Introducing Your HeadCoach™ Swimmer Type
Improving in the water is about more than just training harder. All swimmers can improve their technique, but it can be hard to identify what to work on and when, especially if you are training alone.
FORM gathers and analyzes all of your swimming data to give you your Swimmer Type. The Swimmer Type prescribed to you from our assessment highlights what your strengths and weaknesses are in the water. Then, HeadCoach™ recommends skills, drills, workouts and training plans that will help improve your technique the most based on your Swimmer Type evaluation.
Here, we will explain what goes into this analysis and how your Swimmer Type can help you become a better swimmer.
Framework
There are three swim metrics that are vital to understanding where you should apply your focus in your training.
The first two are Distance Per Stroke (DPS) and Stroke Rate. DPS is how far you go on each stroke. Stroke rate is how many strokes you take per minute, similar to cadence in cycling. These two metrics directly calculate your swimming speed at any time with this formula:
DPS x SR = Velocity
The third metric is your FORM Score, which is a measurement of your swimming efficiency. This measures your DPS and speed together to calculate your overall swimming efficiency and technique.
To understand how FORM uses your data to recommend your training focus, let’s take a look at what an ‘ideal’ swimmer might look like through the lens of these 3 metrics:
Constant DPS: If a swimmer’s technique is strong and reliable, then they would be able to hold close to the same DPS regardless of speed and fatigue in their swimming.
Increase in Stroke Rate = Increase in Speed: If the DPS is constant, then every increase in stroke rate would lead directly to an increase in speed, just like spinning your pedals faster on your bike in the same gear.
Steady FORM Score: If a swimmer can keep their FORM Score constant within each interval, they understand how to distribute their effort throughout their swimming and are fit enough to maintain their swimming efficiency.
How swimmers deviate from this ‘ideal’ state tells us a lot about what aspect of their swimming they need to work on and where they can improve the most.
Selecting Your Swimmer Type
Understanding what to strive for, FORM analyzes your data and shows you where your swimming deviated from this ‘ideal’ state. As complex as the analysis may be, it boils down to asking two questions:
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Does your FORM Score deteriorate the longer you swim?
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When your FORM Score changes, what else (DPS, SR, Both, Neither) changes?
By answering these questions, FORM can classify you into 1 of 8 Swimmer Types that will prioritize what you need to work on in order to improve the most.
We have visualized this in the following flow chart:
By answering the above, FORM can identify your Swimmer Type and help you improve on the areas where you need the most help. Here is a little info on each one:
Pace Pusher
You are pushing the pace at the start of your intervals when your technique is the best, but your FORM Score, DPS and stroke rate all decrease as you get tired. It is very likely that you are trying to do a bit too much and over-reaching in your training. Modifying your workout and your effort will help you adjust your training so that you can swim with better technique for longer.
Technique Endurance
You start your intervals strong, and you are able to hold your DPS, but your FORM Score and stroke rate drop as you swim. This can be a sign that while your technique is reliable, you might be able to improve your fitness or start your intervals more easily to better sustain your effort.
Stroke Fader
You are starting strong at the start of your workout and intervals, but your DPS gets shorter at the same time your FORM Score drops. This is a sign that you need to be more consistent with your swimming technique. This is common for fit athletes, who are still building muscular endurance for swimming specifically. Maintaining your stroke rate is a good start, so steadily building up your swimming-specific muscles will help you hold your technique more reliably.
Skill Builder
Your DPS varies a lot, whether you are going faster or slower. EVERY swimmer can benefit from improving the most fundamental parts of their swimming technique, and this is definitely the case for you. This means practicing good, consistent technique before trying harder or swimming longer. For more experienced swimmers, simplifying your training and working on a single aspect of your swimming technique can help you lay a better foundation for greater improvements in the future.
Technique Holder
This reflects the ideal state used in our example above, where you are holding your DPS well, and you swim faster with a higher stroke rate. So, the next step is to improve your technique overall to make your DPS even longer. When making further improvements on your technique, the best approach is to focus on your technique during low-intensity workouts first so that you can apply the technique gains to your higher-intensity training later.
Steady Cruiser
Since your FORM Score, DPS, and stroke rate are all consistent, you are ready to increase the challenge of your workouts! If you have a goal in mind, begin modifying your sets to more closely resemble the event you are preparing for. If you are in the off-season for your training, you can still challenge yourself by adding volume or intensity to your workouts to make holding your technique more challenging.
The last two Swimmer Types apply when you can hold your FORM Score and your stroke rate, but your DPS changes with your speed. Here we ask another question to help determine your Swimmer Type: Is your stroke rate always consistent during your training?
Tempo Setter
You can hold a consistent, constant stroke rate, but it might mean that you are stuck in ‘one gear'. This is common for endurance swimmers and triathletes who can hold an even cadence, but can’t hold their technique. By practicing at different speeds (and stroke rates), you can practice improving your technique at a higher effort level, which will allow you to maintain your technique for longer during lower-intensity training.
Wild Card
You can hold your stroke rate, but your stroke rate changes a lot when you change your speed. This means that you are holding less water, with worse technique, when you are trying harder. You can have great fitness and be able to increase your stroke rate, but if it results in a drop in FORM Score, then you are increasing your effort in a way that is making your stroke less efficient and has a higher energy cost. This requires focusing on your technique specifically during your highest intensity training to make the most gains.
There is always something you can work on in the water. Fortunately, at FORM, we love analyzing all of your data for you. Resultantly, FORM’s HeadCoach™ Workouts are truly personalized for you, not just based on how fast you are and how far you swim, but based on your Swimmer Type, which is integrated into your workouts. This way, you can follow your prescribed HeadCoach™ Workouts and be assured that your workouts will guide you through improving on the areas where you need the most help.
