\u201cFor cycling, you have your pick of numerous power meters. Running\u2019s heading that way, too, with the likes of Stryd. But swimming\u2019s ostensibly been devoid of science. That is until, now\u2026\u201d<\/p>
Trolle was formerly the high performance coach for New Zealand and is now USA Level 3 Triathlon Coach. What is the training tool that he claims is the greatest swimming innovation in his 30 years of coaching? It\u2019s the new Smart Swim 2 goggles from Form<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> \u201cI truly believe this is a gamechanger for elites and age-groupers alike.\u201d That\u2019s high praise. But arguably warranted when you dig a little deeper\u2026<\/p> The technological revolution has seen training tools shrink and their feature set grow.<\/p> You only have to glance at your multisport watch to see that. But swimming? Despite manufacturers\u2019 best efforts, that\u2019s been the poor relation when it comes to training smart and maximising gains with the little \u2018free\u2019 time you have available.<\/p> \u201cHistorically, the problem is that the liquid environment inhibits data,\u201d says Trolle. \u201cAnd even if the data\u2019s okay, it\u2019s so common for athletes to forget to activate their lap or swim set. With the Smart Swim 2, that\u2019s not a problem. It delivers a complete dataset that\u2019s accurate and on point every time.\u201d<\/p> That complete dataset includes the basis of Trolle\u2019s game-changing claims: heart rate. Thanks to a goggle sensor that nestles against your temple, your beats per minute (bpm, indicative of how hard you\u2019re working) is projected onto your goggle lens \u2013 it\u2019s non obstructive and uses AR and waveguide technology.<\/p> Gone are the days when you\u2019d finish a set and immediately place two fingers on your carotid artery to measure your heart rate.<\/p> \u201cThat method just isn\u2019t accurate,\u201d says Trolle. \u201cThere are chest straps that are more accurate, of course, but they\u2019re next to useless for men as they move when they tumble turn. They\u2019re a little more effective for female triathletes wearing swimsuits but if they\u2019re impractical, they just won\u2019t be used.\u201d<\/p> It\u2019s precise, too, with Form just crossing the t\u2019s and dotting the i\u2019s on a white paper that testifies to those accuracy claims.<\/p> It has an incredible 97% accuracy when compared to chest straps and they\u2019re also 4% more accurate than the leading wrist-based heart-rate device.<\/p> Many of you will have already enjoyed the Smart Swim 1<\/strong><\/a> goggles that were transformative in their own right. Now, you have the next-level option to refine your training even further.<\/p> Back to Trolle. \u201cThe Smart Swim 2<\/a><\/strong> takes the innovative features like strokes per length, stroke rate and speed but adds to it the vital missing variable: heart rate.\u201d<\/p> Which is all well and good, but it begs the question: why is heart rate so important to driving your swim training forward? How will it make reaching your multisport goals that bit more achievable?<\/p> \u201cBy finding your heart rate at different intensities you can more accurately stimulate the physiological adaptation you\u2019re after whether that\u2019s building stamina or speed,\u201d says Trolle.<\/p> \u201cNot only can see you see how different speeds of stroke impact your heart rate, but you\u2019ll see the impact of technical changes, too. Swimming\u2019s a technique-heavy discipline so seeing how different stroke mechanics influence effort is vital from an athlete\u2019s standpoint and a coach\u2019s. Before, it was subjective and a guessing game. Now we have real data to work with.\u201d<\/p> \u201cThere are a couple female elites who I work with who come from a running background and can easily tick off sub-17mins for a 5km,\u201d Trolle adds.<\/p> \u201cBut, like many triathletes from a run background, their weakness is the swim. Once they started using Form, however, their stroke mechanics improved three times quicker than it would have done historically because of the amount of feedback.<\/p> \u201cWith heart rate, you can maximise sets and enjoy a greater return on what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p> Trolle stresses that the elites he works with use it in two ways. Firstly, they can download the swim sessions to their goggles via the Form app or Training Peaks and swim at the right pace and correct recovery.