The ZWIM Protocol

Connected Swim Training

The ZWIM Protocol

Pool 2x. ZWIM 3x. One practical example of a weekly model that keeps the pool central and uses ZWIM Sessions to keep the catch, pull, and push alive between pool days.

It is not a rule you have to obey. It is a way to make the swim week survive a real life.

Join the waitlistHow the protocol works
The short answer

The ZWIM Protocol is a pool-plus-ZWIM weekly model.

The ZWIM Protocol keeps pool and open-water sessions central for the full swim, then adds ZWIM Sessions between pool days to train the catch, pull, and push with Propulsive Watts. Pool 2x. ZWIM 3x. is one practical example, not a law.

ZWIM is additive at any volume. It never replaces pool swimming, and it never asks you to drop to zero pool days. Meet the week where it actually is, then keep the swim in it.

The principle matters more than the formula. Do not let the swim vanish between pool sessions. And it is built to be fun: your effort drives a game, and fun is what makes you come back tomorrow.

Why a protocol

The problem is consistency, not desire.

Most triathletes already know the swim matters. That is not the problem. The problem is making enough useful swim-specific work happen inside a real week.

Life, work, and family make four to six pool sessions a week unrealistic for most age-group triathletes. The bike can happen in the garage. The run can start at the front door. The swim still asks for a pool, a lane time, a bag, a commute, changing, showering, and luck.

So the swim becomes the session that disappears. Not because the athlete is lazy, but because the system around swimming is harder to repeat.

A protocol makes the swim week survive a real life.

The three jobs of the week

Pool. Open water. ZWIM Sessions.

A good triathlon swim week has three jobs. The pool stays central because in-water swimming teaches the full stroke. ZWIM exists because the days around the pool matter too.

Pool

The full swim and in-water truth

Feel for the water, breathing under load, body position, rotation, stroke timing, turns, and sighting. The full stroke comes together in the pool.

Open water

Race-specific chaos

Pacing, pack confidence, navigation, and the conditions a pool cannot recreate. Open water is where the race is rehearsed.

ZWIM Sessions

Catch, pull, push, and Propulsive Watts

Between pool days, ZWIM focuses the propulsion side of the stroke and gives it a feedback signal you can repeat.

Example week

A real 70.3 week, built around two pool swims.

This is one honest example, not a rule, for an age-group triathlete who can only get to the pool twice a week. The whole point: every ZWIM Session primes the next swim, so when you hit the water it feels like a win, not like starting over. Notice the bricks. You finish a short ZWIM Session and roll straight onto the bike or out the door for a run, so it costs almost no extra time.

Monday

Optional: recovery, or a ZWIM Recovery session.Light Propulsion Bands, Catch Calibration and activation. Loosen up, no real load.

Tuesday

AM pool swim. PM 1 hour bike.Your first in-water session. Test the full stroke, then ride.

Wednesday

ZWIM 15 min into a 30 min Z2 run brick, before breakfast.Prime the catch with a little threshold work, then run.

Thursday

ZWIM 20 min into a 90 min Z2 bike brick.Wake up the pull, then straight onto the bike.

Friday

Long swim. Optional easy 30 min run.Your second pool session. The easy run keeps your run frequency up without taxing the big weekend.

Saturday

180 min bike, outside or indoor.The big aerobic day.

Sunday

ZWIM 30 min into a long run.One more swim-specific session, then the long run.

Two pool swims. A few short ZWIM Sessions, most of them rolled into a bike or run brick, so the swim never goes cold and Tuesday and Friday in the water feel sharp instead of unfamiliar.

And here is the part nobody expects from swim training: it is actually fun. Your effort drives the game, so the session you used to skip becomes the one you want to start.

Tailor it to your week

Whatever your pool access, keep the pool and let ZWIM fill the gap.

Once a week

One pool day, more contact around it

One pool swim is common for busy age-group triathletes, and it can make the swim feel like a weekly restart. Add two or three ZWIM Sessions around it so the catch, pull, and push stay familiar and the next pool session has a clearer focus.

Twice a week

Two pool days, mind the gap

Two pool swims are stronger, but the gap between them still matters. Add two or three ZWIM Sessions so you stop losing the swim between pool days. This is the most natural early ZWIM pattern for many age-group triathletes.

Three or more

High pool frequency, sharper questions

If you already have pool frequency, ZWIM is not there to add generic volume. Use one or two short, specific ZWIM Sessions to see whether the catch holds its output, whether one side carries the work, and whether a cue changes the feedback. The pool always stays.

Who the protocol serves

The same model. Two very different athletes.

For age-group triathletes

The win is consistency.

You are not short on work ethic. You are short on pool access. The protocol keeps the stroke alive between pool days, helps you build the catch with high elbow and an early vertical forearm, and adds swim-specific fitness, all without needing four to six pool trips a week.

You are the athlete the ZWIM Protocol is built for. It makes the swim week something you can actually repeat.

For pros

A monitoring and supplement tool.

Pros already live in the pool, so this is not about access. For a pro, the ZWIM Protocol can be as little as one or two ZWIM Sessions a week to keep an objective, repeatable measure of stroke power in Propulsive Watts across a season, and to add controlled catch work between pool sessions.

It is a supplement and a monitor, not a volume mandate. The pool stays central.

By race distance

Sensible pool-plus-ZWIM splits, all framed as examples.

Sprint and Olympic

Crowded week, swim still counts

One to two pool swims, two ZWIM Sessions attached to bike or run days, and one short activation if pool gaps get long. Stack a short ZWIM Session before the bike trainer to keep the catch alive.

