Primary system:
Tom Rushton's nine-zone ladder (CLEAR → GOLD) — RPE, race pace, stroke rate, heart rate, and lactate targets by zone, plus what each zone is for in a set. Secondary system:
TritonWear's five-zone device readout (Zone 1–5), shown to the right of its closest Rushton equivalent(s) so a swimmer's device data can be translated onto the zone language coaches use on deck.
Rushton Zones — Primary
TritonWear Zones — Secondary
Zone
RPE
Race Pace
Stroke Rate (cyc/min) F / Ba / Br / Fl
Heart Rate
Lactate
Set Design
TW Zone
Focus
HR %max
RPE
×CSS
Energy
CLEAR Easy / Recovery
0–2
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Easy movement, relaxing. No training effect.
No TritonWear zone below Zone 1 (RPE < 2)
WHITE Aerobic Capacity
1–3
PB +17–25″
<30 / <28 / <24 / <33
<140; >50bbm
<2.5 mmol
High volume, low intensity, short rest. WHITE+PINK = 60–70% of training.
ZONE 1 Easy / Moderate
↔ WHITE
Slow and Steady — base aerobic volume; improves lactate removal & cardio-respiratory systems.
60–74
2–3
<0.91
0–77
PINK Aerobic Cap. (Mod.)
4–5
PB +15–20″
29–33 / 27–31 / 23–27 / 32–36
130–160; 30–60bbm
2.0–4.0 mmol
Watch underwaters/breathing. Negative split. Coach technique here.
ZONE 2 Endurance
↔ PINK
Just Keep Swimming — heavy, little rest; lactate steady state, technique focus.
74–79
3–5
.92–.97
78–82
RED Aerobic Cap. (Strong)
6–8
Open water; PB +12–15″
33–38 / 31–36 / 27–32 / 36–41
150–170; 20–40bbm
4.0–7.5 mmol
High volume, moderate intensity. 24h between major sessions.
ZONE 3 Threshold up to CSS
↔ RED
Swim. Rest. Repeat. — very heavy, normal rest; improves VO2max/aerobic power.
80–89
6–7
0.97–0
83–85
ORANGE Aerobic Power
8–10
400 / 800 / 1500m
36–45 / 34–43 / 30–43 / 43–49
160+; <30bbm
6.0–9.0 mmol
Moderate volume, high intensity, short rest. 24h to recover.
BLUE Anaerobic Capacity
8–10
400 / 200 / 100m BEP
42–52 / 40–49 / 36–49 / 49–57
Maximum
8.0+ mmol
Short intervals (15–150m), first half of workout. 36h recovery.
ZONE 4 Best Average
↔ ORANGE + BLUE
I'm Not Sweating, You Are — severe intensity, a little extra rest; fast lactate buildup, enhances glycolytic energy production.
90–95
8–9
0–1.1
86–94
PURPLE Anaerobic Power
9–10
200 FEP / 100 / 50m
40–60+ / 41–56+ / 36–62+ / 51–65+
Maximum
12.0+ mmol
Max effort, short repeats. 56h recovery. Swim at/above race pace.
GREEN Anaer. Alactic Cap.
n/a
50m and faster
>54 / >50 / >55 / >59
n/a
n/a
Very short (5–30m), max speed only. 36h recovery. Monitor SR.
GOLD Anaer. Alactic Power
n/a
Faster than 50m speed
n/a
n/a
n/a
Explosive, ≤8s bouts (5–15m). Starts/turns/resistance work. 36h recovery.
ZONE 5 Lactate Prod. & Tolerance
↔ PURPLE + GREEN + GOLD
All-Out & Chill — extreme intensity, extra rest; rapid lactate increase and fast fatigue; develops lactate/acidity tolerance.
96–100
9–10
>1.1
95+
← Swipe to see TritonWear zones →
Reading this chart:
TritonWear rows are sized to line up with their closest Rushton zone(s) — Zone 4 spans ORANGE+BLUE, Zone 5 spans PURPLE+GREEN+GOLD. This is a rough, RPE-based alignment, not a 1:1 metric equivalence — Rushton is built on stroke rate/tempo/lactate, TritonWear on %HRmax/×CSS/Energy Score. The ×CSS ranges are transcribed exactly as shown on TritonWear's own infographic — Zones 3 & 4 overlap/invert rather than forming a clean ladder, so don't use ×CSS alone for a threshold calculation.