Max Heart Rate & Recovery Training

I do have to disagree on using a HR monitor - you just have to find the right one that works in the water. I use a Polar S720i, and it works just fine if you take good care of it. All the 220 minus age calculations are total bogus -- somebody came up with this because it was close to the average they saw in aging about 30 years ago (not based on aging athletes by the way). Now it's become the "gold standard". I would never use this for any serious swimmer - or really for anybody. However, I think using heart rates is one of the best ways to train and check your effort + Progress - it's just that most people have their own levels. It's tough to measure max heart rate in the water -- you can't really use a monitor and counting gets very difficult at 180+ . I think you should know your heart rate for aerobic sets and you should pretty much check 2-3 times during every main aerobic set. After a few weeks, you get a great feel for it and you can start your own training guide.

I do have to disagree on using a HR monitor - you just have to find the right one that works in the water. I use a Polar S720i, and it works just fine if you take good care of it. All the 220 minus age calculations are total bogus -- somebody came up with this because it was close to the average they saw in aging about 30 years ago (not based on aging athletes by the way). Now it's become the "gold standard". I would never use this for any serious swimmer - or really for anybody. However, I think using heart rates is one of the best ways to train and check your effort + Progress - it's just that most people have their own levels. It's tough to measure max heart rate in the water -- you can't really use a monitor and counting gets very difficult at 180+ . I think you should know your heart rate for aerobic sets and you should pretty much check 2-3 times during every main aerobic set. After a few weeks, you get a great feel for it and you can start your own training guide.