Training zones

SwimTribe sessions are designed to elevate your performance through the integration of tailored training zones and scales in every workout. 

Our strategic use of periodisation systematically targets key competitions outlined from the SwimTribe calendar, ensuring that each session aligns with your performance goals. This approach drives targeted improvements, enhances efficiency and maintains consistent progress, ultimately leading to optimal performance at competitions.

Below you will find our tailored training zone and scale, which are central to each session and help swimmers better understand and manage their training intensity. 

TRAINING ZONES

      A1: Aerobic Foundation. BPM: 100-130

Effort lasting: 40mins+. One common mistake many athletes make is to go too hard on all of their sessions. Training below 70% of your max encourages high aerobic and muscular adaptations without placing additional stress on the body. Swimming here can be sustained indefinitely and you aim to move at the fastest pace as easy as possible. For many however, it becomes all too easy to ramp up the intensity and start stressing your system further when you should be developing efficiency at the aerobic foundation. Avoid obsessing over pace, power, and speed to ensure this vital zone is maximised to its fullest potential.

            A2: Aerobic Tempo. BPM: 130-150

Sets Lasting: 20mins+, short rest under pressure. Those competing in any long-endurance races will often target this zone, but otherwise, it’s an in-between zone. It’s hard enough to ensure we develop our aerobic system, but not fast enough to bring about the required performance adaptations to excel in 5km and 10km.

            AR: Aerobic Robustness. BPM: 130-160

Sets Lasting: 15-30mins, shortest rest possible while maintaining form. Every open water must spend considerable time training in challenging conditions in order to develop neuromuscular endurance. It’s a tough place to hang out, and by definition, you should only be able to maintain it for short repetitions. Your aerobic capacity defines your ability to relax and maintain under pressure, so it’s important to have a nice base foundation, then you can challenge your body and mind through a variety of strokes, bursts of speed and resistance equipment to increase your robustness in the open water.

      A3: Aerobic Max. BPM: 160-180

Efforts Lasting: 2-5minutes, Rest is generous. The amount of time athletes can spend in their Aerobic max zone varies between 3 and 8 minutes. Repeated intervals here are both intense and short-lived. They simulate the hard efforts in racing where you attack or close a gap at crucial points in a race. It’s easy to over train in this zone, and a close eye should be kept on the accumulated training stress. Ample recovery should be allowed for and Aerobic max intervals should only be attempted when a athlete feels fresh. The best approach is usually descending sets that allow a balance of high performance and high recovery.

                  LT: Lactate Endurance. BPM: 160-Max

Efforts Lasting: 20-90 seconds, Moderate Recovery. Used to hone your speed, this all-important lactate zone is neglected by many due to the sheer discomfort of training it correctly. Those who embrace the pain while maintaining composure can expect to greatly enhance their overall speed. Every well-rounded open water swimmer with the goal of podiums must compliment their abilities with a speed endurance gear. Where a strong aerobic foundation will allow you to get to race distance, any lack in this neuromuscular zone will quickly be exposed in a race under pressure.

      S: Speed Max. BPM: Max

Effort Lasting: 5-15 seconds, Full Recovery. The shortest, but most explosive swims lie in this zone. There’s no specific time to target, it’s simply a question of pushing as hard as you can, recruiting as much of your body as possible for between 10-25m