Swim terminology

A summary of the common abbreviations and terminology used in your swim coaching plans

Glossary of terms for swimmers / Triathletes

Active recovery

Rather than rest at the wall for a prescribed rest interval your recovery is done with easy swimming. This provides a continuing aerobic effect, while muscles and cardiovascular system recover.

Balance

The ability to maintain a ‘horizontal’ body position in the water to minimise drag.

Bilateral breathing

Typically, this means breathing every 3 strokes, but it can refer to any breathing pattern in which you breathe to the left and right sides.

Backstroke

Breaststroke

Build

Increase speed throughout a swim set. Easy at the beginning, building to fast at the end – maintaining good technique.

By 25 / 50 / 100

This refers to how often you should do a particular thing. A typical instruction would be 1x 400m pull, breathing every 3-5-7-9 by 100. This means that you breathe every 3 strokes on the first 100, every 5 strokes on the second 100, etc. If it’s set ‘by 25’ you would change the breathing pattern every 25m.

CSS

Critical Swim Speed. This is your threshold pace (usally your 1500m pace) which will be determined by a test set. eg. your CSS might be 1min30sec for 100m. A session might have a set CSS+5, so your pace for that will be 1min35 per 100m.

Cruise

Easy, relaxed, fully controlled swimming. A pace you can maintain aerobically for anywhere between 400-1k.

Catch Up. One hand stays out in front until the recovery arm comes over and touches the other, then you start your pull.

Descend set.

This is a set in which you swim faster on each successive repeat. Eg. 4x 50m descend, where you would swim the 1st 50m in 43seconds, 2nd 50m in 42seconds, 3rd 50 in 41seconds, and the 4th 50m in 40seconds. Another example is 8x 100 descend 1-4, 5-8. This is where you descend for the first 4 swims, then return to the easier pace on the 5th and descend again.

Descending interval.

This refers to a set in which the sendoff gets tighter as the set progresses. Eg. 6x 100 pull (2@ 2:00, 2@ 1:55, 2@ 1:50).

DPS

Distance per stroke – the distance you can travel on one stroke

Drill – technique drills

DR/Swim

One length drill, then swim the next length. Repeat for distance set.

Even split / pace

Swim the same speed for the first and second half of a repeat.

Easy swimming, relaxed but with good technique. It does not mean SLOW. Swim at a pace which allows you to think clearly and swim with a great stroke technique.

Fast

Fast not hard, Easy speed is the goal, not making frantic movements.

Front crawl / free style

FC Kick

Flutter kick on your front - arms stretched out in front.

Fist

Swimming with your hands clenched into a fist – a technique drill to improve your catch by getting a more vertical forearm to hold the water.

Butterfly

Freestyle

Head lead

Keep both arms by your sides and lead with the top of your head, eg. Kick on back, side, front.

Hand lead

Keep one arm extended overhead with the other by your side while doing flutter kick on your side. Or it can be set that you have both hands above your head while doing dolphin kick (butterfly kick)

Heart rate

Hypoxic set

This is a set in which the breathing rate changes to a more strenuous pattern, such as breathe every 7, 9 or 11 strokes. This teaches you not to panic when your lungs are screaming because you miss a breath due to a wave / other competitor blocking you.

IM order (Fly, Back, Breast, Free)

Kick

Kick set – legs only

KOB

Kick on back

KOS

Kick on side

L/R

Left arm / right arm. Eg. 2L/2R which means you alternate 2 strokes with the left then 2 strokes with the right

Length

Length of the pool

Max

At or above race pace.

Minus cycle swimming

If your usual number of strokes per length is ‘n’ then minus cycle swimming means swimming at either one, two or three fewer strokes per length and ‘n’. Eg. N-1, n-2, n-3.

Negative split

Swim faster on the second half of a repeat than the first

Pull buoy

Paddles

Recovery

EZ swimming

Rest Interval (RI)

The rest interval in seconds to be taken after completing one swim rep’ before beginning the next. Eg. 8x50 @15RI means you swim eight 50’s and take 15seconds rest after each 50m.

Round

A series of repeats within a set.

Eg. 4x(4x75) on 1:30

1) 4x 75 drill

2) 4x 75 pull

3) 4x 75 swim

4) 4x 75 with fins

Single arm. Swim using just the one arm. This makes you focus on having a good hold of the water and good balance in the water, using your hips to rotate to breathe not pulling with your hand.

SA3

Single arm 3 strokes then switch to single arm 3 strokes on the other side.

Set

A series of rounds or repeats with a specific purpose

Speedplay or Fartlek

A continuous swim with faster swimming interspersed with easier swimming. The faster swim maybe set as lengths or stroke cycles. The easier swimming is the active recovery rather than stopping and resting at the end of a length. This provides a continuous aerobic effect while replicating race situations with change of pace. Eg. 200m as 50 hard, 50 easy, 50 moderate, 50 easy.

Strokes per length (S/L)

The number of strokes you take per length of the pool. For freestyle, backstroke, fly each hand entry is one stroke. Start counting with the first regular stroke. A good goal is to consistently swim fewer than 20 strokes per 25m, but 20-24 is a good starting point. If you are swimming 30+ per 25m then technique and efficiency work is required. Swim Golf is a drill to work on learning your efficiency by counting your strokes per length and time in seconds, add the two numbers together and this is your ‘handicap’, aim to reduce the total number by 2-3 for each repetition. The goal is to find the optimum strokes per length and speed. If you overglide and take too few strokes you will go slower by loosing momentum between each stroke, if you find your stroke count rising you are loosing efficiency.

Stroke Rate (SR)

The cadence, or how fast your arms are moving. Speed = Stroke length x Stroke rate. To increase speed you need to either increase the stroke length for the same cadence, or maintain stroke length but increase stroke rate. Good technique always trumps high turnover.

Tempo trainer

A small metranome that goes under the strap of your goggles or under your swim cap. It transmits a small audible beep which you can adjust the frequency to help you dial in a consistent stroke rate or time per length.

Vertical kick

In the deep end, vertical kicking with arm either; by your side, level with the water, or above your head.