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Swim Drills and RPE Table

In addition to everything you need to get faster on the bike, our Triathlon plans include swim and run workouts. Of course, your swim and run workouts will be done outside of the TrainerRoad application, but this article should help you better understand the recommended drills we assign you in the pool as well as rates of perceived exertion both in the water and on foot. Swim Drills - Back Sculling (BS) - Keep your arms at your sides and point your fingertips back toward your toes as you propel yourself with those familiar figure-eight movements without moving your hands any wider than shoulder width. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvkCqpTsvEQ - Bilateral Breathing (BB) - Swim your regular freestyle stroke while breathing during every third stroke forcing yourself to discover and improve your weaker side. If this is challenging & uncoordinated at first, hang in there - your clumsy side will improve with practice. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaCbquF5lm0 - Catch-Up (CU) - Your lead arm will remain fully extended in front of you until your working arm completes a full stroke. The working arm now becomes the lead arm and remains fully extended in front of you until your working arm completes its full stroke and "catches up". Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpczzwoXbyQ - Chest Sculling (CS) - With your chest facing down, bend your elbows and point your fingertips down while keeping your elbows high. Make the same figure-eight patterns with both hands to propel yourself forward, effectively repeating the center of the stroke. - Fastest Average (FA) - Swim each repetition at a pace that is as fast as you can sustain for the entire set, while still being able to complete all the repetitions at the given RPE. Aim to maintain a consistent time for each repetition throughout the set. For example: If doing 4 x 100m freestyle, it would be better to swim 1:20, 1:21, 1:19, 1:20 (with an average pace of 1:20 per 100m) than to swim 1:18, 1:18, 1:20, 1:28 (averaging 1:21 per 100m). - Fingertips & Thumbs (F&T) - During your normal freestyle stroke, keep your elbows high and lightly drag your fingertips across the water as your working arm recovers. Then, as your working hand exits the water on the release, lightly scrape your thumb against your thigh. These two actions can be done individually or combined. This is sometimes referred to as a "fingertip drag" drill. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36lp6NgDYF0 - Fists (F) - Swim with clenched fists and focus on rotating your shoulders and bending your working elbow during the catch, creating a pull that's nearly as powerful as one done with an open hand. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH0TlKA-UFU - Front Sculling (FS) - Stretch your arms out in front of you, fingertips pointed forward, arms no more than shoulder-width apart and use both hands to propel yourself forward by "sculling" in a figure-eight pattern as you simulate the catch over & over. Use a minimal kick and do this with your head up or down. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1ex2GbQ9WI - Half Catch-Up (HCU) - This abbreviated catch-up will bring the full catch-up drill closer to your actual freestyle stroke. Instead of waiting until your working arm reaches your lead arm, start pulling with your lead hand a little earlier when your working hand is even with your lead arm's elbow. This is sometimes referred to as an "almost catch-up" drill. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRCDgVG9GuM - Kick & Rotate (K&R) - Begin kicking on your side for 3-5 seconds, then rotate onto your belly and "catch up" to your leading arm with the other arm bringing both arms out in front of you. Pull with the arm that was leading as you roll onto your opposite side. Kick for 3-5 seconds on this side, catch up with the other arm, and immediately pull the previously leading arm and rotate to the opposite side. Over time, try to spend only 2 seconds at a time kicking on each side. This is sometimes referred to as a "kick-switch" drill. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBE0Dk1BE5s - Kicking (K) - Swim facedown using only your feet to propel you as you breathe just as you would during a freestyle stroke by rolling to the side and turning your head to catch some air. Focus on "pushing" your chest down while keeping your legs & hips up toward the surface as you practice balance & kicking technique. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l55T3gby54o - Side Kicking (SK) - Swim on your side with your lower arm extended ahead of you and the upper arm resting against your side. Rest your head against your shoulder and look down, keeping your head completely submerged while using only your kick to propel yourself. Rotate your head slightly when inhaling and try to keep your hips & legs high throughout as you swim a full pool length before switching sides. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5gfI3SRLQE - Sighting (S) - Instead of turning your head to the side to breathe, raise your head to look forward and "sight" a landmark toward which you'll swim. Breathe just as you would when turning to the side by inhaling before lowering your head, exhaling underwater, and learn to disrupt your stroke as minimally as possible in the process - eventually not at all. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNdvm_VLlqc - Single-Arm (SA) - Restrict yourself to one arm’s use for an entire pool length by keeping the opposite arm extended in front of you or at your side (advanced). If necessary, perform these drills using fins until you improve to the point that you can eliminate them. Try to use a moderate kick and normal body positioning, rolling into your working arm. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YXOT_HQtjM - Stroke Counting (SC) - Target your stroke efficiency by trying to reduce the number of strokes you use to reach the opposite side of the pool. Count your strokes on your first trip across, then try to reduce the number of strokes during the next 2-3 trips across the pool by taking longer, more powerful pulls, rotating more & gliding a bit longer. This is sometimes referred to as a "distance per stroke" drill. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2sxK3Pz6TM Swimming/Running Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Key | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | RPE 2 | Recovery | Active Recovery | | RPE 4 | Easy | Warmup/Cooldown | | RPE 6 | Easy-Moderate | TR Endurance | | RPE 7 | Moderate | TR Sustained Power | | RPE 8 | Moderate-Hard | TR Threshold | | RPE 9 | Hard | TR VO2max | | RPE 10 | All-Out | TR High Power | | RPE N/A | Sprint | TR Burst Power | Select the following link for more information on the RPE Table: Swimming/Running RPE Key Explained Getting Your Swim Workout to the Pool Looking to bring your swim workouts with you, but don't want to get your phone wet? Here is our suggestion: - Simply write down your swim workout for the day or copy and paste the workout and drill instructions into a document that can be printed. - Next, go ahead and place your workout in a plastic baggie for safekeeping. - When you get to the pool, you can then stick your workout on a kickboard for easy reference during your session. No phone needed!

