6 Best Valentine’s Day Swim Workouts

Are you a swim coach or swimmer looking for a fun Valentine’s Day swim workout to celebrate your love for the sport? 

Check out our Valentine’s Day workouts to get your swimmers or yourself amped up to spend this day of love at the pool.

Below are 6 of the best festive Valentine’s Day swim workouts- great for club swimmers, masters swimmers, and high school swimmers! Plus, check out our Valentine’s Day-themed swim games and tips for making the workout more fun!

Grab the FREEBIE PDF WITH OUR 6 VALENTINE’S DAY SWIM WORKOUTS HERE we also included our 12 silly swimming-themed Valentine cards. This is a great way to boost your swim practice attendance. 

The “Heartest” Workout For The Beginner

This is a good workout for masters and age group swimmers under 12 years old. However, this set can be adapted to be more challenging for more advanced swimmers.

It is best to have this Valentine’s Day swim workout printed out or written on a whiteboard as the heart shape is what makes it festive! 

Do this set from left to right. Start with line one and work down to line 6. 

Warm-up (line 1)

200 fr

4×75 (kick/dr/swim) rev IM order, #1 fr-#4fly

Line 2:

4×100 pull

4×100 IM

4×100 fr build

Line 3: 

4×75 fast/ez/fast by 25, fast is worst stroke, ez free

4×75 breathe 3,5,7 by 25

Line 4:

3×50 25 fly/25 bk (work transition turns)

3×50 25 bk/25 br (work transition turns)

Line 5: 

8×25 kick desc 1-4

8×25 from the middle of the pool, work turns

Line 6:

100 IM all out

Recommend adding 200-400 for easy cool down at the end.

(Total yardage: Main set 3100, 3300-3500 depending on cooldown length)

Valentine’s Day Card Set 

This is a great workout Valentine’s Day swim workout for a high school or club swim coach who has time to plan a creative workout. With our help, we will make the planning quicker!  

For this workout, we recommend using either heart cut-outs, heart-shaped sticky notes, Valentine’s Day packs or cards, or printing our silly Valentine’s Day Cards!

Have your swimmers pick the sets out of a hat or a bucket to decide which they will do first. You can do all 12 sets or end it early. Below are 5 fun sets and 6 difficult sets to choose from; feel free to adjust to your swimmer’s needs.

Warm-up:

100 free

100 bk

100 kick

100 free

100 rev IM

100 scull 

Fun sets:

• 8×25 (3-5 strokes with eyes closed focus on feel, focus on taking fewer strokes)
• 300 social kick 
• 6×50’s backstroke (1-4 goggles on head balancing working on good head position, 5-6 goggles on and swim without making a splash)
• Coaches relay choice (recommendation: scull relay, kick relay, corkscrew relay) 
• 8×25 underwater swimming IM order (swimming completely underwater)’
• 6×50 kickboard pull (kickboard vertical or horizontal like a pull buoy)  focus on good rotation 

Difficult sets: 

• 8×25 fly fast with fins
• 4×100 IM descend 1-4
• 4×200 free (odd: fast, ev: smooth make interval)
• 4×75 build each (worst stroke)
• 4×150 fast-ez-fast (coaches choice stroke for fast)
• 500 negative split 

Warm Down:

200 ez

(~5000 yards set if all sets are complete, may vary depending on relay length)

Perfect Partner Set 

This is perfect for a set of gym swimmers or a practice with an even number of swimmers in the group. I will be dragging my partner to the pool on Valentine’s Day to swim this one with me!

Check out this Valentine’s Day swim workout packed with fun partner drills and sets below. We recommend splitting the lane if you have the space for this fun partner set. 

Warm-up:

200 free

100 kick

100 IM 

Drills:

6×50 handclap drill with your partner (clap hands-on recovery of freestyle stroke when hands are out of water

4×100 partner pulls(first 50 one person pulls, other swimmers kicks- hang on the the swimmers ankles)

8×25 partner sculling with a pull buoy (one swimmer going forward, one swimmer going backward) try to stay in synch 

4×50 grab a hold of partner’s hand Odds: partner backstroke, evens: partner free 

Main set: 

Match up with a swimmer who is similar speed if possible. Send one swimmer to the opposite end of the 25-yard or 25-meter pool. 

The goal of this set is to get your hand to the wall first! Go fast; these are all free!

4×25 fast free:10 rest 

3×50 free : 15 rest 

2x 75 free : 20 rest 

1×100 free all out!

50 easy (for the partner on the far side 75 ez to end up on the same side )

8×25 partner IM’s 

• One partner does the arms and the other partner does the legs of the stroke, hang on to our partner’s ankles, have partner 1 do 25’s 1-4 as arms, then switch 

Cool down:

300 ez 

(Total set 2550 yards)

The Ultimate Valentine’s Day Swim Workout 

This festive Valentine’s day workout can be used and adapted for swimmers of all ages. We recommend having this set printed out on paper or whiteboard to capitalize on the acrostic. 

This workout mixes in dryland between swim sets. 

