CSS pace & load zones

Step 1 — my css pace

One value, set once. Everything in the app — target times in sessions, the zones below, your 8-week plan and the pdfs — is calculated from it. Adjust it whenever you swim a faster test.

free account to save it

CSS (critical swim speed) is your honest pace per 100 m at threshold. Type it in if you know it — otherwise swim a 400 m and a 200 m all-out and let the test work it out for you.

Optional: pick a distance, how many repeats and how hard — you get the target time per repeat, the splits and how long the whole set takes.

Step 2 — my paces in zones 1–8

Every set in the library is marked with an effort from 1/8 (easy) to 8/8 (all out). The table shows how fast each zone should be per 100 m and what that means for 50 m, 100 m, 200 m and 400 m repeats.

example for css 1:30 / 100 m — set your own pace above and unlock Premium to see your numbers

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Your personal paces per zone are a Premium feature.

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times are per repeat, swum on rest — zones 6 and 8 are effort-based, no clock

what the words and shorthand mean lives on glossary →