Triathlon Training • Last updated on Aug 20, 2026

Can I Add Training Stress Estimations to Multiple Rides at Once?

There is no way to add an estimated Training Stress Score (TSS)® values to more than one ride at once. If you have a backlog of outdoor rides completed without power data (and thus, no TSS data), it's best to either estimate TSS for each ride individually, or leave the TSS blank for these rides. Why? We don't support adding "bulk" TSS data because we feel this wouldn't give riders an accurate enough picture of their historical TSS. In order for our TSS estimation tool to be most helpful, rate of perceived exertion (RPE) information from the rider should be input for individual rides/events, and soon after the ride or event is completed. This way the effort level is fresh in the rider's mind, and they can input the most accurate RPE level.

General Usage FAQs • Last updated on Aug 13, 2026

How to Test with the 20-Minute & 8-Minute FTP Tests

With the Ramp Test as our recommended assessment, we still offer two alternative options to test FTP: The 20-Minute and 8-Minute FTP Tests. How to Test During the test intervals, totally ignore the graph's recommendations. Whether you're above, below, or exactly in line with the graph makes no difference. It's important that these assessment efforts are not restricted or guided in any way. We're simply trying to get a reasonably close estimate of your Functional Threshold Power, something we can't do if your smart trainer is limiting your power. FTP (Functional Threshold Power) is automatically calculated upon completion of any of our test workouts. 20-Min VS. 8-Min Test If you do decide to use one of these alternative tests, whether you use our 20-minute Maximal Lactate Steady State (MLSS) interval or a set of 8-minute Power at VO2max (pVO2max) efforts, it's best to choose a format that you will stick with and one that fairly represents your fitness at the time. Each test has its own pros & cons. We'll elaborate on each of them briefly below in order to help you choose a format that best suits you, both in terms of your current capabilities & capacity for suffering. 20-Minute Test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfdNQMik6Mk The 20-Minute Test is an ideal format to break into shorter, more manageable segments. By breaking the 20-minute effort into four 5-minute segments, riders can subtly tweak their effort every so often based on longer periods of muscular feedback, i.e. a rider can slightly reduce their pace every 5 minutes based on perceived exertion or how their body feels. The 20-minute test is a relatively long testing effort and pacing can sometimes be an issue for less experienced riders. Because of this, the 20-Minute Test is usually more ideal for seasoned riders who have a good sense of how to pace well. Additionally, many riders play it safe during the longer formats and end up finishing with too much gas left in the tank. Evidence of this is illustrated via a 2 or 3-minute surge in power at the end of an effort that would ideally be evenly-paced over the entire 20 minutes. As a result, their FTP and relative power levels are likely to be underestimated a bit (or a lot) rendering all subsequent FTP-based workouts less productive than they would be otherwise. TrainerRoad calculates your FTP from the 20-Minute Test by multiplying your average power for the test interval by .95. In other words, your FTP is 5% less than your average power of the test interval. 8-Minute Test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmJr4r1pWYM Our preferred format for less experienced riders is the 8-minute protocol comprised of two 8-minute efforts. The 8-Minute Test yields a greater amount of information by demonstrating power at VO2max via each 8-minute interval, sustainable power/FTP once the average power of the two 8-minute intervals is reduced by 10%, and you can even track improvements in your aerobic fitness when comparing the 2 efforts afterward, i.e. a substantial difference could indicate a limited ability to recover & insufficient aerobic capabilities. TrainerRoad calculates your FTP from the 8-Minute Test by multiplying your average power of the two test intervals by .9. In other words, your FTP is 10% less than your average power of the two test intervals. Erg Mode vs Slope/Resistance Mode Building on the information found in our Erg Mode Explained article, these FTP test alternatives, when completed on a smart trainer, have to be done in the appropriate mode: Slope or Resistance mode (depending on your particular trainer). Fortunately, TrainerRoad switches modes for you when you assess your FTP via our 20-Minute Test or our 8-Minute Test. Why Erg Mode is Bad for the 8- and 20-Minute FTP Tests If a smart trainer is left in Erg mode during the testing portion(s) of a 20- and 8-Minute test, the workout will lock you in at your current fitness level instead of allowing you to pace the duration of the test interval at your own power target. To avoid this, the assessment needs to take place in Slope/Resistance mode in order to allow a rider to work at his/her own pace rather than having the trainer determine a pace based on the input FTP. TrainerRoad automatically switches you to Slope/Resistance mode during your test interval(s). If you wish to use a higher or lower Slope/Resistance setting, you're free to adjust it yourself and it makes no difference if you use different Slope/Resistance settings from interval to interval or test to test. The last setting you used will be applied the next time you enter Slope/Resistance mode. By switching to Slope/Resistance mode, you're allowed to go hard without being forced to maintain the calculated Target Power that would be forced on your legs in Erg mode. You can pace according to your current capabilities such that you ride as strongly as possible for the assessment interval(s).

