Boxing Timer Can you use an iPhone interval timer for swimming?
Yes, from the pool deck, not in the water. Set a Custom Timer so a bell rings on every send-off: for 50 m on 1:00, that's Round 0:55 and Rest 0:05, and 10 repeats take 10:05 with a 10-second prep.
Why the round isn't your swim time
A swim interval runs on a send-off: you leave every 1:00 no matter how fast you swam, and the rest is whatever's left over. The app has no idea when you touch the wall. The trick is to make the bells mark the send-off, the same way the EMOM 1 min preset does.
With Round 0:55 and Rest 0:05, a bell rings at 0:55 (start of the short rest, your 5-second call) and again at 1:00 (go). Then it repeats.
Setting up 10 x 50 on 1:00
- Setup > Custom Timer. Name it after the set, for example
10x50 @1:00. - Rounds 10.
- Round 0:55, Rest 0:05, Prep 0:10 to get in the water and on the wall.
- Warning 0. With the default of 10, the clacker goes off with 10 seconds of the 55-second swim still left, which can be confusing mid-length with your ears underwater.
- Use Once for a one-off set, Save & Use for the set you swim every week.
| Set | Round / Rest | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 10 x 50 m on 1:00 | 0:55 / 0:05 | 10:05 |
| 8 x 100 m on 1:50 | 1:45 / 0:05 | 14:45 |
| 4 x 200 m on 3:30 | 3:25 / 0:05 | 14:05 |
Times move in 5-second steps, so 1:50 works and 1:47 doesn't. The longest single interval is 30:00.
Can you hear it at the pool?
On the wall, yes. Mid-length with your ears in the water, no — that's expected. The 5-second rest bell is the one that counts, because it rings while you're coming in.
Placing the iPhone on a towel at the end of the lane, speaker facing the water, with the volume all the way up, helps. The app has no volume control of its own, so the phone's volume is all you get. The bell does play with the silent switch on. In a busy public pool with a swim class next door, the Classic Bell can get lost now and then. The Air Horn (Pro) cuts through better.
What doesn't work wet
- Keep the iPhone out of the water. Wet fingers barely register on the touch screen anyway, so pausing mid-set means climbing out.
- The Apple Watch app is a remote: it needs the iPhone in range and doesn't ring the bell. How noticeable its wrist tap is mid-length in the pool depends on the Watch model and whether it's worn.
- No pace clock that counts up, no lap counter, no stroke or distance tracking, and nothing goes to Apple Health.
- One timer, one send-off. A set of 4 x 100 on 1:50 then 4 x 50 on 0:55 is two timers.
The good part costs nothing: the bell on every send-off, the Lock Screen countdown when you glance up from the wall, and the session in History once the set ends.
Questions and answers
What is send-off time in swimming?
Can I use my phone while swimming?
Is it the same as a swim pace clock app?
Is interval training good for swimming beginners?
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