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Whether you swim for fitness, or have some competitive urge inside you, performing a regular or periodic baseline test swim is helpful for monitoring your skill and fitness improvement.
A baseline test swim is simply a swim where you take certain measurements so that when you do the exact same swim later on, you can compare the same measurements between those swims.
Like giving a blood test to your doctor, when given to your coach, these test swims with data provide very helpful insight about your needs as an athlete.
Fixed Distance
Most commonly, one might do a swim of a fixed distance. Standard pool competition distances are convenient: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000, or 1500, and these work for 25y or 50 meter pools. Or in a 25 yard pool you may be attracted to do an approximate half mile (900 yards), or full mile (1800 yards). The distance you choose should be within just what you think you can manage to swim continuously, but it should be uncertain as to how well you can maintain certain speed or quality of movements during it. The next time you do this swim, after a period of deliberate training for your weaknesses, you do the exact same swim, measuring the same data points.
Open Distance
Less commonly, but still quite interesting, is to do an open distance swim, where you begin to swim at a certain pace or level of effort and then just see how many laps you can do before you reach certain levels of degradation in form, failure in form, discomfort, or some fitness limitation. The first time you do this swim you measure how far you went and what your felt at different points along the way. The next time you do this swim, after a period of deliberate training for your weaknesses, you do the exact same open swim, measuring how much farther you were able to swim and what you felt at different points along the way. You will see how your training made it possible for you to reduce or delay those failures or discomforts.
Gathering Data
Objective data you may gather from the test swim:
- Total time, if you do a fixed distance swim
- Total distance (or number of laps) and time, if you do an open swim
- Time splits (taking the time for each 50 or 100 of the swim)
- Counting strokes (SPL) on each length, every other length, or every fourth length
- Using a Tempo Trainer set to the same tempo
Subjective data you may gather from the test swim:
- Perceived effort level (or Rate of Perceived Effort, RPE) and how this changes at different points along the swim – including sense of breathing intensity and heart rate
- Sense of energy or fatigue and how this changes at different points along the swim
- Strength of attention (staying tuned in to specific chosen parts of your body and stroke) and how this changes at different points along the swim
- Sense of smooth, precise movement patterns (technique) and how this changes at different points along the swim
- Changes in attitude and mental peace along the way
You will not be able to do all of these. Aim to do measure one or two objective data points (time or distance, plus stroke counting or a fixed tempo). Aim to do at least one subjective data point.
You may get a fancy swim/tri watch to take your time, distance and splits, which will free up your attention for stroke counting, or keeping in time with the tempo, and for staying tuned in to your body sensations.
Also, keep track of any other circumstances or conditions that could affect the results of your test swim:
- lack of sleep
- not quite recovered from a recent strenuous activity or training session
- recovering from illness or body is trying to fight off illness
- extraordinary stress (positive or negative)
Frequency
You may do this test swim once a week, every two weeks or once a month. The more consistent your regular training is, the more useful these test swim comparisons will be.
Some people may do a special swim once a year, like an anniversary. That can be insightful from year to year about how your overall lifestyle and aging process is affecting your performance. But more frequent test swims will give you better feedback about how your weekly/monthly practice is affecting your performance.
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