WHO IT'S FOR
Swimtime Pal for adult lap swimmers
You get to the pool at 6 am, push off, and swim the same easy 30 lengths you swam last week. Nothing wrong with that, but after a few months it stops feeling like progress. Writing your own sets means doing send-off math for a 25 yard pool and remembering "4 x 100 on 2:00, then 8 x 50" halfway down lane three.
Swimtime Pal builds the workout, runs the clock from the deck, and keeps the log, so you can just swim.
How lap swimming counts
The weekly goal. Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a mix, plus muscle-strengthening on two days.
Laps can count double. Swimming laps counts as vigorous activity, and one minute of vigorous activity is about the same as two minutes of moderate. Whether your swim is moderate or vigorous depends on effort: if you can only say a few words before needing a breath, it is vigorous.
So three 25-minute hard swims a week can meet the aerobic goal on their own. An easy recovery swim counts as moderate time instead.
Check with a doctor before starting hard training, swim where a lifeguard is on duty, and never swim alone.
A sample session: 1,500 yards, endurance focus
Warm-up: 200 easy free, 4 x 50 kick; 1:15 per 50 kick
Main set: 6 x 100 free, steady; 2:00
Main set: 4 x 75 pull; 1:45
Cool-down: 200 easy, mixed strokes; none
Swimtime Pal builds sets like this in whole pool lengths for your level, then the deck timer counts each send-off, rest and repeat, with a 10-second warning and a tone, bell or voice you can hear in the water.
From first laps to a meet
Week-by-week plans run from first laps to meet prep, sized to your level, with easier weeks and tapers. Every swim lands in your logbook with personal bests and totals by week, month, year and stroke, so you can see that you are actually getting faster.
Questions lap swimmers ask
My pool is 25 yards, not meters. Does that work?
Yes. Choose a 25 yd, 25 m or 50 m pool, and workouts, plans and bests use that unit.
What if the app closes in the middle of a set?
Open it again and you pick up where you were, with the clock caught up.
Can I bring fins and a pull buoy into the plan?
Yes. Tell it what kit you have and it uses it.
Is Swimtime Pal free?
The timer, logbook, bests, beginner plans and 3 built workouts a month are free, with ads. Standard and Pro remove the ads and add more.