Closing Your Rings: How USMS Workouts Maximize Your Apple Watch and Strava Data

About a decade ago, watches and other wearable fitness monitors that track and record your every move began changing the way we swim. Where previously most swimmers had only a pace clock to measure their progress during workouts, suddenly these wearable devices offered a trove of data to pore over after every pool and open water session. 

Today, many swimmers wouldn’t think of hitting the water without first starting their watch so they can collect all that data and “close their rings,” a term that came from the Apple Watch, which gives users a daily activity target displayed as a ring that fills in progressively with each additional minute of exercise. 

Where once we counted laps, now many of us are looking to close our rings and upload our workouts to Strava, a fitness tracking app and social network where users can upload details of their workouts to track and analyze performance while “competing” against other users. 

U.S. Masters Swimming can help you do all of this with its organized workout groups and racing events throughout the year. USMS workouts are typically run by certified, experienced coaches who structure workouts specifically to help you improve your performance over the long haul. From sprint and stroke work to technique development, from aerobic and to long distance training, there’s plenty going on inside a Masters workout for you to track with your device and upload to your platform of choice. 

Here’s what to know about getting the most out of your workout time and your tracking device.

• Set your device to the correct workout type. It might seem silly to point it out, but there’s a difference in the way many tracking devices work for pool workouts versus open water. Plus, for pool-based workouts, it’s important to ensure the device understands what the length of the pool is so you get accurate data. Learn how to program your device for the venues you visit so you get the most accurate tracking possible. 

• Upload your data each time. Strava and other tracking platforms provide the best insights when used over time. Although a single workout can provide a snapshot of where you are today, looking at your data over weeks or months will give you a much more in-depth understanding of your fitness level and how your pace, endurance, heart rate, and other metrics are changing with training. Over time, you can build a long-term record of your training, which can help you identify patterns that help identify weaknesses to work on in the future. 

• Look for consistency. Platforms such as Strava excel at letting you see how your performance has changed over time by reviewing your weekly and monthly training volume, comparing effort levels across each session and tracking your progress across each season. This trend analysis can help you understand whether you’re swimming more consistently than you did previously, whether your pace is improving, and what those changes suggest about your overall fitness and capacity for performance.

• Look beyond the rings. Although closing the move ring on your Apple Watch each day is a terrific fitness goal, there’s lots more your watch can tell you when you look beyond this simple metric. For example, keep an eye on your heart rate data. You may notice a slight reduction in your resting heart rate as you get in shape or an increase in rate if you’ve been ill or have had an injury that prevents you from working out. This is just one piece of data that can provide insight into how your body is working and how your current situation influences longer term health and wellness.

• Use the data to make better training decisions. Your watch may be able to give you a head’s up when it’s time for a break or you’re flirting with burnout. For example, if your device shows that your pace has been declining or your heart rate has been elevated for several workouts, that could mean you need a recovery week. It might also mean you’re fighting off a virus or have another health issue brewing. This could suggest it’s time to talk to your healthcare provider or just scale back how often or how intensely you’re swimming. In either case, the data could help you make a better choice about what to do tomorrow. 

• Take the data with a grain of salt. Although wearable devices have come a long way in recent years in terms of accuracy and the range of metrics they track, they aren’t foolproof and there can be variations and glitches. This becomes especially apparent when you and your training partner swim side by side in open water but one of you gets a 2.3-mile swim on your watch while the other gets a 2.4-mile swim on the same type and vintage of watch. Similarly, calorie burn, heart rate variability, and VO2 max readings may not be as accurate as the watch suggests they are, so don’t base any major medical decisions solely on your watch data. 

• Don’t forget to enjoy your swim. It’s easy to get super consumed by tracking data; data is great, but don’t forget what it felt like to swim without a watch, back before we were all tracking every heart beat and muscle movement. Sometimes, it’s best to leave your watch at home and just go enjoy the water.