix and match workouts or workout segments with no particular goal. The workouts in this set provide a handy, compact, inspiring — and waterproof — program. Written by an elite-level triathlon and cycling coach, and a former U.S. National Team swimming coach, the book comprises seven workout categories: Anaerobic Endurance Speed, Anaerobic Endurance Form, Force Speed, Force Form, Muscular Endurance Speed, Muscular Endurance Form, and Muscular Endurance Distance. The variety of workouts included and their ease of use keep the process engaging and allow users to more easily achieve elusive swimming goals. Workouts in a Binder can easily be used in conjunction with triathlon training manuals such as Training Plans for Multisport Athletes or The Triathlete’s Training Bible, or as stand-alone workouts for swimmers. Illustrated throughout, a bound set of waterproof workout cards for triathletes at all levels is also included.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 96 pages
• Publisher: VeloPress (October 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931382204
• ISBN-13: 978-1931382205
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,932 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't wait to get in the pool again!, February 12, 2003

By	Mommy B "Mommy B" (Santa Rosa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Swim Workouts in a Binder for Triathletes is my new "Most Valuable Tool" for training this season. Bernhardt begins the book by making a concise case for sound, purposeful training. No more meaningless laps or jumping in the pool and developing "a plan" on the spot. You can use the workouts, enough to keep you interested for a long time, on their own as you wish. Alternatively, you can truly maximize this nugget by developing your own plan for the season. She provides a 12 week program, assuming 3-4 swims per week, to save you planning time and/or to give you a general structure. The plan is adaptable and flexible and I see no difficulty in adjusting it to my own training needs. In order to accomodate new and seasoned athletes, and those training for shorter courses and iron distance, each workout has two distance options. Your first workout will be a test so you have a reference tool (time) that keeps you training at your own pace instead of some speedier (or slower) swimmer a lane over. Bernhardt makes purposeful training so understandable that you'll wonder why you even bothered "just getting in for a swim" in the past. I have the Triathletes Training Bible (Friel) and Training Plans for Multisport Athletes (Bernhardt), and this book is a great addition. While the other two books have helped me understand what I want to do in order to train well, Swim Workouts in a Binder has saved me hours of time in my season planning and given me a renewed excitement for pool training.

The book is the perfect size to sit at the edge of the pool for mid-workout reference, and the sturdy spiral binding keeps your page in place. It will get absolutely soaking, and that's okay.

Anything negative? No negatives, only an understanding of what it is not meant to contain. For instance, the only drills she brings into the workouts are finger drags, one-arm swimming, and catch up. It is clear that any other drill could (and should) be added or switched in according to personal needs. For a guide to swimming technique you have to look elsewhere. Expect just what the title of the book indicates. It's perfect.

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good tool, but with one serious flaw.., February 24, 2004

By	chives "chives" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

The workouts and the book overall are good, and for the self-coached athlete, much better than trying to think up a workout every day. There are two main sets for each workout, one longer than the other, but they could use more differentiation - one may be 2600 meters and the other 2300 meters. It should be more like 2600 and 1900. Or slip a third option in the middle. Of course, if you are reasonably experienced, it's not had to extrapolate whatever distance you plan to do for the day.

But....the flaw...once you get it wet, it's nearly impossible to get it dry again!

The pages are waterproof, but they stick together and even a little splash seems to get every page wet. Unless you stand it up and open as many pages as you can, rotating this every couple hours for several days, you just can't get it dry before it starts to mildew and stink. I evn tried putting it in the dryer (on that removable non-rotating shelf) but unless you get those pages open, it won't dry.

Two solutions I've found- (1) take off the spiral binding, hole punch the pages (not easy, since the pages are plastic), but it into a binder, and just take a single page for the day's workout to the pool, or (2) keep the whole thing in a big ziploc bag, turning to the page you want first, then zipping it in for the pool. This work pretty well, and keeps you from owning "Stinky Workouts in a Binder".

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good variety for your workouts, August 26, 2006

By	A. Ness "MrModernShopper" (ASTORIA, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been fitness swimming for several decades which usually means go to pool, swim a mile. I recently started working through the workouts in this book with some triathlon friends. Still manage to get my mile but every day takes a different focus, my swimming has improved and I enjoy it more. Each page is something fresh and different. While the pages are waterproof, you do need to spend a few minutes and wipe EVERY page dry when you get home, not a big deal. Or stick the book in a ziplock bag and avoid the wet pages problem in the first place.

While it doesn't matter if you swim in metres or yards, the book is written for a short course 25 metre/yard pool. If you're like me and have the luxury of a 50m pool, you'll find that some of the drills don't convert nicely to the long course.