A Lifetime in the Water Introducing the 5-Zone Fitness Framework for Swimming

In our previous articles, we explored the limitations of traditional training zone models and the need for personalized, data-driven approaches in swimming. We introduced the Wise Racer's 9-Zone Training Framework for competitive athletes, emphasizing the importance of precise intensity prescription to optimize performance. However, swimming is not just for athletes aiming to reach peak performance—it's a lifelong activity that offers unparalleled benefits for people of all ages and abilities.

Swimming is unique among physical activities; it's one of the few sports that can be enjoyed from infancy through to advanced age. From the moment a child is introduced to the water, swimming can become a lifelong companion. Elderly individuals who learned to swim early in life often retain a remarkable degree of freedom in the water, even when mobility on land becomes challenging. This makes swimming not just one of the most complete forms of exercise, but also one that can support well-being from the cradle to the grave.

As we continue our journey, we turn our focus to the fitness population—those who swim to enhance their health, build endurance, and enjoy the water. In this article, we introduce our 5-zone fitness training model, adapted from our performance-oriented system, to meet the unique needs and goals of fitness swimmers. This model aims to make swimming an accessible and effective way to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The Need for Different Training Zones for Fitness vs. Performance

Performance training is all about pushing the limits of the human body. Athletes aim to shave seconds off their personal best times, achieve peak physical condition, and excel in competition. Their training zones are designed to maximize efficiency, power, and speed, often requiring high intensity, precise effort, and a focus on minute improvements.

On the other hand, fitness training centres on enhancing overall health, improving strength, endurance, and flexibility, and ensuring that individuals can perform daily activities with ease. Fitness swimmers are more likely to focus on adding healthy years to their lives rather than chasing competitive goals. As a result, the training intensity, volume, and density appropriate for athletes in performance zones might not align with the needs of a fitness population.

This fundamental difference in goals means that the training zones used by competitive athletes are not always suitable for the fitness population. While performance zones are focused on optimizing every aspect of physical capability, fitness zones prioritize balanced, sustainable training that supports overall health and well-being.

In essence, while athletes use performance training to shed seconds off their best times, fitness swimmers aim to add healthy years to their lives. This fundamental distinction highlights the need for a specialized set of training zones tailored to the unique needs and goals of the fitness population.

Structure and Principles of Fitness Training Zones

To address the unique needs of the fitness population, we have adapted the 9-zone performance training framework into a streamlined and accessible 5-zone fitness training model. This model builds upon the structure and principles of the performance zones but with adjustments that reflect the goals, capabilities, and realities of fitness swimmers, based on recommendations by Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) and the American College of Sports Medicine. There is no need to focus on developing predominantly anaerobic capacities, so zones 6 to 9 from the performance framework are omitted. This streamlined approach ensures that the training zones are aligned with the specific needs of fitness swimmers, focusing on aerobic development and sustainable progress. To further illustrate the distinction between fitness and performance training, the following graph compares the VO2 max percentages across both models, highlighting how the intensity levels have been adjusted to better suit the fitness population.

The VO2 max percentages in the graph are adapted from Tanner & Gore (2013) and Liguori et al. (2021).

Differences in Density, Intensity, and Volume

Given that fitness and performance training have different objectives, the density (frequency of sessions), intensity, and volume (duration or distance) are also distinct:

• Density: While competitive swimmers might train multiple times daily to achieve peak performance, the fitness training zones are structured to recommend 3 to 5 sessions per week. This balance ensures that swimmers get enough rest and recovery time, which is crucial for avoiding burnout and maintaining motivation.
• Intensity: Fitness zones operate at a lower intensity compared to performance zones. This adjustment acknowledges that fitness swimmers are focused on steady, sustainable progress rather than pushing their bodies to the limit. Lower intensities are more aligned with the goals of improving cardiovascular health, endurance, and muscle tone.
• Volume: In fitness zones, volume is scaled back to align with the lower intensity levels and to ensure that workouts remain manageable. The general recommendation is to focus on continuous bouts lasting around 10 minutes or more. However, for entry-level swimmers, this may not always be achievable. To accommodate this, continuous swim sets are kept shorter than those for performance athletes. Additionally, interval training workouts are structured to make higher volumes more manageable by incorporating intra-set and inter-set rest periods, rather than sustaining high intensities for extended periods. This approach helps swimmers maintain their energy levels and enjoy their training throughout the week. Furthermore, the primary objective is to stimulate the metabolic pathways associated with aerobic processes. Therefore, recommendations are given in terms of time ranges rather than distances in meters or yards. This method is particularly effective for a fitness population, where individual swimming speeds can vary widely, allowing for more personalized distance targets based on each swimmer’s pace.

