Resources

Learn the language of swim workouts.

Ten short, plain-English lessons on how to read and use a swim workout — no coach required.

What this is: plain-English lessons on how to read and use a swim workout — the pace clock, interval notation, terminology, effort, distance, and equipment. What this isn't: a stroke-technique library. For stroke corrections, that's what a coach or a lesson is for — these pages just get you comfortable with the language on the pool deck.

How Do I Read the Swim Pace Clock?

What the :00, :15, :30 and :45 marks mean, and how to use them to leave on time.

What Does 8 × 50 @ 1:00 Mean?

Decode repeat count, distance, and send-off interval in one worked example.

How Do I Know What Interval to Use?

Pick a send-off you can actually repeat, with a quick interval calculator.

Swim Workout Abbreviations

A searchable glossary — WU, EZ, RPE, IM, and everything else you'll see in a written set.

How Do I Read a Swim Workout?

A real Swim Workout Club set, annotated line by line, start to finish.

How Much Rest Should I Take Between Swims?

The difference between a send-off interval and fixed rest — and how to tell which one you're looking at.

Wait… Where Am I in the Set?

Practical ways to stop losing count on big sets.

How Many Laps Is 500 Yards?

Pool lengths, yards vs. meters, and a distance-to-lengths calculator.

How Hard Am I Supposed to Swim?

A 1–10 effort scale that maps to the words SWC uses in every workout.

What Swim Equipment Do I Actually Need?

What each piece of gear is for, and what to do if you don't own it.

Ready to put it into practice?

Every lesson here connects back to a real, generated workout.

Generate My Workout

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