How Efficient Is Your Swimming?

A study by DARPA, the Pentagon's research wing, showed that human swimmers are only 3-percent efficient—as compared to the 80-percent efficiency of dolphins. In other words, dolphins convert 80 percent of energy expenditures into forward motion; in contrast humans divert 97 percent of energy into moving around in the water and moving the water around.

But the subjects in that study weren't even the least efficient swimmers. They at least could swim well enough to participate and all probably thought their swimming was decent.

It's also been estimated that elite swimmers are between 9 percent and 10 percent efficient. This is far better than the rest of us, but still way short of the efficiency of land athletes (nordic skiers, runners, cyclists) which can be as high as 36 percent.

More: Swim Drills: The Key to Efficiency

Most of us are in a somewhat nebulous middle. Is it possible to estimate your own efficiency? Are you 4 percent efficient. Six percent? Maybe even 8 percent?

I've done a thought exercise to estimate my own efficiency. I estimate that I was probably around 5 percent efficient 20 years ago, as I was just beginning to transform my own stroke from human-like to fish-like. Today I optimistically estimate I'm somewhere above 8 percent—based on how well I can substantially increase my speed with relatively moderate increases in effort.

I've drafted a set of experiential descriptions—how your swimming feels, more than a time you may swim for a particular distance—that I believe are fairly good gauges of the level of efficiency you've reached.

More: Dave Scott's Guide to Efficient Swimming

Here's what I came up with:

Efficiency Index of Human Swimmers in Freestyle

Note: Some, but not all, of the experiences listed in each category, can qualify you. For example, you might be 5 percent efficient, but not yet feel fully comfortable in open water.

1 to 2 Percent: Swimming crawl for even the shortest distance (a few strokes) is unpleasant and exhausting. (Though you may be able to swim a bit farther, and even feel reasonably comfortable, using breaststroke.) You experience considerable difficulty and discomfort with staying afloat (you feel your legs sinking) and it's always a struggle—or even panic-inducing—just trying to breathe.

3 to 4 Percent: You can swim for a minute or two continuously. You can extend that distance—up to perhaps as much as 1500 meters—with artificial support from a pull buoy or wetsuit, or with regular rest breaks, but feel somewhat drained afterward. If you do triathlon, you spend part of the cycling leg recovering from the swim, or feel the entire rest of your race is compromised by the difficulty of the swim. Swimming faster seems too much to hope for since even slow paces are so tiring. You never improve, no matter how much you swim. Swimming may feel like a 'good workout, but you do it more out of obligation than enjoyment.

To reach the next level you need: Balance.

More: How to Keep Your Stroke Balanced

5 to 6 Percent: You feel great comfort in the water. You can swim a mile with sufficient ease that it seems plausible to complete a 5K (equivalent of a half-marathon in running) or more. You feel confident about swimming in open water. If you do triathlon, you feel quite fresh at the conclusion of the swim leg and regularly achieve a respectable, mid-pack position. Your kick and breathing both feel relaxed and controlled. You can achieve small increases in pace with reasonable effort.

To reach the next level you need: A more stable and sleeker body position.

More: Perfect Your Breathing With a Better Body Position

7 to 8 Percent: You feel more at home in the water than anywhere else, and swimming feels better and is more satisfying than any other physical activity. Your stroke—including both catch and 2-beat kick—feels integrated and seamless up to about 85 percent of maximum effort and heart rate. You can swim faster, whenever you choose, with a reasonable amount of effort. Swimming a marathon distance seems completely plausible, if you devote a concentrated period of 10 to 12 weeks to prepare for it. If you compete in open water swimming (including triathlon swim legs) you regularly place in the Top 5 to 10 percent of your age group.

To reach the next level you need: Highly effective propulsion skills—particularly a firm catch and well-tuned 2-Beat Kick.

More: How to Add Propulsion to Your Stroke

9 Percent or More: If you had youth and athleticism, your efficiency would probably put you among the elite. But, in middle age or beyond, you enjoy something more valuable—a sense that you swim with a skill (even artistry) and awareness shared by few. You regularly experience psychological flow states in practice, and occasionally in competition. You virtually always feel you work with the water, even at close to maximum effort. When you lose effectiveness, it's minor. You quickly sense the cause and can easily adjust your stroke to get back in flow. You can consistently and proportionately convert an increase in strokes per length (SPL) or tempo into an increase in pace.