Considerations for Prescribing Intensity in Swimming Fitness Training

When it comes to fitness training, the key to success lies in appropriately prescribing intensity. However, prescribing intensity for swimming presents unique challenges that differentiate it from other forms of exercise like running or cycling.

VO2 Max and METs in Swimming

VO2 max is a widely recognized metric used to prescribe exercise intensity, particularly in endurance sports. It measures the maximum rate at which an individual can consume oxygen during intense exercise, making it a valuable tool for assessing cardiovascular fitness. However, using VO2 max to determine training zones in swimming presents significant challenges, especially for the fitness population. The most accurate measurements are typically obtained through gas analyzers used in controlled environments like flumes, often in conjunction with lactate testing. This combination allows for precise intensity prescription with very narrow time ranges for different training zones. However, such equipment is expensive and generally limited to research settings, making it impractical for regular use by the general fitness population.

On the other hand, METs (Metabolic Equivalents) are commonly used to quantify the intensity of various physical activities by expressing energy expenditure as a multiple of the resting metabolic rate. While effective for activities like walking, running, and cycling, METs are not commonly used to prescribe swimming intensity for several reasons:

• Complexity of Energy Expenditure in Water: Water's unique properties, such as buoyancy and resistance, complicate the calculation of METs. The body's thermal regulation in water also influences energy expenditure, making METs less reliable for swimming.
• Variation in Swimming Techniques: Different strokes have varying energy demands, and even within the same stroke, technique and skill level can significantly affect energy expenditure. This variability makes it difficult to standardize MET values for swimming.
• Difficulty in Measuring Energy Expenditure: Accurately measuring energy expenditure in water is challenging due to the interference of water with monitoring devices and the need for specialized equipment. This limits the practicality of using METs in swimming.
• Lack of Standardization: The generalized MET values available for swimming do not account for the wide variability in intensity based on speed, stroke, and swimmer proficiency, making them less reliable for prescriptive use.

Given these challenges, swimming intensity for fitness is more effectively prescribed using other metrics, such as pace based on personal best times, heart rate, or critical swimming speed (CSS). These metrics are better tailored to the physiological demands of swimming for fitness and provide a more accurate reflection of a swimmer's fitness level and training needs. While lactate measurement is not commonly used in fitness swimming, we've chosen to retain it as a general indicator, hoping that future research may support more practical, less risky, and less expensive methods for prescribing intensity in fitness swimming.

Introducing the Swimming Fitness Training Zones Framework

To effectively guide fitness swimmers in their training, we’ve developed a structured 5-zone fitness training framework specifically tailored to the needs of the general population. These zones are adapted from a more complex performance-oriented system but have been streamlined to focus on the key aspects of health, endurance, and overall well-being. Each zone is designed with specific goals in mind, ranging from improving basic aerobic capacity to pushing the limits of cardiovascular fitness safely and sustainably.

Fitness Zone 1: Active Recovery

This zone is the foundation of any fitness program, focusing on active recovery and light aerobic work. In this zone, swimmers can enhance their technique, improve circulation, and promote recovery between more intense sessions. It’s perfect for easing into exercise after a break or cooling down after a more strenuous workout.

Fitness Zone 2: Aerobic Base

Building on Zone 1, this zone targets the development of a strong aerobic base. Here, the emphasis is on improving endurance and overall cardiovascular health. Swimmers will work at a moderate intensity that is sustainable for longer periods, making it ideal for building stamina and maintaining general fitness.

