5 Tips For Triathletes To Maximize Their Swim Training THIS SEASON.

Consistency is king, they say.
But how do you get the right CONSISTENCY WHILST working full time and enjoying life outside of Triathlon? 

Here's our 5 TIPS on how you can train smarter, save time and smash your next swim race.

Pablo Dapena Gonzalez - BMC Pro Triathlon Team

1. Stop wasting time getting a ‘Pretty Stroke’
 - Chasing the "perfect" or a "pretty" pool stroke doesn't always translate into being fast in the choppy waters during an open-water race.

Many age-group triathletes prioritize too much of their limited swim time doing pool-specific drills that will give them minimal gains.

Get the most bang for your buck by focusing on the most important aspect of your technique and using the remaining time to get specific for the open water.
Minimize Drag & Maximise Propulsion!

Minimizing drag and developing a powerful pull-through will get you to T1 faster than a pretty ‘stroke’.


2. Don't "Just swim more..."
The best age-group triathletes & swimmers focus on consistency and quality over quantity. "Just swim more" does not always fit into the busy lifestyle of an age-group triathlete and will not give you the most bang for your buck.

Try to get at least 2 in-water swims in per week. Focus on feel for the water, body position & good technique.

By adding 2-3 (15-20min) sessions on the ZEN8 Swim Trainer you can quickly improve power, endurance & parts of your technique and save hours off your life.

3. Implement Dryland Swim Training
 - When was the last time you got DOMS from an in-water session? Without implementing dryland training, there is only so much swim-specific strength you can build with water as your only source of resistance. The best triathletes and swimmers dedicate a lot of time to dryland swim training to maximize propulsion.

Kat Matthews  - BMC Pro Triathlon Team

Victor J - Triathlete & Founder ZEN8

4. Train Smarter and become a faster
 overall triathlete - 
Most triathletes will spend more time getting to and from the swim venue than they spend in the water. Building swim-specific power and refining parts or your technique don't have to mean driving to the pool anymore.

Save time for the bike, run, and your personal life by mixing up your training with swim-specific workouts in the comfort of your own home.

5. Using Goal-Specific Training Plans
 -
Triathletes need to be realistic with their training and have triathlon-specific swimming plans to guide them on their way to becoming a stronger, faster and more confident swimmer.



Find a coaching plan that fits your busy lifestyle and is designed to help you become a faster swimmer in the open water.

The ZEN8 Coaching Plans offers realistic and specific coaching plans for all levels of triathletes who's got a life besides the sport.

How much should triathletes swim to get the best results?

Listen what PRO Triathlete Kieran Lindars has to say 👇 

Have you ever thought to yourself; “I wish swimming was as easy as jumping on the bike or going for a run…”?

Well, If you have you are not alone… 85% of triathletes do not come from a swimming background and notoriously overlook swimming because of our time commitments besides triathlon. This often leads to insecurity and swim anxiety on race day.

Discover how you can better prepare with this "ONE TOOL", that fits into a really busy life, saves you time, and will help transform the way you do your swim training forever 👇

great for triathlon brick WORKOUTS or pre-work sessions.

Victor J - Founder ZEN8

The ZEN8 Swim Trainer is a great tool for athletes who've got a life besides the sport.
More and more triathletes, swim-runners, swimmers, surfers, and coaches all around the world are already reporting big improvements thanks to the ZEN8 Swim Trainer.

"The swim trainer was designed for time-crunched triathletes, like myself, to be able to add 2-3 swim-specific workouts per week in a time-efficient and effective way so that they can confidently turn up on race-day," says Victor - AG Triathlete and Founder of ZEN8

It is extremely effective and lets athletes of all levels get a swim-specific workout in on days when the pool or open-water is not an option. The Swim Bench is designed to be "perfectly imbalanced" so that the user really has to activate the core whilst on it. 15 min is all you need on the ZEN8 to really feel the burn in the upper body. 

"I thought it was wrong wasting so much time just preparing the bag, getting to and from the pool, get changed twice just to get my swim in. Time I could spend on the bike, haha. This extra time put me off going to the pool sometimes which made me feel bad about myself." 

On "rest days" you can focus on identifying and correcting stroke errors. One element that the ZEN8 does very well is encouraging a high catch, thanks to the Swim Bench design. A high catch will allow the amount of water pushed per stroke to significantly increase. If you multiple this by every stroke, it all adds up to a faster swimming time.  

With a Swim Trainer like the ZEN8 at home customers have reported getting more training done in less time which have lead to significant improvements in the water. Just like a treadmill or the turbo a swim trainer lets you work on your weaknesses and improve on your strengths without leaving home.

"Now I can jump on the ZEN8 for 20 min as a swim-bike brick session to fire up the muscles or just a quick 10min to focus on improving that high elbow catch. I love the improvements in the water." 

"We are overwhelmed with the positive feedback from both athletes and coaches. There are the ones stuck in their old ways who'd still say 'just swim more' without understanding the benefits you can get from an added 2 sessions at home...
It's amazing knowing that ZEN8 are part of thousands of athletes' journey to becoming faster, stronger, and more confident swimmers!"

The ZEN8 Swim Trainer is a great tool for athletes who've got a life beside the sport.
It is being used by triathletes, swim-runners, swimmers, surfers and coaches all around the world who are already reporting big improvements thanks to the added consistency in their training. 

"The swim trainer was designed for time-crunched triathletes, like myself, to be able to add 2-3 swim-specific workouts per week in a time-efficient and effective way so that they can confidently turn up on race-day," says Victor - AG Triathlete and Founder of ZEN8

Victor J - Founder ZEN8 (Unaware what was going to hit him at his first triathlon)

It is extremely effective and lets athletes of all levels get a swim-specific workout in on days when the pool or open-water is not an option. The Swim Bench is designed to be "perfectly imbalanced" so that the user really has to activate the core whilst on it. 15 min is all you need on the ZEN8 to really feel the burn in the upper body. 

"I thought it was wrong wasting so much time just preparing the bag, getting to and from the pool, get changed twice just to get my swim in. Time I could spend on the bike, haha. This extra time put me off going to the pool sometimes which made me feel bad about myself." 

On "rest days" you can focus on identifying and correcting stroke errors. One element that the ZEN8 does very well is encouraging a high catch, thanks to the Swim Bench design. A high catch will allow the amount of water pushed per stroke to significantly increase. If you multiple this by every stroke, it all adds up to a faster swimming time.  

With a Swim Trainer like the ZEN8 at home customers have reported getting more training done in less time which have lead to significant improvements in the water. Just like a treadmill or the turbo a swim trainer lets you work on your weaknesses and improve on your strengths without leaving home.

"Now I can jump on the ZEN8 for 20 min as a swim-bike brick-session to fire up the muscles or just a quick 10min to focus on improving that high elbow catch. I love the improvements in the water." 

"We are overwhelmed with the positive feedback from both athletes and coaches.  There's obviously the ones stuck in their old ways who'd still say 'just swim more' without understanding the benefits you can get from an added 2 sessions at home...
It's amazing to know that we are part of thousands of athletes journey to become a faster, stronger and more confident swimmer."