Assessing your Fitness Level (FTP) • Last updated on Aug 13, 2026

RPE Key Explained

Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) refers to a 1-10 scale to self-report the intensity of an effort. Our RPE scale is based largely on Matt Fitzgerald's running and swimming RPE scale. We use it because it falls in line with what we consider correct exertion levels for what we're trying to achieve with the workouts. How to Use the RPE Scale The RPE Scales are broken into three separate columns: Column 1 - Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) from 1-10 Column 1 lists the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) on a 1-10 rating. Lower RPE ratings are hardly distinguishable (RPE 1-2, RPE 3-4, RPE 5-6), which is why the lower RPE ratings are collapsed into a single row. Column 2 - Effort Level Column 2 lists effort levels relative to each RPE rating (e.g. a Moderate effort should feel like a 7/10 according to your rate of perceived exertion level). Column 3 - Zone/Pacing Equivalent Column 3 lists TrainerRoad's cycling power zones, and the workout types for swims and runs that you would perform in these zones. These give cyclists and triathletes a way to more easily understand how their RPE levels compare to the effort levels of their cycling power zones. For example, riders understand what the "Endurance" power zone feels like on the bike. Using the RPE chart and knowing that "Easy-Moderate" should feel about the same RPE that "Endurance" work feels like on the bike, athletes have a better idea of how their Easy-Moderate pace should feel during running and swimming workouts. Cycling RPE scale | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | RPE 2 | Recovery | Active Recovery | | RPE 3 | Very Easy | Warm-up/Cooldown | | RPE 4 | Easy | Endurance | | RPE 5 | Comfortable | Endurance | | RPE 6 | Comfortably Hard | Tempo | | RPE 7 | Hard | Tempo/Sweet Spot | | RPE 8 | Very Hard | Threshold | | RPE 9 | Very very hard | TR VO2max | | RPE 10 | Maximal Effort | Anaerobic Capacity | Example of Outside Cycling Workout Using RPE The outside-workout equivalent of "Darwin" includes the following description: "Warm Up: - Ride for 6 minutes gradually raising your effort from RPE 4 to 7. - 4 minutes easy. Main Set: - 4x10 minutes at RPE 8 with 3 minutes easy between intervals. Cool Down: - 1 minute easy." This workout begins with a warm-up period between RPE 4-7. This effort should range from an "Easy" pace to your "Sustained Power" abilities. Relating this to Power Zones within TrainerRoad, your effort should range between 55% FTP (just above Active Recovery) to 88%-94% FTP (Sweet Spot). Your main set has you settling in at a "Threshold" pace. Relating this RPE level to Power Zones within TrainerRoad, your effort should range between 95%-105% FTP. Your cool-down period finishes your workout with an RPE 4 pace, which relates to around 55% FTP. Running RPE Scale | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | RPE 2 | Very very easy | Recovery | | RPE 3 | Very Easy | Endurance | | RPE 4 | Easy | Endurance | | RPE 5 | Comfortable | Marathon | | RPE 6 | Comfortably Hard | Half Marathon | | RPE 7 | Hard | 10k | | RPE 8 | Very Hard | 5k | | RPE 9 | Very very hard | Mile | | RPE 10 | Maximal Effort | Sprints | Examples of Run Workouts Using RPE in TrainerRoad: A running workout titled, "Run VO2max Intervals", includes the following workout description: "Run 12min working up to Easy-Moderate, RPE 6 pace to warm up, then this week repeat 18 Hard, RPE 9, 30-second high-speed surges, recovering for only 30 seconds after each; run 10min Easy, RPE 4 to cool down for a total of 40 minutes of running" This workout begins with an RPE 6 pace, transitions into several RPE 9 efforts, and finishes with what should feel like an RPE 4 cool-down period. Referring to the second column in the RPE chart, this translates to beginning the workout at an "Easy-Moderate" pace, transitioning into 18 "Hard" efforts, and cools down with an "Easy" 10 minutes of running. Swimming RPE Scale | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | RPE 2 | Very very easy | Recovery | | RPE 3 | Very Easy | Endurance | | RPE 4 | Easy | Easy Swim or Warm-up | | RPE 5 | Comfortable | Easy-Moderate Swim | | RPE 6 | Comfortably Hard | Moderate Swim | | RPE 7 | Hard | Moderate-Hard Swim | | RPE 8 | Very Hard | Hard Swim | | RPE 9 | Very very hard | Fastest Average | | RPE 10 | Maximal Effort | All Out Sprints | Examples of Swim Workouts using RPE in TrainerRoad: A swimming workout titled, "Continuous Base Swim (2400m)", includes the following workout description: "Warm-Up 300m Easy, RPE 4 1800m Easy-Moderate, RPE 6 Cool-Down 300m easy, RPE 4" This workout warms up with an RPE 4 effort, transitions into an RPE 6 effort, and cools down with an RPE 4 effort. Referring to the RPE chart, the workout begins with an "Easy" pace, moves into an "Easy-Moderate" pace, and concludes with an "Easy" cool-down period.