Fitness Zone 3: Aerobic Capacity

In Zone 3, the intensity increases as swimmers work to boost their aerobic capacity. This zone helps to enhance the body’s ability to use oxygen efficiently, supporting higher levels of endurance and preparing the swimmer for more demanding efforts. It’s a critical zone for those looking to improve their overall fitness and aerobic performance.

Fitness Zone 4: Threshold Training

Threshold training occurs in Zone 4, where swimmers push close to their lactate threshold. This zone is designed to improve the swimmer’s ability to sustain higher-intensity efforts for longer periods. It’s particularly useful for enhancing the body’s ability to clear lactate and for increasing overall power and speed.

Fitness Zone 5: VO2 Max Training

The most intense of the fitness zones, Zone 5 focuses on VO2 max training. This zone challenges swimmers to reach the upper limits of their cardiovascular capacity, improving both anaerobic and aerobic performance. While demanding, it’s an essential zone for those looking to maximize their fitness levels, though it should be approached with caution to avoid overtraining.

5-Zone Fitness Swimming Training Framework

If you would like to download a PDF copy of the framework, you can do so from the Wise Racer website by clicking here!

The Future of Fitness Swimming Training

While our current understanding of swimming fitness training zones provides a solid foundation, there’s still much to learn. Several areas need further research to optimize training for the fitness population:

1. Interval Training Standards: There is a lack of standardized tests to prescribe intensity for interval training in fitness swimming. More research is needed to develop reliable and accessible methods that can be widely adopted.
2. Rest Interval Guidelines: The optimal rest intervals between single sets and multi-sets in fitness swimming are not well-defined. Understanding how different rest periods impact recovery and performance in a fitness context is essential for refining training prescriptions.
3. Use of Lactate Measurement: While lactate measurement is a valuable tool in performance swimming, its practicality and applicability in fitness swimming remain limited. More research is needed to explore alternative methods that could provide similar insights without the need for expensive and invasive testing.
4. Technology and Accessibility: The use of advanced technologies like gas analyzers and VO2 max testing is currently limited to research settings. Exploring ways to make these technologies more accessible to the general fitness population could revolutionize how we prescribe and monitor training intensity in swimming.
5. Customized Fitness Training: As AI and machine learning continue to evolve, there’s potential for developing highly personalized training plans that adapt to an individual’s progress and specific needs. However, more research is needed to integrate these technologies effectively into fitness swimming.

By addressing these gaps, we can continue to refine and enhance the fitness swimming training zones, making swimming an even more effective and enjoyable way for people to achieve their health and fitness goals.

Summary

In this article, we presented the Wise Racer 5-Zone Fitness Training Model, specifically designed to address the needs of the fitness population. Key takeaways include:

• The 5-zone model is a simplified adaptation of the 9-zone performance framework, focusing on aerobic development and sustainable progress rather than high-intensity performance gains.
• We discussed the importance of adjusting training density, intensity, and volume to better align with the goals of fitness swimmers.
• The article also highlighted the challenges of prescribing intensity for swimming, particularly the limitations of using VO2 max and METs in aquatic environments.
• Finally, we introduced the swimming fitness training zones, offering practical guidelines to help swimmers achieve their health and fitness goals effectively and safely.

This model is designed to make swimming a lifelong activity that supports overall well-being, allowing individuals to enjoy the water at any stage of life.

Call to Action

We invite swimmers, coaches, researchers, and enthusiasts to explore and apply the Wise Racer 5-Zone Fitness Training Model in their training and research. Your insights and experiences are invaluable to us, and we welcome collaboration in the ongoing development and refinement of this science-based, freely available tool. Our goal is to create a comprehensive resource for the swimming community, grounded in the latest research and best practices. Join us on this collaborative journey to advance swimming training for fitness and performance. Together, let's build a better future for swimmers of all ages and abilities!

References

• American College of Sports Medicine, Liguori, G., Feito, Y., Fountaine, C. J., & Roy, B. A. (2021). ACSM's guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
• Norton, K., Norton, L., & Sadgrove, D. (2010). Position statement on physical activity and exercise intensity terminology. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 13(5), 496–502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2009.09.008
• Tanner, R. K., & Gore, C. J. (Eds.). (2013). Physiological tests for elite athletes. Human Kinetics.