The T-3000 test

The T-3000 test is a great non invasive method to evaluate the progress your athletes are making. It can be done in two ways. In the first method, athletes can swim for 30 minutes and record the distance covered. In the second, athletes can swim a 3000 m time trial. Whichever method is used, the effort should be maximum and evenly paced from start to finish. The results are then converted to an average speed per 100 m by dividing the distance swum in 100s into the time for the entire swim in seconds.

Research have found that the T-3000 test produces an accurate estimate of a swimmer’s individual anaerobic threshold pace and this is because it is so long and most swimmers cannot maintain a pace above their individual anaerobic thresholds for much longer than 30 minutes without disturbing the balance between lactic acid production and removal from their muscles.

Although the T-3000 test is easy to administer, a few precautions should be taken to improve the result. For one, swimmers should pace the swim evenly. Those who start out too fast will fall off later in the swim because of acidosis. If swimmers pace the distance evenly and treat the test as a maximum effort 3000 m time trial, the results will provide an accurate threshold pace.

The results of T-3000 swims are useful in evaluating changes in aerobic capacity. Obviously, an improvement in an athlete’s time means that his/her rates of aerobic metabolism and lactate removal from muscles and blood have improved.  The meaning of slower times is more difficult to interpret because it could mean that the swimmer didn’t try as hard as s/he could or that his/her aerobic capacity has worsened. For this reason, swimmers must be motivated to complete the distance as a maximum effort time trial.

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