Triathlon Training • Last updated on Aug 20, 2026

How to Estimate Training Stress Without Power Data

Ride outdoors with no power meter? Our tool will estimate outside training stress from GPS files. Track training credit for every ride! Training Stress Score (TSS)® is derived from power, so without power data, we are unable to automatically generate a TSS value. Enter our TSS Estimator! (If you're not already familiar with TSS and its components, check out Training Acronyms Defined before reading any further.) TSS Estimator The TSS Estimator is a tool that allows a user to make a TSS score for a workout. You can input your FTP and your perceived effort for that ride (on a scale from 1-10), and TrainerRoad will estimate a TSS value for your work! This TSS value will, by default, count towards your weekly TSS and appear in the TSS chart. Using the TSS Estimator There are two ways to access the TSS Estimator: 1) If you navigate to the Past Rides tab on the TrainerRoad website, you will see an "Estimate Stress" option on any ride that does not have power data. Simply click on this, and it will bring you to the TSS Estimator. 0-tss-estimate.png Additionally, while you're on the past rides page you will see a message about rides missing TSS. If you click the "View Rides" button this will bring you to a page with all rides missing TSS. 1-tss-estimate.png 2) You can also access the TSS Estimator from within an opened ride. If you open a ride that does not have power, you will see an "Estimate TSS" button right underneath the ride graph. 2-tss-estimate-ride.png Estimate TSS Once you have the TSS Estimator open, you'll be asked to confirm your ride's name and your FTP. Once you've input your FTP at the time of the ride, you will see an option to "Choose Intensity". 3-tss-estimate-modal.png When assigning a ride an intensity, you will be asked how difficult the ride was on a scale from 1-10. This is the "industry standard" 1-10 RPE scale in the world of cycling. Of course, assessing difficulty on a 1-10 scale can be pretty subjective, but do your best to be as accurate as possible here. 4-tss-estimate-modal-2.png Once you choose your intensity, you should see an estimated TSS value displayed directly underneath the intensity selector. If everything looks good, check whether or not you want to include this ride's TSS in your Career, and select update. (Note: By default, the ride's TSS is set to be included in your Career.) 5-tss-estimate-modal-3.png

Performance Analytics • Last updated on Aug 13, 2026