Master the open water: how to enter the water safely and 6 more must-know tips
Swim Serpentine offers swimmers of all abilities the chance to take on an open water challenge in Hyde Park’s iconic lake and the right training can make all the difference. These two focused pool sessions are designed to improve your speed, endurance and open water skills.
Whether you’re aiming for a personal best or simply want to feel stronger and more confident in the water, preparing for Swim Serpentine is key.
Pool-based training can play a vital role in building the skills you’ll need on the day, from pacing and endurance to navigating open water conditions. These targeted sessions are designed to simulate Swim Day scenarios and sharpen essential techniques.
Session 1: Replicate your event start
The first helps you replicate Swim Day conditions, teaching you how to manage a fast start and settle into a sustainable pace. Practising returning to a cruising pace after the excitement of a fast start is a good skill to acquire.
1) Two lengths fast front crawl
- Rest only enough to add a pull buoy
- 20 lengths or 10 minutes 'pull' (arms only) at 70 per cent of your maximum effort
- Rest 30 seconds
Continue straight into:
2) Two lengths fast front crawl
- Rest enough to add paddles and fins
- 16 lengths or eight minutes swim at 75 per cent of your maximum effort
- Rest 30 seconds
Continue straight into:
3) Two lengths fast front crawl
- Rest only enough to add a pull buoy
- 20 lengths or 10 minutes front crawl swim at 80 per cent your maximum effort
- Rest 30 seconds
Session 2: Breathing and sighting
The second sessions builds essential techniques like controlled breathing, continuous swimming and effective sighting, ensuring you stay efficient, aware and confident in open water on the day.
Breathing pattern practice
Six to 12 lengths front crawl: swim as one length breathing to the left, one length breathing to the right, and lengths three and four breathing bilaterally (every third stroke).
If you can choose the side you breathe to, as conditions dictate, then you will be well prepared for Swim Day, as this means you can avoid breathing into the flailing arm of another swimmer or looking straight into the sun.
No Rest Swim
Six to 12 lengths front crawl: swim continuously, no touching the wall, to replicate the non-stop nature of an open water swim. In the pool, as soon as your lane ropes change to red, loop through in front of the wall to simulate a long continuous swim with no hanging on and resting.
Sighting
Six to 12 lengths: swim as seven strokes powerful front crawl then relax into two easy and pop up to sight forwards. Just the eyes above the surface. Is there a clock or similar hanging on the wall you can make use of to ‘sight’?
Don’t waste time or energy lifting the whole head up and simultaneously breathing. You should practice getting your breath in during your normal strokes and using the sighting strokes to sight.
On Swim Day use landmarks around the Serpentine, as well as the buoys marking the course, to sight.
