ST: Stroke (usually any stroke other than freestyle)
CH: Choice (any stroke you want!)
Structured Workout: A swim workout that is broken into defined sets. You’ll see these types of workouts in team environments.
Interval Training: In structured or guided workouts, interval training is used to mix up distances and intensity. Your interval is both your swim time and rest time for each rep. For example, in a set of 5×100 freestyle on 2:00, you have two minutes to swim 100 meters. Rest on the wall until the two minutes are up, and repeat four more times.
Set: One piece of a workout. In our example above, 5×100 freestyle on 2:00 is a set. Sets may also include specific drill names or notes about the target effort level.
Set Group: A collection of sets. See below for examples of different Set Groups. Some set groups have multiple rounds. In that case, you would complete all sets, in order, for the prescribed number of rounds.
Warmup: The first set in a workout. Usually made up of a long, easy swim, followed by kicking and a few drills.
Pre-Set: A set designed to prepare you for the main set. May include drills, speed work, or pulling.
Main Set: The main focus of your swim workout.
Post-Set: Done after the main set, usually as a “finisher” or final push before the cool down.
Cool Down: The final set in your workout. Usually one long, easy swim or a set of shorter, easy swims to help you get your heart rate down and flush lactic acid from your muscles. Don’t skip the cool down!
DQ: Disqualify. When an official spots an infraction where the swimmer is not following one of the rules for the stroke. Disqualifications are a large part of the learning process for new swimmers and are a major focus for each season.
Event: This is defined by the age group, sex and swimming stroke, such as Boys' 9-10 100m Backstroke. The number of events at each meet varies.
Event Winner: This is the swimmer who has the fastest time in the entire event consisting of all the heats of that event.
Exhibition: To swim an event without being eligible for points, awards, medals, or ribbons. Times from exhibition swims ARE eligible to be used as official/qualifying times. Look for the abbrivation EXH
Heat: When an event has more swimmers entered than available lanes, as is usually the case, there are multiple heats of the event.
Heat Sheet: Also called the Meet Program. This is the official schedule of swimmers in their assigned events, heats, and lanes drawn up by the statistician. EFSL uses the Meet Mobile app to publish digital heat sheets.
Heat Winner: This is the person who comes in first in a particular heat of an event. This does not automatically mean that the swimmer has also won the event, since there are usually multiple heats for any event.
Marshaling: Calling swimmers to wait in a specified area before their event starts. At most meets, swimmers are marshaled 3-5 events before they swim. Each hosting team marshals differently, so it is important for swimmers to pay attention to announcements, signage, or notifications sent out via WhatsApp.
No Show: A DQ that is issued when a swimmer misses their event without notice or valid excuse. In some cases, after a no show, swimmers might not be able to participate in subsequent events. Please check with your coach or meet referee/statistician.
QT / Qual Time: Qualifying times are published times necessary to enter certain meets or events.
Seed: To distribute swimmers among the required number of heats and/or lanes, according to their submitted entry times.
Scratch: Scratching an event is declaring that, while you are at the meet and intend to race in other events, you will not be participating in a particular race. This must be done as early as possible, preferably before the meet start. No penalty is issued for a scratch, so swimmers may participate in the other events they have entered.
Build: Swimming faster by the end of the repetition. Think of build as “speeding up” throughout the rep.
Best Average: Swimming as fast as possible and maintaining the same pace on every repetition within a set.
Descend: Swimming faster by time over the duration of a set.
Ascend: Swimming slower by time over the duration of a set.
Negative Split: Swimming faster on the second half of an individual repetition. For example, say you swam a 200 freestyle in 3:00. You finished the first 100 in 1:40 and the second in 1:20. That is a negative split.
Aerobic Training: Swimming a moderate pace over a long period of time.
Anaerobic Training: Also known as a Lactate Set. High intensity swimming that produces lactic acid. All-out sprints!
Hypoxic: Swim sets that incorporate breath control training. Examples include underwater kicking, or sets that limit breathing to every 3, 5, 7, 9 strokes, etc.
Taper: The process of reducing swimming volume and resting in preparation for a big race.
Base Training: Usually done in the beginning or middle of a swim season. Swimmers will do more aerobic training to build their fitness base. As the season progresses, they’ll build up from the base!
Streamline: Fundamental body position in swimming. Done after a dive and off every turn.
DPS: Distance Per Stroke, or the measurement of how far you move with each arm stroke (your efficiency).
Stroke Rate: Number of strokes you take per unit of time.
Lap Split: One segment of time for one lap in a repetition. Example: Say you swim a 100 freestyle in one minute. The first 50 you swam a 29 and the second 50 you swam a 31. Those are your 50 splits for the 100 race.
Bilateral Breathing: Swimming freestyle breathing on both right and left sides, usually every three strokes.
Flip Turn: Physically doing a somersault at the wall to change direction (freestyle and backstroke only)
Open Turn: Used to change direction at the wall for breaststroke and butterfly after touching with two hands.
Transition Turn: In IM swimming, transition turns are between strokes (butterfly to backstroke, backstroke to breaststroke and breaststroke to freestyle).
Fins: Wear them on your feet for extra resistance and a burst of speed. Fins help improve your kick speed and power.
Paddles: Wear them on your hands to focus on your catch and pull technique, and build strength in your arms.
Pull Buoy: A pull buoy goes between your legs and stops you from kicking so you can isolate your arms. Often used with paddles during pull sets.
Snorkel: Swimming snorkels are front-mounted, sitting on your forehead rather than on the side of your face. Use a snorkel to work on technique — since you don’t have to lift or turn your head to breathe, it’s a great tool to refine your stroke.
Kickboard: Use a kickboard on kicking sets to keep your upper body afloat. If you don’t have a kickboard, try kicking in streamline position on your back.
On the Top/Up: Leaving on the :00
On the Bottom/Down: Leaving on the :30. Think of an old-school analog clock. The 60-second (or :00) mark is when the clock hands are pointing to the top, and the 30-second mark is when the hands point to the bottom.
Circle Swimming: Swimming on one side of the lane to accommodate multiple swimmers in the lane. In some countries, you’ll always swim on the right side of the lane. In others, you’ll stick to the left.
Swimming Sides or Splitting the Lane: When there are only two people in the lane, you can split the lane in half. Each swimmer stays on one side of the lane the entire workout.
Laps vs Lengths: Swimming to the other side of the pool and back is one lap, and two lengths equal one lap. However, it’s important to note that many swimmers consider a lap to mean "swimming to the other end of the pool."
Last One, Fast One: Commonly said before the final rep in a set. It’s the last one, time to give it all you’ve got!
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