Swim tracking watch

SomeUnusedName

Hi there

I am starting to take my swimming a little more serious these days (3 times a week) and I m needing some way to track length and intensity and I am looking for some suggestions.
I am not a great swimmer, I think I am doing 40~50 lenghts per session but because I keep forgetting how many I am doing...
I have a polar H7 and yesterday I tried to swim with it and pair the phone with it (out of the water obviously) and it didn't really work , so if I could get a Polar that links with it I would get the extra HR tracking that would be kind of nice but not essential

Ideally I would like to spend under a100 EUR

The options I looked at already but I am not sure how good/bad they are:

- Polar loop
- Garmin swim
- Swimovate

If you have any of these, how are they for swimming? alternatively what do you use that works for lap counting and any other stats that help getting better at swimming?

I am also a little tempted by open water swimming but I think I need to get some more laps per session to get there (advice on this also very welcome)

Thanks a mill

okane1

Up to last year I was swimming upto 6times a week at a competitive pace.
For me the best tool for tracking my swim was going to into my session with a plan (either on a piece of paper or in my head) and using the pool 60sec clock.
From this I knew a) my total distance & b) the speed I need to swim at, e.g. if I was doing 20x100FC at hard effort I would need to be holding 1.10, if working on endurance, hold 1.15, etc.

Many be I'm old fashioned but you don't need fancy watches for mapping your distance/speed/performance in the pool. Just a plan going into the pool, sticking with it and use the pool 60sec clock to track your speeds.

Also on a side note, pending on your swimming reason, just swimming 40 lengths in one go wont improve you as much as breaking those 40 lengths into 10x100m (4lenghts) swam at a faster rate with short rest between.

SomeUnusedName

Hi there
Thanks for the response, thing is I am coming into swimming from running, and when I ran I noticed a big change on how I ran by tracking it. then because it is tracked then I can actually train. I dont have your discipline so a tracking device keeps me honest
Also I don't really know how to train other than go hard and then go easy Thanks for the advice of 4 x 10 I ll try that while I search

Doeshedare

I dont use a watch either but look to the pace clock at the pool and sometimes use a Finis Metronome for pacing.
I do more or less follow a plan when I swim and if you want some useful plans check out the Swimming for Tri Beginners thread on the Triathlon/Duathlon/Adventure Race forum.

okane1

SomeUnusedName wrote: »

Hi there
Thanks for the response, thing is I am coming into swimming from running, and when I ran I noticed a big change on how I ran by tracking it. then because it is tracked then I can actually train. I dont have your discipline so a tracking device keeps me honest
Also I don't really know how to train other than go hard and then go easy Thanks for the advice of 4 x 10 I ll try that while I search

Belief me I love tracking devices. I'm doing a lot more running and cycling this year and would be lost with my garmin! The reason for that is out on the road I have no aid to gauge my performance besides feeling my body react or hurt.

In the pool I know the distance is fixed and using the 60sec pace clock I know my exact pace.
Similar to Doeshedare I also us a tempo counter and find it very useful for long repeat distances.

Get used to swimming on repeats - you will feel the benefits and if you're new to the sport work on technique and do kicking & pull sets.

Also some info on swim sessions
http://mastersswimworkoutsbysaramclarty.blogspot.ie/

Advanced
http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/swim-cgi/

Kurt Godel

Garmin Swim is a decent device which will give you an array of swim/stroke metrics- however its not 100% accurate and can often drop lengths. More to the point, it doesn't have a GPS so is useless in OW. The Garmin 910XT will do both pool and OW (and run), and to be honest a tracker is more useful in the OW than in the pool, for giving you an idea of how far (and how straight) you swim.

Okanes advice above is spot on; a pool clock and shorter sets will trump the need for counting lengths.

MojoMaker

Having said all that above, any gadget that actually gets you interested in swimming and gets you into the pool regularly is worth its weight in chlorine!

Go Go Gadget, if it gets you swimming dude, trumps sitting at home thinking you can't go swimming because you have no toys.

Garmin Swim is the market leading indoor pool watch, but no ability in OW. Garmin 910XT or 920XT (pricey) are brilliant in both environments, and the Polar M400, V650, or V800 are certainly worth a look - going from cheap to expensive in that order.

Left field choice - the Casio F-91W is waterproof, has a stopwatch, and is €8.99, and found permanently on the wrist of several successful triathletes I could name.

SomeUnusedName

Thanks Mojo. Of course as soon as I asked this I got a cold and now I have been out of the pool since friday hopefully I can make it tomorrow

cassid

Sometimes I like to do the zero to mile in just front crawl and to be honest I have to keep repeating the lane in my head over and over, I am just desperate at keeping track.

Was looking at something like this, am more a distance swimmer and never remember, I start day dreaming in the pool.