Warm-up:

500 SKIPS: 100 sw, 100 kick, 100 IM, 100 pull, 100 swim

Main set:

Variable: 8×50 (1. fast/ez, 2. ez/vast, 3. All ez, 4. All fast x2)

Alternate arms: 4×75: 25 R arm, 25 L arm, 25 reg free

Legs up: 4×50, 25: swim with R leg out, 25 swim with L leg out of water 

Empty the lungs 8×25 limits breaths to 3,2,1,0 (adjust as needed)

No kick  6×100 pull des 1-3, 4-6

Torpedo kick: 8×25 fast kick with arms at your side rotating your body 

IM’s fast: 4×75: odds: fly-bk-br, even: bk-br-fr 

No splash: 4×50 easy free, perfect swimming try not to make a splash

Easy 200 double-arm backstroke drill

Scull 8×25 odd: boat scull, evens: free scull

Descend 4×100 free 1-4

A little break (1 min)

You go for it! 100 ALL OUT 

Cool down:

200 ez 

(Total yardage: 4100)

Swim Workout To Get the “Heart” Rate Up 

Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to get your heart rate up! This set is a great sprint set to help swimmers to get their hearts up. This is a more high-intensity swim workout. 

Warm-up:

200 free

4×50 kick 

8×50 variable: 1. fast/ez, 2. ez/fast, 3. All ez, 4. All fast

Drills:

4×25 slow arms, fast kick

50 ez

4×25 head-up freestyle, fast kick

50 ez

4×25 straight arm fast

50 ez

Main set:

4 rounds 

4x 50 fast free 

100 ez @ 2:00

Drop the interval by 5 seconds each round for example:

Round 1: 1:00/:55:/:50

Round 2: :55/:50/:45

Round 3: :50/:45/:40

Round 4: :45/:40/:35

Cool down:

300 free easy 

(2850 yard set) 

Coach Loves Me, Coach Loves Me Not Swim Set

This set is taken and adapted from one of my previous swim coaches! We recommend this set for 12 and under swimmers. Young swimmers tend to love this set. This swimming set is best for a coach who has time to make a paper flower.

If you do not have time to make a flower try adding all of the sets to the hat or bag and have each swimmer draw a set. Or number each petal and roll the dice to decide!

On the back of each petal, you will write a swimming set and give each swimmer a turn “plucking a petal” to choose the set.

Below are 14 sets we recommend adding to the back of the petals!

We recommend starting the set off with at least a 200 warm-up then finishing with a 200 cool-down. 

For coach loves me sets (easy, fun swimming sets):

• 200 social kick 
• 4x 25 doggy paddle
• 4x 25 surf scull (sit on your kickboard)
• 100 choice
• 4x 25 backwards freestyle 
• 4×25 butterfly pull with breaststroke kick 
• 4x 25 backstroke corkscrew drill

For coach loves me not (more difficult sets):

• 4x 25 sprint butterfly
• 4x 25 breath every 7
• 4×50 free with 4 underwater dolphin kicks off each wall
• 4×50 sprint backstroke 
• 200 IM all out 
• 4×100 freestyle descend 1-4
• 100 fast breaststroke 

(with a 200 warm-up and 200 cool-down total set is 2600 yards)

Feel free to adjust this set to meet your swimmer’s needs!

Swim practice game ideas for Valentine’s Day

• Heart Relay Race: In this relay race, each team member swims while carrying a heart-shaped buoy, and they face challenges such as spinning around before passing the buoy to the next swimmer. This adds an element of fun and difficulty to the competition.
• Love Letter Relay: Swimmers participate in a relay where segments of a Valentine’s Day love letter are scattered around the pool. Each team member retrieves a piece during their lap, and the first team to gather and assemble all the pieces and then read the letter aloud wins the relay.
  • Here is a love letter example:
  • Piece 1: “My Dearest Valentine,”
  • Piece 2: “In the pool of love, you are my anchor,”
  • Piece 3: “Your strokes ripple through my heart,”
  • Piece 4: “With every lap, my affection deepens.”
  • Piece 5: “Your presence makes every stroke smoother,”
  • Piece 6: “In your laughter, I find my rhythm,”
  • Piece 7: “Together, we navigate the currents of life,”
  • Piece 8: “You are the buoy that keeps me afloat.”
  • Piece 9: “With you, every lap is an adventure,”
  • Piece 10: “Our love is an endless ocean,”
  • Piece 11: “May our hearts synchronize forever.”
  • Piece 12: “Yours always, [Name]”

• Cupid’s Heart Hunt: Swimmers dive into the pool and collect scattered heart-shaped objects within a designated timeframe. Pro tip, coaches count how many objects you throw into the pool.) The swimmer who retrieves the most hearts wins a Valentine’s Day-themed prize. 
• Valentine’s swim bingo: In this game, swimmers are given bingo cards with swimming-related activities or achievements. Swimmers mark off squares on their cards as they complete tasks during practice. The first swimmer to achieve bingo, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, wins the game and a Valentine’s Day treat.

Tips For Making the Valentine’s Day Workout More Fun 

• Play music, check out this Valentine’s Day Playlist on Spotify
• Challenge swimmers to wear pink and red swimsuits 
• Have swimmers make and bring valentines cards to exchange 
• Swim coaches, wear pink and red! Don’t forget the heart socks and heart-shaped sunglasses.
• Let your swimmers pick their lane for practice 
• End practice with a festive game
• Fill plastic water bottles with pink and red glow sticks and fill them with water. Then let the water bottles sink to the bottom of the pool to add “lights” to your practice
• Bring a festive treat to the pool, you can’t go wrong with Sweethearts candies!

Happy Valentine’s Day 

We hope these Valentine’s Day swim workouts and games help you enjoy your holiday practice. 

After all, to become a better swimmer you have to be consistent!

And hopefully, our swimming Valentine’s Day cards bring a smile to your face or at least one laugh!
For more festive workouts check out our Christmas Swim Workouts and Halloween Swim Sets. If you’re looking for a non-festive workout check out our HIIT Swim Workouts and swim workout generator.