Your Average Lap Workout Count?

Here's my understanding of "lap" as it applies to a track or course. One lap is a single traversal of a course. A lap is a circuit if the course is a closed track. A swimming pool is not a circuit. The lanes don't form a closed loop and a lap swimmer doesn't swim in a continuous cycle. The person swims the length of the pool, then reverses direction and traverses the course again. One lap on a 400m racetrack or a 25yd. pool, is the length of the respective courses. Here are a few sources: Merriam-Webster Online Over time may link to a different definition The American Heritage Dictionary Encarta World English Dictionary SOCOG Swimming Glossary Search for "Lap" Jane Katz Ed.D., Swimming for Total Fitness: Q: What's the difference between a "lap" and a "length" in a pool? A: In the United States, at least, they're usually the same thing. Although a few people prefer to count a lap as one round trip, the term generally means one length of the pool.

Here's my understanding of "lap" as it applies to a track or course. One lap is a single traversal of a course. A lap is a circuit if the course is a closed track. A swimming pool is not a circuit. The lanes don't form a closed loop and a lap swimmer doesn't swim in a continuous cycle. The person swims the length of the pool, then reverses direction and traverses the course again. One lap on a 400m racetrack or a 25yd. pool, is the length of the respective courses. Here are a few sources: Merriam-Webster Online Over time may link to a different definition The American Heritage Dictionary Encarta World English Dictionary SOCOG Swimming Glossary Search for "Lap" Jane Katz Ed.D., Swimming for Total Fitness: Q: What's the difference between a "lap" and a "length" in a pool? A: In the United States, at least, they're usually the same thing. Although a few people prefer to count a lap as one round trip, the term generally means one length of the pool.