In order to optimize performance, coaches must track the workload of their swimmers training. It is pretty well known that large, sudden increases in training volume or intensity can lead to overtraining and injury. On that same note, lower training volumes that do not adequately prepare a swimmer can also lead to injury. Why? Because their bodies have not done the training to be ready for the demands of training. Having the right amount of training can lead to optimal adaptations in the pool, giving you the best chance to reach your goals.
The right amount of training will leave you fatigued, but will be manageable to recover from. If you are interested knowing why recovery is one of the most important factors on a swimmers training, read here. One of the best ways to track workload for swimmers is using Tim Gabbetts, acute to chronic workload ratio. Using this tool can help monitor your workload, helping you optimize your swimming.
How can you Track a Swimmer’s Workload?
There two general ways to track workload, either external or internal. External workload are direct measures of an athlete’s workload through yardage, time swam, number of strokes, number of yards done above threshold, etc. Internal workload is a swimmer’s physiological response to training which is commonly measured by rate of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate, or blood lactate.
Measuring internal workload of a swimmers training is more difficult compared to other sport, as tracking heart rate is much harder, and most teams do not have access to blood lactate testing. Rich Willy, a physical therapist and researcher, proposed a method to combine internal and external workload for runners that I that I believe works well with swimmers too. You take the number of minutes swam and multiple it by their RPE. An example is if a swimmer is doing a threshold set of 10×300 on 4:00 at an RPE of 8/10. You multiply the 40-minute duration of the set times the RPE of 8. This makes a total workload of 320 units. Adding the number of units at the end of training week can give you the total workload.
What is Acute Workload?
Acute workload would be the workload of a swimmer during their last week of training. This workload is measured using external workload or through the combination of external and internal workload. Many coaches use yards in this scenario, as it is the easiest to track.
What is Chronic Workload?
Chronic workload is the swimmer’s 4-week workload average. It is important to measure workload the same way as acute workload.
How to Calculate a Swimmers Acute to Chronic Workload Ratio?
To calculate acute to chronic workload ratio, you simply take acute workload and divide it by the chronic workload. But what does this tell us? If the ratio is less than 1, your workload over the last week is lower than your average workload. Examples of when you want to use this is when tapering, recovery weeks, or during stressful times of the year. If the ratio is above 1, your acute workload is higher than previous training weeks. It is suggested than coaches do not go above a 1.5 acute: chronic workload ratio. A ratio of .8-1.30 is also suggested to be the training “sweet spot,” where the risk of injury is lower.
Why is This Useful for Your Swimming Training?
Tracking workload is useful during all parts of the season. It helps monitor workloads in season to avoid large training spikes, especially at the start of the season, and helps coaches monitor training intensity during recovery weeks and when tapering. It can be useful for the injured swimmer to avoid flare ups when they are building training volume after injury.
The training—injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder?
British Journal of Sports Medicine 2016;50:273-280.
The combination of external and internal workload can be useful in that not every yard is equal. A set of 10×100 all out is way more stressful than 10×100 cruise and the difference should be account for. Another example where the combination model is useful is that swimming at “easy pace” one day, may not be as easy another day. For example, if a swimmer has multiple intense days of training in a row, an easy set may feel harder compared to the same set done after multiple days off. This difference too should be accounted for.
But is it a perfect model?
Definitely not. There are many limitations, and more research needs to be done. One the largest limitations is that it does not take it account, age, sex, previous injury history, genetics, and previous athletic history. It is just another tool coaches can use to track their swimmers training. All coaches should be collecting objective data over time to track and monitor their swimmers, which will help performance and help prevent injury.
Having the right dryland routine can help improve your robustness in the pool, preventing injury and optimizing peformance. If you are interested in seeing two mobility routines that I use for swimmers to prevent injury then click here!
Thanks for reading!
Alex Ewart