How to Swim Faster Than 2:00/100m | The Triathlete Blueprint #130

Yan Busset
Oct 25
4 min read

Read time: 4min.

By Coach Yan Busset

Before diving into the article, here are two ways I can help you train smarter:

If you’re in the Helsinki / Espoo area and want to join a coached training group, click here.
If you prefer a personalized online coaching plan with feedback and structure, click here.

Breaking the 2:00 per 100m Barrier: What It Really Takes

If you want to break the two-minute threshold per 100 meters, you need to accept one thing first: it’s not just about swimming harder. It’s about swimming smarter.

1. Fix your stroke economy first

You can’t build speed on a broken foundation. You need to destroy to rebuild. Go back to the drawing board and revisit the basics. In this phase, where the focus is on technique, you need to accept going slow, doing the drills, and maintaining full awareness of every movement. If you can’t master the technique at a slow pace, you won’t be able to hold it at a higher pace later.

Work on your streamline position, make sure you apply force in the right direction, and rotate properly to maximize stroke length. Your goal is to become as economical as possible, getting the most distance out of each stroke without extra effort.

2. Increase your stroke rate, but only after step one

You can’t spin faster on a bad stroke. Once your stroke is efficient, start increasing cadence. Think of it as increasing your swimming RPM.

In cycling, you can buy a bigger chainring to go faster, but in swimming you’re limited by your anatomy. You can’t buy longer arms. Once you’ve optimized stroke length, the only way to increase speed is to increase stroke rate progressively, without compromising too much on technique and position.

3. Break the plateau with the right type of intervals

If you just swim continuous pool laps at the same pace over and over, you can’t expect any progress. You need to introduce interval training that challenges your system and helps you move to the fast lane.

Threshold training plays an important role here. Once you’ve determined your threshold pace using a CSS test, you should spend time swimming at or just below that pace. These sets, done with short rest, help you improve your efficiency at sustainable speed.

To break through a plateau, combine this work with short, high-intensity sprints of 25 or 50 meters at maximum effort, with plenty of recovery. These short bursts develop what we call “built speed”, training your body to move faster and teaching it to hold that new rhythm. Sometimes the limiter is not endurance but motor skills. To move faster, you need to dare to move fast, because often the barrier is more mental than physical. It’s your capacity to fire your muscles at a fast rate. And yes, as simplistic and obvious as it might sound, but many forget that the only way to swim faster is to swim fast.

4. Strength and mobility training

Mobility and strength go hand in hand. Mobility helps you achieve a more streamlined, dynamic position without restriction in shoulder rotation. Strength allows you to connect everything and push through the water with more acceleration.

Dryland work at the gym, pushing or pulling weights, is one of the keys to building power. Upper body and core strength support a faster and more efficient stroke.

5. Volume and consistency beat hero sessions

You can’t expect progress if you don’t put in the hours. Three swims per week, every week, should be your minimum. Consistency is key. One hero session or long set every now and then won’t do the job. Shorter but more frequent swims will help you improve coordination and build a better feel for the water.

6. Get feedback

You can’t fix what you can’t see. Video analysis with a coach helps identify the small details you can’t feel. The problem is often like the meme: what you think you’re doing versus what you’re actually doing. We sometimes have poor body awareness and think we move a certain way when we don’t.

Video reveals reality and helps correct it. Having a coach’s bird’s-eye view is essential.

If you need help identifying what’s holding you back, I can help with one-to-one sessions and personalized video analysis: Send me a message here.