SwimIM
Lochte's Brutal IM Set
4 rounds: 2×100 fly from a dive · 2×50 back · 100 free · 400 IM all-out
- ≈1h33
- ≈45:37
- EliteDifficulty 5 of 5 — Elite
- Ryan Lochte
What we typed
50 m pool. Warm up 800 mixed easy. Then 4 rounds of this block of steps: 100 butterfly hard from a dive, 30 s rest, 100 butterfly hard from a dive, 30 s rest, 50 backstroke hard, 20 s rest, 50 backstroke easy, 20 s rest, 100 freestyle moderate, 30 s rest, 400 IM all out, 2 min rest. List every step inside the block. Cool down 300 easy.
Fit File Forge built the steps below from these words — the same steps your watch gets.
Describe your ownThe session
Warm upMixed
RepButterfly
From a dive.
Rest
RepButterfly
From a dive.
Rest
RepBackstroke
Rest
RepBackstroke
Rest
RepFreestyle
Rest
RepIm
Rest
Cool downMixed
Targets that fit you. Swims use Garmin's effort levels (easy, moderate, hard, all out…). Send-offs listed as clock times are the original, elite intervals — scale them to leave yourself the rest the set intends.
Scaled version
2 rounds of: 2 × 50 fly, 2 × 50 back, 100 free, 200 IM hard, with 20–30 seconds' rest.
Build the scaled version in ForgeAbout this session
The story
Training under Gregg Troy at Florida in 2012, Ryan Lochte did 4 rounds of 2 × 100 fly from a dive, 2 × 50 back, 100 free and an all-out 400 IM, long course — a set he called brutal and one of the hardest he'd done. The intervals weren't published; our rests are a sensible guess.
What it trains
IM race fitness: butterfly on tired arms and an all-out 400 IM at the end of every round.
Who it's for
Strong IM swimmers. Everyone else: the scaled version.
Sources
- Ryan Lochte: "One of the Hardest Sets I've Ever Done." — SwimSwam, 2016
Related workouts
4 × 400 IM
4 × 400 IM, descending or best average
3 × 100 Fly, Race Quality
3 × 100 butterfly descending, 200 easy between
Descending 4 × 200
4 × 200, each faster (1–4)
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Describe it and it's built for your Garmin — your coach can plan the weeks around it.