How Do I know How Fast to Swim?

Swim Workout Purpose

Your swim workouts are designed to build:

• Aerobic and anaerobic endurance

• Muscular endurance

• Technique and speed skills

Workouts are structured using 5 training zones, based on your swim fitness.

Swim Training Zones & Fitness Testing

• In week one, you’ll complete a swim fitness test 

• This test determines your Critical Swim Speed (CSS)

• CSS sets the pace for all your swim training zones

Keeping your CSS up to date ensures your workouts stay effective and appropriately paced.

How to Follow Your Swim Workouts

Swim workouts are guided using:

• Critical Swim Speed (CSS)

• Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) (training by feel)

Always follow the hand-typed workout description provided by Phil in TrainingPeaks. This explains the structure, focus, and intent of each session.

See: Following Your Swim Sets

Enter Your Swim Threshold (CSS)

To see accurate planned distances and durations, you must:

• Enter your CSS in your TrainingPeaks settings

This allows TrainingPeaks to calculate swim pacing correctly.

Using a Training Device

You can export pool swim workouts to compatible devices, including:

• Garmin

• Coros

• Suunto

• Wahoo

Before swimming:

• Set your pool length (yards or metres) in TrainingPeaks

• Save it as a default, or adjust it per workout if needed

Refer to TrainingPeaks’ guide for device compatibility and setup.

No Device? No Problem

If you prefer a low-tech option:

• Print your swim workouts and bring them poolside in a plastic sleeve

• Use a small whiteboard to jot down your set

Both options work perfectly for following your session.

Need help setting this up? Contact our coaching team — we’re happy to help.

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