Resources · Rest & Intervals
How Much Rest Should I Take Between Swims?
Send-off intervals and fixed rest look similar on paper but work differently — here's how to tell them apart.
In short: A send-off interval (@ 1:00) includes your swim time — rest is whatever's left. Fixed rest (:20 rest) starts only after you finish, so it's always the same length.
Show me
Two different systems, same goal: enough recovery.
Send-off interval
8 x 50 @ 1:00 — swim 42s, rest 18s
SwimRest (whatever's left)
Fixed rest
8 x 50 with :20 rest — swim 42s, always rest 20s
SwimRest (always the same)
With a send-off interval, rest shrinks or grows depending on how fast you swim. With fixed rest, the rest is always the same length — it's your total time (swim + rest) that changes instead.
Walk me through it
Rest generally scales with the purpose of the set.
Recovery / Easy
Generous rest
The point is recovery, not challenge — rest is long relative to swim time.
Aerobic
Moderate rest
Enough to hold a steady, repeatable pace across the whole set.
Strong / Threshold
Shorter rest
Rest is tighter on purpose — that's what makes it feel hard.
Your turn
Which system is this?
The workout says "6 x 100 @ 2:00." Is this a send-off interval or fixed rest?
Answer: Send-off interval — the @ symbol always means a new repeat starts at that clock time, so rest depends on your swim time.
If you keep missing the send-off on a set — arriving after the next interval has already started — what should you do?
Answer: Adjust the interval to something you can hold. A workout you can't complete as written isn't doing its job.
Remember thisA send-off includes swim time plus rest. Fixed rest starts only after you finish. If a set feels wrong, the written instruction — not your effort — is usually what needs adjusting.
Every generated workout tells you which is which.
See send-off intervals and fixed rest used correctly, side by side.
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