Swimming Training Plan for the Abu Dhabi Swimming League Season
SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE DAY PASS TODAY!
WHATSAPP
EMAIL
Why the Abu Dhabi Swimming League is worth training for
The league is organised by the Abu Dhabi Club for Water Sports with support from Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the UAE Water Sports Federation, and it has grown in swimmers and clubs across its editions. Board member Khwaiter Al Dhaheri has said it has become an important platform for talent development and community sport. The first edition drew 440 swimmers across 29 teams, so the standard is real, yet the open age and ability categories mean the entry point is friendlier than most galas. A genuine race with a wide door is exactly the kind of target worth training toward.
Start with body position, not speed
Coaches at U.S. Masters Swimming call body position the single most important skill in freestyle. The goal is to hold a straight line at the surface with as little effort as possible. Swimming with the head up and the feet dragging low, or snaking from side to side, adds drag that no amount of extra effort will fix. Before you chase faster times, spend a few weeks on how you sit in the water, and use our exercise library to check each drill against a clear demonstration.
Breathing is part of the same picture. A clean breath should barely interrupt your rhythm, so keep the head low and turn to the side rather than lifting it. Every time you pick your head up, your hips sink and you fight your own wake.
Build the pull and the kick
Most of your propulsion comes from the pull, so it pays to get right. Create a large paddle with your forearm and hand, push the water straight back rather than out to the side, and accelerate through the stroke instead of pulling at one flat speed. This is where good freestyle technique separates a fast swimmer from a tired one. The kick is the glue that holds everything together: it keeps your body flat, drives your rotation and adds propulsion, whether you swim a two, four or six beat rhythm.
How to build your swimming training plan
A season plan has two jobs, and they need different sessions. Endurance work builds the engine, so swim at a low to moderate effort over progressively longer distances, and be patient, because that base takes weeks to lay down. Speed work is the opposite, short and fast efforts with enough rest that your form does not fall apart when you push. You can borrow the same interval logic from a HIIT conditioning session on land: hard effort, honest rest, repeat. If you are not sure how to balance the two, one of our personal trainers can structure the weeks for you.
A simple weekly shape for a recreational swimmer building toward the season:
| Session | Focus | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Technique and endurance | Drills, then a long easy swim at a talking pace |
| Day 2 | Speed | Short fast efforts with full rest, form first |
| Day 3 | Mixed | Steady swim with a few faster stretches inside it |
Dryland training for swimmers
You do not build a swimmer only in the pool. Dryland training for swimmers targets the same jobs your stroke asks for. For the pull, U.S. Masters Swimming recommends high elbow rows and a single arm chest press to handle the pulling load, the kind of loaded pulling you can train in a barbell strength class. For your walls and kick, single leg hamstring lifts and single leg box jumps build lower body power while you keep the knee stable. For the body position that everything else depends on, core moves like the opposite plank, the superman and a kneeling band woodchop teach your trunk to resist and start rotation. Two short strength sessions a week are plenty alongside your swimming.
Common questions
How long before the season should I start?
Give yourself at least six to eight weeks. Endurance is the slow adaptation, so the earlier you lay the base, the more speed work you can add later without losing your form.
Do I need to be fast to enter a community league?
No. The Abu Dhabi Swimming League runs across age groups and ability levels, so the aim is to race your own times and improve, not to beat an Olympian.
Take Your Season Training Onto Land
The pool builds your stroke, but the strength and conditioning behind it is built on land, and that is where a gym earns its place in a swimmer's week. Ready to get started? Fill in the enquiry form and the GymNation team will take it from there.
Sources:
alkhaleej.ae
usms.org
emaratalyoum.com
The opinions shared in the GymNation blog articles are solely those of the respective authors and may not represent the perspectives of GymNation or any member of the GymNation team.
GET YOUR FREE TRIAL TODAY