Saw a 10 km open swimming in August, would need to build up a fair bit of stamina and would need to ensure I could do the distance in the pool first.

Who is good at maths, how many lengths is 10km in a 25 metre ?

ToTriOrNot

cassid wrote: »

Who is good at maths, how many lengths is 10km in a 25 metre ?

400 lenghts

Kurt Godel

cassid wrote: »

Who is good at maths, how many lengths is 10km in a 25 metre ?

MojoMaker

Had one

cassid

Thanks for that.

400 is a lot of lenths !!!! a fair bit of training needed me thinks

2old4dacold

I've been using the Garmin Swim for some time now and find it an excellent watch for the pool

I had long wanted a watch with heart rate capability but having tried a borrowed one, found that the chest strap would roll when turning. after reading a review of the tomtom multisport cardio (reads heart rate at the wrist) on dcrainmaker blog I decided it would be the one for me. tried it for first time in open water today. there is no GPS in swim mode (works same as Garmin Swim) but I put it in run mode and had GPS and heart rate. cheaper than the Garmin GPS models and so far I'm very happy with it

ps - I've been dabbling with a bit of jogging lately and works great for that too

mad m

2old4dacold

How much was watch?

mad m

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Check this watch out!!!

Not me btw, a fella I know did this other day, did it for a good cause.

Kurt Godel

mad m wrote: »

Check this watch out!!!

Not me btw, a fella I know did this other day, did it for a good cause.

Seen that on FB, fair play to him!

Did they change the chlorine levels in the pool? 8 hours is a long time!

mad m

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Seen that on FB, fair play to him!

Did they change the chlorine levels in the pool? 8 hours is a long time!

Must ask him, have no idea.

2old4dacold

@mad m - €300 in Harvey Norman, but there's up to €30 back from a race entry offer as well

battery life is very good with it as well (it's rechargeable)
there's a decent (free) app available to pair it with the phone
tomtom mysports website not as good as Garmin Connect imo but over all, very happy with it so far.


super review here http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/04/tomtom-cardio.html

Tazium

Another vote for the Garmin Swim. I've been using mine for 18 months and have recorded 140 swims with it (3Km per swim). I'd be lost without the counter as I tend to zone out and think about my day during my swim, or think on the stroke count and then I'd lose the length count. My swims are the same, 120 lengths, non-stop front crawl. The watch integration with the Garmin connect site is excellent and the breakdowns can show where your pace quickens or slows during your session.

It's simple to use, two button presses to start recording and it will know when you've turned. It's a great motivator, I only swim against myself (and lose more often! )

Good luck

Fluffybums

Love my Garmin Swim. Even doing a planned session it is great to have a look at pace and SPL to see the effect of fatigue and how you improve with training. Fine and simple to use, includes a drill option (you have to put in your own distance for that) and works well as a watch. I'm short sighted, so if I forget my prescription goggles, I can use it to time swims and rests.
I also have Garmin 910xt, the Swim is much more comfortable in the pool and probably a little less painful if you get caught by my arm on the FC recovery.

Jawgap

My vote goes to the Garmin Swim - great for keeping track of lengths and drills.

I also have a Suunto Ambit 3 for open water swimming. It covers pool swimming as well.

hollingr

I have a garmin swim.. was great when I was based in town and pool swimming but now i'm broke, can't afford a gym membership, and doing all my swimming open water and I just use it as a stopwatch to have a rough idea how i'm getting on... but if you plan on doing most of your swimming in pools it's perfect.

It's great because you can really focus on your technique and not think about counting laps at all, and over time (hopefully) see your stroke improving (both rate and strokes taken per lap etc) and you can upload it all to the internets and track your progress over time (via wireless usb)

if you want to buy a second hand one I could sell you mine as i'd love to upgrade to a watch suited to open water, but cant afford it unless I sell my garmin swim. I just replaced the battery about a month ago so i'd say its good to go for a very, very long time!

efwren

Apologies for dragging up an old thread, however I am considering getting a TomTom multisport GPS watch for Christmas (not the one with the inbuilt heart rate)

However I have heard people complain that the lap counting feature for the swimming pool is pretty useless in that its very inaccurate. THere are also reports of it reporting wildly inaccurate heart rate when using a separate bluetooth strap.

Basically I am considering it or the Polar m400 but would like the length counting feature for swimming (which the polar does not have)

@2old4dacold Whats your impression of your watch now, still happy with it?

Thanks

2old4dacold

still happy with it efwren

don't use it for counting laps in pool because heart rate doesn't work in swim mode
would often wear it for heart rate only in the pool though and would judge it to be very accurate
Garmin Swim far better at counting laps imo

people do question why I'd be wearing two watches in the pool though