70.3

Too long to treat the swim as a warm-up

Two pool swims, two or three ZWIM Sessions split across activation and Propulsive Watts work, and open-water practice when the race and season demand it. ZWIM keeps the propulsion work alive while bike and run volume compete for the week.

Full distance

Calm, repeatable work

Pool time, open-water experience, and pacing lead. ZWIM fits as a support layer: short catch and pull sessions between pool or open-water days, Propulsive Watts tracking through training blocks, and light activation before the next water session. More is not always better.

Across every distance

The pool always leads

ZWIM does not cover open-water practice, pacing, or pack confidence. It keeps the swim-specific propulsion work in the week so the next pool or open-water session has something to build from.

For coaches

Keep athletes consistent. Give them a number to work to.

A coach still owns the full plan: pool work, open-water preparation, race prep, stroke priorities, and load management. ZWIM helps the athlete keep showing up between coached sessions, with a number to work to in Propulsive Watts and a reason to come back. Training that is fun gets repeated, and repeated training is what actually changes a swim.

It also retires the worst line in coaching: "just swim more." For an athlete who already cannot get to the pool, that is not a plan, it is a guilt trip. Swim-specific work they can do at home, with feedback, is the version of "swim more" that fits a real life.

And it makes you look good. Most coaches are still saying "swim more" and hoping. The one who hands an athlete a way to train the catch between pool days, plus a number to track, looks like they know something the others do not.

Honest boundaries

What the protocol is not.

  • Not a rule you must obey. Pool 2x. ZWIM 3x. is an example, and the right plan depends on the athlete.
  • Not a pool replacement. Swimming still has to be trained and tested in the water.
  • Not a faster-time promise. It is a model for keeping swim-specific work in the week.
  • Not generic strength work with a swim label attached. The focus is the catch, pull, and push.
How it fits Connected Swim Training

The category is the idea. The protocol is the week.

Connected Swim Training is the category. The ZWIM Protocol is the weekly operating system. Propulsive Watts is the feedback metric. The game is the reason to come back. The pool and open water are where the full swim is tested.

You train on the ZWIM Bench, patent-pending Power Paddles, and Propulsion Bands. Your catch, pull, and push produce Propulsive Watts between pool days.

ZWIM develops Connected Swim Training in collaboration with Professor Mário Costa at CIDESD and UTAD.

FAQ

The ZWIM Protocol FAQ

What is the ZWIM Protocol?

The ZWIM Protocol is a pool-plus-ZWIM weekly model. Keep pool and open-water sessions for full-stroke work, race-specific practice, and in-water feedback, then use ZWIM Sessions between pool days to train the catch, pull, and push with Propulsive Watts.

Is Pool 2x plus ZWIM 3x required?

No. Pool 2x. ZWIM 3x. is one example, not a universal rule. The right plan depends on the athlete, coach, race distance, recovery, and pool access.

Can I use ZWIM if I only swim once a week?

Yes. If you only reach the pool once a week, ZWIM can add swim-specific sessions around that pool day so the next pool swim has something to build from. ZWIM never asks you to drop to zero pool days.

How does the ZWIM Protocol fit with pool swimming?

The pool stays central. Swimming is still trained and tested in the water and, for triathletes, in open water. The protocol keeps those sessions central and uses ZWIM to make the days around them more useful.

How long is a ZWIM Session?

It depends on the athlete and the goal, but most ZWIM Sessions run 15 to 30 minutes. Even 5 to 10 minutes spent calibrating the catch can be worth it. Longer sessions with lighter Propulsion Bands are great for steady, swim-specific work. The point is repeatability, not heroics, with final length guided by ZWIM programming, your coach, and sensible training load.

Can coaches use the ZWIM Protocol?

Yes. Coaches can use ZWIM as a support layer between coached sessions, helping athletes keep the catch, pull, and push active between pool days, with a number to work to in Propulsive Watts.

Can pros use it at low volume?

Yes. A pro who already lives in the pool might use as little as one or two ZWIM Sessions a week, to keep an objective, repeatable measure of stroke power across a season and to add controlled catch work between pool swims. Some strong-swimming pros who want more time on the bike and run have told us they are weighing four in-water swims plus two ZWIM Sessions a week. For them recovery is everything. Skipping a 5:30 or 6:00am pool swim can mean more sleep, not less training: they rest longer, get a ZWIM Session in when they wake up, and skip the commute. That is not our advice, it is what some athletes have told us. Others simply run a benchmark week to track raw power, left-to-right balance, and Propulsive Watts over time.

Can I use ZWIM if I do not swim at all right now?

Short answer, yes. Keeping the swim muscles activated and firing beats letting them go cold between blocks. One Bianchi pro, Finn Grosse-Freese, could not swim for months during lockdown and used this kind of training to get back into the water in strong shape. Some customers of our earlier swim trainer, ZEN8, have even reported getting faster in the water with very little pool time. We will be straight with you: those results are self-reported, we cannot validate them yet, and we will not promise they will happen for you. We always recommend ZWIM as a supplement to in-water swimming, never a replacement. But these stories, our founder's included, are a big part of why we are betting on this and running the research to understand it.

Own the swim

Make the days between pool sessions count.

The swim does not need another perfect plan you cannot repeat. It needs a weekly model that keeps the pool central, prepares for open water when it matters, and gives the work between pool days a clearer signal.

Pool days for the full stroke. ZWIM days for the work between.

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