How to tell if your swim has improved
Want to work out if your swimming has improved? Here’s a handy benchmark session to measure progress that all swimmers should be using.
During the season you’re bound to be working hard. There may be things that you’re working on with your stroke, and it can be tough to know whether particular tweaks are having an effect.
Regular weekend races and ‘hard work’ training sessions might mean that you can’t, or don’t want to, do extra swim benchmark sessions.
One way to keep an eye on how your stroke is performing is to do sessions or sets of ‘swim golf’, which give you a notional ‘score’ for your swims by combining time over 50m and your stroke count over the same distance.
The lower the total number, the better your score. Fewer strokes doesn’t always mean better, as you may well be gliding and slowing down.
This is why swim golf is a useful measure or test. Less strokes but slower swimming would mean your score wouldn’t go down.
Better stroke mechanics and faster swimming will hopefully require less effort as well as having a better score. Try the session here, and see how you get on over time.
How to measure improvement in swimming
Warm-up
400m as: 100m swim, 100m kick, 100m pull, 100m choice of drills
8 x 25m as: half a length scull, half a length swim; with 10s rest after each 25m
8 x 50m as: build (get quicker each length); with 15s rest after each 50m
Main set
8 x 50m as: 25m doggie paddle + 25m swim; with 15s rest after each 50m
8 x 50m as: swim golf – fast as possible with lowest stroke count; with 15s rest after each 50m
8 x 50m as: 25m single-arm drill + 25m swim; with 15s rest after each 50m
8 x 50m as: swim golf – fast as possible with lowest stroke count; with 15s rest after each 50m
Cool-down
200m mixed stroke, include 50m kick
Adapt for beginners – Keep the reps to 25m rather than 50m, the same rules apply. Take longer recovery between reps as an alternative.
Adapt for Ironman – Do more/longer reps, push harder too.
How long does it take to improve swimming?
Improving your swimming takes time, patience, and dedication. For most beginners, noticeable improvements can appear in as little as 3–4 weeks of consistent swimming.
If you’re swimming 2–3 times a week and focusing on technique, you’ll likely feel more confident in the water by the end of the first month.
But real, lasting gains like smoother strokes, better endurance, and faster lap times, often take a few months.
The timeline varies based on your starting point, your goals, and how deliberately you train.
How many times a week should I swim to improve?
To make meaningful progress, aim to swim at least 2–3 times a week. That’s the sweet spot where your body has enough exposure to adapt, but also enough rest to recover.
If you’re aiming for rapid improvements or training for something specific, bumping it up to four or even five sessions weekly (with varied intensity) can accelerate your gains.
Just make sure you’re not just clocking laps: include drills, work on technique, and maybe even get a coach or follow a plan.
Quality matters just as much as quantity. But if you’re loving it, swimming more is never a bad thing!
Is it better to swim faster or longer?
It depends on what you’re after, are you aiming for speed and efficiency or endurance and stamina? Swimming at a faster pace improves anaerobic fitness, technique under pressure, and gives you that sprinting edge.
Swimming longer, on the other hand, builds endurance, strengthens mental resilience, and is generally great for overall cardiovascular health.
Ideally, a well-balanced swim routine includes both. If you’re a beginner, start with longer, slower swims to build form and confidence, then sprinkle in speed sets as your skills grow.
Jamie Beach
Former digital editor 
