Swimmers - where to find workouts ?

[Countrylife2002]

So, I was going to invest in an apple Watch to help me track and follow workouts. But I keep reading about watches breaking after swimming. I’ve also looked at other swim tracker watches but none seem amazing. I used to have SWIMTAG at the pool but they’ve stopped doing it . I’m not sure I want to outlay on a smart watch.

What I really want is a series of simple programmes to follow, and a sense that I am improving.

i swim 60 lengths front crawl 2-3 times a week. Sometimes I do a 40 drill mix of technique and fast/slow. I just plan my own before I go. I’ve got a book and found bits online but they’re all so complicated and use flippers etc. I have just got some hand paddles.

any advice for making the sessions more structured?

Or how would I find a coach? One session a month maybe , would this be beneficial?

Swimathon has a range of free swimming programmes to follow for all abilities. You could work through the different levels or distances.

Many triathlon coaches will offer just a swim based program which you can follow.
Training Peaks has swim programs that download to some devices, again for all abilities.

Watch wise- I write my sessions on a piece of paper and stick it on my water bottle! You can get swim specific Garmins so they might be worth looking into.

Garmin swim is good, I have the forerunner which has many similar features it gives great swim stats.

Great thank you. Yes I’ve looked at the Garmin, but it’s a lot of money for something I’m not that excited about, but will keep thinking ! Will lookup those sites that you.

i’ve got a plastic phone holder I’ve been putting cards into with plans. Issue is I can’t see very well without my glasses - this could also be the problem with a watch! So I tend to keep the plans simple and just learn then before I go in.

I've had an Apple Watch for years - the first one lasted 4 years with regular swims and the current one is up to a year and I always wear it swimming.

@CuntRYMusicStar yeah they do seem the best, but then I keep reading people saying they’ve died on them. I don’t want to pay for apple care on top! Usually I’d get a refurbished device if I’m not sure but I think I’d need a new one for the waterproofing .

My Apple Watch annoyed me it needed charging at least daily, it was a faff to connect it to strava which I’ve always used and I just found myself missing the garmin which whilst I acknowledge is ugly, is way better if all you want to use it for is sport related things. I wasn’t using the other Apple stuff at all. Garmin charge currently lasting 7-10 days depending on how much I use it.