Swim Tempo With a Tempo Trainer

The Tempo Trainer, by FINIS, is an audible, waterproof metronome that swimmers put inside of their caps to help with pace and cadence training. The most proficient pro swimmers in the world use this device but it’s appropriate for all levels (once you understand how to use it). So, how do you use a Tempo Trainer? #ITB #inthebag

One way is to set the “beep” as a goal to stay on track. For example, if you want to train for a 5:00 500 freestyle, you pace yourself to “beat the beep” by doing 25s on :15, 50s on :30, 75s on :45, etc. Swimmers may opt to “beat the beep” by keeping up with a certain pace. Here’s an example of this.

You watched video of yourself swimming the 100 freestyle and it’s obvious that you’re at your best with a 0.96 turnover rate (which means a full stroke cycle of the right and left arms). Your coach (and you) agree that by working on 25s and 50s with the tempo trainer set at 0.96 it will help you keep up with that

tempo and create some form of muscle memory. You don’t want to train the wrong thing over and over…you want to train correctly. This is a great use of the tempo trainer.

I’ll also hand a tempo trainer to an athlete at a meet to warm-up with. Please note that these are illegal in competition. However, the tempo trainer is quite effective for pace work. You can set the beep by stroke, stroke cycle, length, lap, etc. but explain to your athlete the reason for using this tool. It can be confusing!

Grab a tempo trainer here and you won’t be sorry!