Swimming Test

A 12-minute swim test for distance exists that gives an estimate of your fitness level (Hoeger and Hoeger 2002; Cooper 1982). I usually suggest this test only if you are already swimming and do not have arthritis in your shoulders, for two reasons. First, if you have not been swimming, you may find that this test aggravates your shoulder symptoms. Second, although you may have been working out, unless you have been training your shoulders you may have difficulty swimming for 12 minutes continuously. On the other hand, if you have not been swimming, you should see significant improvement once you get started. The distance you cover during the 12-minute period is used to identify a fitness category.

I suggest that you determine your baseline for swimming in one of two ways: swim as many laps as you can in 10 minutes and use that distance as your baseline, or record the total number of laps you are able swim continuously and work on improving that.