Resources · Interval Notation
What Does 8 × 50 @ 1:00 Mean?
Decoding the most common shorthand in swim workouts, one piece at a time.
In short: 8 × 50 @ 1:00 means: swim 50 yards/meters, eight times total, starting a new repeat every 1 minute.
Show me
Three pieces, one instruction.
8 × 50 @ 1:00 breaks into three separate pieces of information — each one answers a different question.
Illustration coming — 8 x 50 @ 1:00 notation exploded into three labeled parts: repeats, distance, interval
8
How many repeats
You'll swim this eight separate times.
50
Distance per repeat
Each one is 50 yards or meters — one length down, one back (in a 25-length pool).
@ 1:00
Start a new repeat every 1:00
Not "rest for a minute" — a new repeat begins every 60 seconds, whether you finished in 35 seconds or 55.
Walk me through it
Swim time vs. rest — not the same thing.
If you swim the 50 in :45 on a 1:00 interval, you get :15 of rest. Swim it in :50, you get :10. The interval doesn't move — your rest does.
Example
4 × 100 @ 2:00
Four 100s, a new one starting every 2 minutes.
Example
6 × 50 @ 1:15
Six 50s, a new one starting every 1 minute 15 seconds.
Example
10 × 25 @ :30
Ten 25s, a new one starting every 30 seconds — a tight, fast-turnover set.
Your turn
Calculate the rest.
The set is 8 × 50 @ 1:00. You finish each 50 in :38. How much rest do you get each time?
Answer: 1:00 − :38 = 22 seconds of rest before the next repeat.
The set is 6 × 100 @ 1:45. You finish in 1:32. How much rest?
Answer: 1:45 − 1:32 = 13 seconds of rest.
Remember thisThe interval tells you when you GO again — not how long you REST. Your rest is whatever's left after you finish swimming.
See interval notation in a real set.
Generate a workout and you'll see this exact notation in action.
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