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Sometimes when you plan a workout, you don’t want anything to change on it.

SwiftDuck assumes that when a workout is shared or modified, it needs to fit at least some type of time constraint mold.  If practice is only 90 minutes in the water and you plan out all 90 minutes, well something is going to have to change to get everyone done in time.  SwiftDuck attempts to maintain the work ratios over the course of a practice so that if you plan for 80% aerobic work and 20% anaerobic work, you get that for everyone.

As a coach, adding a minute or two for each set because I am waiting for the slowest lanes to finish up what was planned for the fastest lanes, can add up to a whole lot of not finishing the workout in time.

I have looked at triathlon workouts in books and online to see how long they take.  They are always generic, with :20 rest or they just give everyone a cycle of 1:30, if you can’t make it, take :10 rest.  Well, go to the pool with a 45 minute practice on paper, and you are not a very strong swimmer, you have just wanted to try this crazy sport, that practice can take you an hour or more.  That is why SwiftDuck does what it does, to get you out in 45 minutes if that was the plan.

Okay, with that all said, you may want to REQUIRE sets.  This would be to not let the program make modifications or adjust Reps.

Easy example, a coach has a standard warm up they do every day, 400, 300, 200, 100.  Coach wants that warm up but the program makes a modification to slower lanes.  Easy, the Coach can write the workout two ways.

  1. write a 1000.  In the notes section, write out the details of the 4,3,2,1 and then click the “SET REQUIRED” box on the screen.  This will maintain the 1000 for everyone.
  2. method two, would be to make a circuit of 1 x 400, 1 x 300, 1 x 200, 1 x 100 and “REQUIRE” each of those sets

That is one simple method and an easy example

That would also work for a set of 30 x 100 that a coach really expects the swimmers to do all 30 no matter what.  There are several scenarios that a coach might do this type of set and they can all be managed pretty easily.  Regardless though, each swimmer can know their specific goal times for the set, regardless of the cycles and reps.  Alright, lets look at some options…

  1. You want everyone on a 2:00 Cycle.  This is a Standard set for you and everyone does it the same.  Easy, just click the “Set Required” box and everyone gets the same set.
  2. You want everyone doing the distance, but want them to have similar work:rest ratios.  If you want to do this, all you need to do is click the little picture of a Lock next to the Reps input.  This will “LOCK” the reps at 30 so that everyone the workout is modified to receives 30 reps.  From there, you can use the recommended rest, create a custom cycle, or simply input a rest interval such as :10 rest.

Either way can get you a result, just be mindful of who you are sharing the set with.  If you are a coach and know your group, no problem at all, you know that.  If you are out of team, perhaps in the Tri world or Masters, a set of 30 x 100 unmodified could take one person 40 minutes and another person 80 minutes.