by
Olivier Poirier-Leroy
Curious if smart swim goggles are the missing part of improvement in the water? Here are nine ways smart swim goggles will change your swimming for the better.
Smart swim goggles are a huge revolution in the way swimmers train in the pool (and in open water).
This type of swim goggle goes beyond just helping swimmers see underwater; they use cutting-edge tech to integrate real-time training metrics in the lens of the goggles.
Whether you’re a weekend warrior swimmer, aspiring triathlete, or elite-minded competitive swimmer looking to fine-tune performance, smart swim goggles offer a ton of benefits for improving performance in the water.
In this overview of the performance perks of smart swimming goggles, we will look at the ways these high-tech goggles can unleash, well, smarter swimming.
Let’s dive in.
The benefits of smart swimming goggles include:
Next, we’ll examine each benefit in more detail and offer a quick look at our recommended smart swim goggles.
Okay, let’s start with the star of the show, the real-time display on the inside of the lens of smart swim goggles.
Looking out the goggle lens, as you push off, swim down the pool, turn, and churn through your swim workout, is a steady stream of critical workout metrics being displayed, in real time.
Data in the heads-up display includes heart rate, split times, time elapsed, distance elapsed, stroke count, SWOLF, and just about anything else you can think of are displayed in front of you.
These metrics provide unparalleled feedback which allows you to monitor and track your swim training in real time.
The real-time metrics allow swimmers to fine-tune their swimming without needing to pause or stop to check an external device like a swim watch or pace clock.
Staying focused and present during long bouts of swim training is something most swimmers struggle with.
A little mind wandering (“What should I make for dinner?”) is tempting as we chase the T’s on the black line.
Smart swim goggles increase focus by placing essential swim training data within your field of vision from the time you dive in until the warm-down is complete, literally keeping the important stuff in your training top of mind.
Having data in the lens can also eliminate the need to constantly glance at a pace clock or stop to review progress, allowing swimmers to stay focused and “in the zone.”
The pace clock is the first tool swimmers use for intervals, send-offs, and to gauge splits and results. The multi-colored, sweeping hands (“On the red top!”) or a digital pace clock is a swimmer’s introduction to timekeeping in the pool.
But these tools can only be semi-accurate.
By the time you touch the wall, look over at the pace clock, and try to figure out what part of the second hand you touched on inevitably leads to misleading data collection. “Was that a 58-high? A 59 low?”
And, of course, that assumes you are not pushing off early and pushing off with each repetition in a consistent manner.
Smart swim goggles take all of this guesswork and uncertainty out of the equation with wildly accurate tracking.
Every length is tracked to the hundredth of the second, and each lap, repetition or set is measured and tracked in the same way to ensure consistency of results.
Smart swim goggles bring detailed tracking accuracy to your training, so you know exactly how fast you are going during your swim workouts.
Smart swim goggles have customizable dashboards and displays, allowing swimmers the opportunity to choose which metrics are shown when swimming.
Smart swim goggles allow you to personalize your swim training by focusing on the data and goals that matter most to you.
Tracking and logging your swim workouts is an excellent way to get motivated and find ways to improve in the pool.
While there are benefits to keeping an old-school swim log, smart swim goggles take things several steps forward in terms of the amount of data collected.
Once your swim workout is completed, the goggles sync with a complimentary app designed for swimmers on your smartphone or tablet.
The full workout is then presented in order, allowing swimmers the ability to easily log and track progress over time, compare workouts and sets, and set long-term goals.
For swimmers working with a coach, either remotely or in-person, these apps also make it easy to share workouts for further analysis and feedback.
An optional feature with some smart swim goggles, including the FORM 2 Goggle, is custom workouts and training plans that can be uploaded to the goggles.
Once you choose the workout you want to do, load it to the goggles, and then follow along with the repetitions and sets at the pool.
This is a great way to stave off swim boredom, find new ways to train or use plans and workouts designed by Olympic-level swimmers and coaches to help you pursue your own goals in the water.
Whether you are training to stay fit, looking to go a personal best time or completing your first triathlon, smart swim goggles offer formalized training plans to remove the guesswork.
Note: Custom workouts and plans are typically part of a subscription which costs extra.
Swimming fast means swimming with awesome technique.
Research with elite competitive swimmers on a college swim team found that technique made up for 35% of the variance in speed between fast and slower swimmers (Pollen et al., 2022).
Smart swim goggles can help here, too, with stroke and technique correction feedback.
Metrics like stroke rate, distance per stroke, and even SWOLF can show you where you are tightening up the stroke and need to maintain efficiency and proper technique.
Even experienced swimmers commonly exhibit freestyle stroke errors. One study with NCAA division I swimmers, for example, found that 46.8% of swimmer used an incorrect head position when swimming freestyle.
The FORM 2 Goggles, for example, can measure peak head roll, head position, and head pitch to reduce “snow plowing” or over-rotating the head to breathe.
The FINIS Smart Goggle has its own technique correction tool that generates a 3D model of your head position during swim training.
Proper technique, including a neutral head position, is crucial.
Smart swim goggles can help you stay on top of technique to expend less energy and move more efficiently through the water.
When reviewing an open water swim via GPS and map, athletes will frequently see a lot of zigzagging and off-course swimming.
This kind of errant swimming—natural when we don’t have lane ropes and a black line to keep us swimming straight—adds time and effort to open water swims.
Smart swim goggles can help here, too, with the FORM 2 Swim Goggles’ optional SwimStraight feature, a digital compass that helps swimmers maintain a straight course in open water.
This is beneficial for swimmers swimming in water where the visibility is low or there are limited landmarks to use for navigation.
By helping chart a straighter swim, open-water swimmers expend less energy, clock faster times, and reduce instances of veering off-course.
Smart swim goggles are a total game-changer for swimmers who train on their own.
Not every pool has a pace clock. Not every swimmer has a coach on the pool deck waiting to read out splits, stroke counts, and results.
Whether you are a sprinter looking for precise times on sprint 25s and 50s, or a distance swimmer looking to build metronome-like consistency, smart swim goggles are the perfect pace clock for the solo swimmer.
Smart swim goggles give swimmers independence and the confidence to know that you can train at a high level and keep chasing your goals in the water, even without a pace clock or a coach to read out splits and times.
The top smart swim goggles on the market are the FORM 2 Swim Goggles.
It was the first smart goggle to hit the scene back in 2019, revolutionizing the way swimmers track and monitor their swimming.
With the second edition, the FORM goggles have upgraded the goggle gasket, making it thinner and adding heart rate monitoring. FORM also added the SwimStraight functionality and optional in-goggle workouts and training plans.
Key features of the FORM 2 Swim Goggles include:
Other smart swim goggles include:
Long gone are the days when swimmers would strap on a pair of $7 Speedo goggles with a foam gasket to hit the lap pool.
With smart swim goggles, you can level up your swimming in an endless number of ways, from tracking every last aspect of your swim performance, identifying key areas of improvement, and logging your swims for future reference.
For the enterprising swimmer looking to squeeze every last hundredth of improvement in the water, smart swim goggles can be just the ticket.
Happy swimming!
Olivier Poirier-Leroy Olivier Poirier-Leroy is the founder of YourSwimLog.com. He is an author, former national level swimmer, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, and swim coach.
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