Twelve Days of Christmas Swim

This 5,850-yard swim set (all 75s) but you can adapt it with a warmup/cool down and one set of each instead of building them together. Carve out a good chunk of pool time and prepare to create a deficit for all those cookies you’re about to eat.

Here’s how it works: Each “day” is one 75, broken up in a different way. You’ll swim day 1. Then you’ll swim day 2, day 1. Then day 3, day 2, day 1. The idea is to keep adding on to the set and work your way back to number one. Choose a comfortable interval that will give you about 10 seconds rest every 75.

Sung (at least somewhat) to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a 75 free!
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, one free-drill-free and a 75 free!
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, one hypoxic 3/5/3, one free-drill-free and a 75 free!

Print this out and bring it to the pool deck.

1. Freestyle
2. Freestyle-drill (finger-tip drag)-freestyle
3. Hypoxic, breathe every 3/5/3
4. Kick- freestyle -kick
5. Freestyle
6. Drill (tarzan)- freestyle- drill (3-6-3)
7. Hypoxic, breathe every 5/7/5
8. Pull -drill (shark) -pull
9. Freestyle
10. Kick –freestyle –drill (fist)
11. Hypoxic, breathe every 7/9/7
12. Pull

Tarzan Drill:
Swim freestyle with your head out of the water. Look forward as if you were sighting a buoy or landmark in open water. Keep your head out of the water for the entire 25 to strengthen your neck muscles for triathlon swimming!
Fist Drill:
Swim regular freestyle. Ball your hands into fists and work on high elbow catch and pull under the water.
Finger-Tip Drag:
Swim regular freestyle. When your arm is out of the water (recovery phase) keep your elbow pointed toward the sky and your fingertips pointing down toward the water. Allow your fingertips (about 1/2 inch) to drag through the water from your hips all the way past your head.
3-6-3:
Take three strokes and pause on your right side with right arm extended forward and your left arm lying on left side. Remain in this position for six kicks. Take three more strokes and pause on your left side for six kicks. Repeat.
Shark:
Use a pull buoy or a kick board between your thighs. After the finish of each stroke, reach back and tap the part of the buoy that is above water. This drill emphasizes finishing your stroke all the way to mid-thigh.