Why Goal Setting in Swimming Needs a Redo

Most swimmers are told to set goals.  But they’re rarely taught how to set them well, or how to use them as part of their daily training. You might write down a goal at the start of the season like:

• “Break 1:00 in the 100 free.”
• “Make finals at regionals.”
• “Improve my backstroke.”

These goals matter. But they’re not enough to help you get faster. Why? Because they leave out the most important part of swimming: what you do every single day in practice. That’s where performance goals come in.

This article will walk you through how to structure your swim goals better, so you stay focused, track real progress, and build confidence in your training.

The 3 Types of Goals Every Swimmer Needs

You need more than just a goal time. You need a system that connects what you want with what you do.

1. Outcome Goals

These are the big goals,  race results, qualifying times, and rankings.

They’re exciting and motivating, but also out of your control. You can swim a personal best and still not place. Or you can place well despite swimming poorly.

Outcome goals give you direction. But they can’t drive your training alone.

💬 Examples:

• Go under 4:30 in the 400 free
• Make the provincial team
• Qualify for nationals

2. Process Goals

These are the controllable habits and behaviours that shape your training.

Process goals help build discipline, focus, and commitment. But they don’t always tell you whether your swimming is actually improving.

💬 Examples:

• Get at least 8 hours of sleep
• Show up 10 minutes early for activation
• Focus on tight streamlines every push-off

You need process goals to stay consistent, but consistency without direction is just busy work.

3. Performance Goals (The missing link)

Performance goals are measurable skills and abilities that directly lead to faster swimming.  They’re specific to your stroke, tied to your training data, and directly influence your outcome goals.

💬 Examples:

• Reduce turn time from 1.30s to 1.15s over 6 weeks
• Increase Distance per Stroke to 1.8m
• Improve pushoff depth from 30cm to 40cm.

Performance goals are where real progress happens. They take your effort and turn it into speed.

Why Most Swim Goals Fall Flat

Even high-level swimmers often struggle with goal setting. Here’s why:

• The goal is vague: “Get better at backstroke” gives no focus.
• There’s no way to track it: You don’t know if you’re improving until race day.
• It’s never revisited: You write it once and forget it.
• It’s disconnected from daily training: You’re working hard but unsure if it's helping.

The end result? You’re training blind. And when progress does happen, you don’t always know why.

What Better Goals Actually Look Like

Let’s compare a traditional swim goal with a well-structured performance goal:

Better goals:

• Focus on one specific skill
• Use real metrics
• Have a target and a timeline
• Connect to faster swimming

How to Set Stronger Performance Goals (Without Guessing)

Here’s a step-by-step guide to building performance goals you can actually use in training:

Step 1: Start with your outcome goal

What time are you trying to hit? What race are you targeting?

📝 Example: Qualify for nationals in the 100 back with a 1:05.

Step 2: Identify the skills that influence the result

This might include turn speed, underwater time,  stroke rate, etc.

🧠 Ask: Where do you lose time? Where can you gain it?

Step 3: Choose 1–3 specific performance metrics to target

Focus on the ones that matter most for your best stroke.

📊 Examples:

• Turn time
• Stroke rate 
• Time underwater
• Pushoff depth
• Speed off the wall (Push max accel)

Step 4: Define your starting point

Know your current numbers. You can’t track progress if you don’t know where you’re starting.

Step 5: Set a clear target and timeframe

Make it realistic,  but challenging enough to stay motivating.

📌 Example: Improve push max acceleration in breaststroke by 5% over the next 5 weeks.

How Swimmer Goals Do This Automatically

Inside the TritonWear app, you now get three automatically generated technique goals, based on:

• Your most recent swims
• Your top-performing stroke
• Swimmers like you (same speed, height, and gender)
• Realistic improvement rates based on the data

You’ll see where you started, where you’re headed, and how you’re trending  after every practice.

You don’t have to guess what to work on. It’s right there. And it updates as you improve.

You can also edit your goals at any time: choose the stroke, skill, and timeline that best fit your training focus.

Bring Your Goals Into Practice

Goals are only useful if they show up in the places where you train.

Here’s how to keep them front and center:

• Review your goals before each practice
• Focus on one skill during key sets
• Ask your coach for technique cues that support that goal
• Track progress weekly to stay motivated

When you hit or exceed a goal, you’ll know and you’ll build belief in your ability to keep improving.

Bonus: Use Your Training Zones to Stay Sharp

Alongside your technique goals, TritonWear now shows your pace-per-100 targets for all 5 training zones—customized to your stroke, pool type, and swim data.

This gives you the intensity targets you need to:

• Train at the right speed
• Match your effort to the energy system
• Connect pacing with technical execution

You’re Not Just Training. You’re Progressing.

Better goals don’t just help you focus.  They help you believe in the work you’re doing because you can see it paying off.  With Swimmer Goals, you know exactly what to work on, how to work on it, and whether it’s getting better.  That’s how you build real speed.That’s how you show up to a race with confidence.