<\/p> Then another big benefit is that if they go and swim with a masters group \u2013 for you, it might be a masters group or triathlon club \u2013 that\u2019s independent of your coach, you can take a photo of the session that\u2019s written on the board, do the workout and then as soon as you\u2019re out of the pool, it\u2019ll sync updates to your coach\u2019s data-analysis software for feedback and progress.<\/p> If you don\u2019t have a swim coach and swimming by heart rate is new to you, that\u2019s not a problem. \u201cFor those swimming by heart rate for the first time, I\u2019d recommend swimming as you have done in the past and seeing what your heart rate is at different paces,\u201d says Trolle.<\/p> \u201cYou can then use that as a benchmark to improve your fitness. That\u2019s measured in two ways. So, you may swim 1:45mins for 100m at 130bpm. You then check again in three weeks\u2019 time, swim the same time but your heart rate\u2019s dropped to 125bpm.<\/p> \u201cThat\u2019s a net improvement in aerobic conditioning. You wouldn\u2019t have been able to tell that in the past as you\u2019d have no idea of intensity. Now we do.<\/p> \u201cAnother gauge of improvement is that if you swim that same 100m and swim 1:45mins at 130bpm but repeat it a few weeks later and swim that 100m at 130bpm but this time in 1:40mins, again that\u2019s a sign you\u2019re improving.<\/p> \u201cIt really is a gamechanger as when you rely on pace only and an athlete swims a faster 100m, they might have improved. Or they might have just really gone for it that day. The guessing game is over.\u201d<\/p> Once you\u2019ve acclimatised to your new goggles, you can take a deeper dive into swimming by zones, as you would cycling and running.<\/p> Your starting point here is identifying where your critical swim speed (CSS) is. See the \u2018Measure your Progress\u2019 boxout for more. Feel-wise, this is around a seven out of 10, which broadly corresponds to threshold.<\/p> You then hang your different zones off these in the Form app that either automatically calculate your five training zones off your CSS bpm or you can input them manually.<\/p> Which zones you nestle in more or less arguably depends on your goal race. \u201cIf you\u2019re an Ironman swimmer, you\u2019ll spend more time at lower intensities like zone two, but for long periods. You\u2019re wanting to build a strong aerobic base,\u201d says Trolle.<\/p> \u201cIf you\u2019re swimming the shorter stuff, you might spend more time swimming at a higher intensity where speed matters a little more.\u201d<\/p> Form\u2019s Smart Swim 2 isn\u2019t all about the training, of course. It can help you to deliver optimum performance at the races, too, and not just in the swim but throughout your entire race.<\/p> \u201cWhenever I\u2019m working with athletes, it\u2019s about controlling the controllables,\u201d says Trolle. \u201cAs we know, when you\u2019re in the open water of a race, it can be chaos; it\u2019s like being thrown into a washing machine. But having something to focus on, like their heart rate, helps them to maintain focus. It helps pacing that\u2019ll conserve energy and so pay off for the bike and run, too.\u201d<\/p> You\u2019ll also see if your stroke mechanics hold up when transitioning from the pool to the great outdoors. \u201cOften we see strong athletes in the pool but their stroke mechanics falls apart in the open water. The triathlete (and coach if you have one) can now see that clearly.\u201d<\/p> Key to this focus on stroke mechanics is Form\u2019s trademark Form score that measures your overall swim efficiency, giving a rating of 0 to 100.<\/p> It\u2019s defined by pace (metres per stroke and metres per second) and time swimming, and is an evolution on the SWOLF score that many of you will be aware of but, unlike the SWOLF score, you can use this metric interchangeable between pool sizes.<\/p> This also feeds into Form\u2019s HeadCoach that provides real-time visual coaching via the AR (augmented reality) display.<\/p> During and after a swim, HeadCoach determines how efficient (or not) you are in the water. Key to this is HeadCoach Skills that encompasses five key areas that will help swimmers identify where to focus on improving their efficiency: head roll, head pitch, set pacing, interval pacing and breathing time-to-neutral.<\/p> It also assigns swimmers a rating from 0 to 100 for each of the HeadCoach Skills, an assessment that highlights where improvement is needed and demonstrates when progress is being made.\u00a0<\/p>Practical and accurate<\/strong><\/h2>
How to use HR in the water<\/strong><\/h2>
Gauging improvements<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2024\/04\/man-looking-at-form-swim-goggles.jpg?fit=1024,797\")
<\/figure>Form score and HeadCoach<\/strong><\/h2>
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