Beginning swimming can be daunting, especially if you’re considering open water swimming. But don’t worry! With a few extra precautions beyond those needed for pool swimming, everything will go smoothly. The first step to feeling comfortable is to follow a training and with this in mind, to become familiar with the swimming terminology. Here is an introductory glossary.
Strokes
- The basics: Butterfly, Crawl (or Freestyle), Backstroke (or Back Crawl), and Breaststroke. The Indian Breaststroke is not included in the main four strokes.
- Individual Medley (IM): Butterfly (often abbreviated as “fly”) – Backstroke – Breaststroke – Crawl, in that order. Not a fan of Butterfly? Replace it with Crawl.
- 2 strokes: The two strokes in which you feel most comfortable.
- 200m IM: 50m of each stroke (Fly-Back-Breast-Crawl).
- Best Stroke or specialty : The stroke in which you are most proficient, not necessarily the fastest.
- Pull or Kick: Only use your arms, with a pull-buoy between your legs for support, or use only your legs while holding a kickboard.
Routine
- Warm-up: As the name suggests, this prepares your body for the workout. It’s a crucial step to prevent injuries.
- Main set: The core of your workout, more intense in terms of duration and distance. It’s your main course.
- Cool down: Reducing effort after the main set. Swim leisurely but maintain proper technique.
Distances
- 25m, 50m, 100m…: 25m is the standard pool length. An Olympic pool is 50m (there are small flags at the 25m mark to indicate the middle). Some pools are 33m long, but this is rare.
- Set: The number of repetitions of a given distance in a stroke: e.g., 4x50m Crawl. Think of it as the number of episodes in your favourite Netflix series!
Times
- Interval Timing (clock on the app): set 2x50m crawl⏱️ 02’00 : This means swimming each 50m in 2 minutes, completing the set in 4 minutes.
- Seconds ’’, minutes ’
- High-Speed (HSS): Swimming at a very fast pace.
Piece of cake! And if in doubt, refer to the glossary in the OpenSwim app…
To take it to the next level, explore level 2 and our guide to advanced swimming terms.
