Saturday Swim Session: Jeanne's Form Workout
Swimming, August 14, 2026
Jeanne's Form Workout combines technique drills, fast 50m repetitions and Distance Per Stroke (DPS) swimming to improve freestyle efficiency without sacrificing speed. With three options of 1,700m, 2,400m and 3,100m, the session challenges you to maintain good body position, effective propulsion and consistent technique as fatigue builds. The fast 50m repetitions develop speed while encouraging consistent pacing, before the DPS swimming shifts the focus towards stroke efficiency and getting more from every stroke.
Good swimming isn't just about how hard you can work. Improving how efficiently you move through the water can help you maintain your pace while using less energy.
This week's Saturday Swim Session combines technique drills, fast 50m repetitions and Distance Per Stroke (DPS) swimming to develop better body position, stroke mechanics and propulsion.
The session was inspired by a workout completed by professional triathlete Jeanne Lehair in a Supertri video and has been adapted into three distances:
Option A: 1,700m
Option B: 2,400m
Option C: 3,100m
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL7yO_bJFNo
Technique Before Speed
The session begins with 8 × 50m of Drill / Swim. Each repetition combines 25m of a technique drill with 25m of normal freestyle, allowing you to immediately transfer what you've been practising into your swimming.
You'll work through four drills:
Each drill is completed twice.
The important part isn't how quickly you complete these repetitions. Slow things down enough to concentrate on your body position, balance and rotation.
Fast Swimming With Good Technique
The main set combines 8 × 50m fast with 300m Distance Per Stroke.
During the 50m repetitions, swim as fast as possible while continuing to maintain good technique and consistent pacing. Don't produce one brilliant first repetition and then progressively fade—the goal is for your last 50m to be as fast as your first.
After the fast swimming, settle into the 300m DPS and concentrate on moving efficiently through the water.
Count your strokes for each length and see whether you can maintain or gradually reduce your stroke count without slowing down.
Remember, DPS isn't a competition to see who can take the fewest strokes. Excessive gliding can introduce dead spots into your stroke. You're looking for effective propulsion from every stroke while continuing to swim smoothly.
Option A completes the main set once, Option B twice and Option C three times, making maintaining your technique increasingly challenging as fatigue builds.
Get The Complete Workout
There's much more to this session than simply completing the prescribed distance.
In the full article, I take you through the complete workouts for all three options and explain why you're doing the session, what you should focus on, common mistakes to avoid and practical tips for completing the workout successfully.
If you'd like to improve your freestyle efficiency while still challenging your speed, give Jeanne's Form Workout a try.
👉 Read the full Saturday Swim Session here:
https://www.coachray.nz/2026/08/15/saturday-swim-session-jeannes-form-workout/