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Intra Cycle Variation (ICV)

ICV shows how evenly you maintain speed in each stroke cycle, highlighting speed changes that reveal technique inefficiencies. Here's what ICV is, how it’s measured, and how to use it to improve your swimming.

What is ICV?

ICV stands for Intra Cycle Variation. It measures how much a swimmer's speed changes within a single stroke cycle.

Even if you hold a steady average speed over a length, you naturally speed up and slow down slightly during each stroke. ICV quantifies these accelerations and decelerations.

A lower ICV means your speed stays more even, indicating smoother, more efficient technique. A higher ICV shows greater variation, often due to force imbalances, drag, or timing issues.

At TritonWear, ICV is split into:

  • ICV Left Arm and ICV Right Arm – for strokes with distinct arm actions, to highlight side-to-side differences.

  • ICV Breath Left and ICV Breath Right – for Freestyle, to show variation during breathing strokes to each side.

How is it Measured?

ICV is calculated by analyzing the swimmer’s velocity curve over each complete stroke cycle.

  • The system tracks how velocity changes within the cycle.

  • It then calculates the degree of variation.

The result is a value in meters (m/s) or yards per second (y/s) that represents how evenly you maintain speed within that cycle.

  • Lower values indicate more consistent velocity and efficient technique.

  • Higher values point to uneven power application, poor timing, or technique flaws causing drag or loss of momentum.

Splitting ICV by left/right arm or breathing side in Freestyle lets you pinpoint specific technical imbalances.

What is a Good ICV?

In general, lower is better for ICV. A low value means you maintain your speed more evenly, using energy more effectively.

However, there isn’t a single “ideal” number that applies to everyone. ICV can vary by:

  • Stroke type

  • Technique style

  • Athlete experience level

Instead of chasing a universal target, use ICV to:

  • Compare your left/right arms for symmetry.

  • See how breathing affects Freestyle timing.

  • Monitor improvements in your own technique over time.

Typical Results

ICV is one of TritonWear’s newer metrics, alongside our dive metrics. Currently, you’ll only find ICV results in:

  • Live Workouts

  • Workout Details pages

They are not yet part of Focus.

Because these metrics are new, there isn’t yet enough aggregated data to provide standardized comparison ranges or recommended targets. As more data is collected, TritonWear will continue to refine how these results can be interpreted.

For now, the best way to use ICV is to look for patterns in your own data:

  • Are your ICV values trending lower over time?

  • Do you see big differences between sides?

  • Is breathing to one side disrupting your consistency more?

How to Improve ICV

Improving ICV is about refining stroke technique to deliver power more evenly and reduce wasted energy. Here are a few strategies:

  • Balance Your Stroke: Compare left/right ICV. If one side is worse, work on symmetry drills.

  • Refine Breathing Technique: For Freestyle, look at Breath Left and Breath Right. Smooth out head movements  and poor timing to reduce drag.

  • Improve Timing: Focus on connecting your strokes and maintaining propulsion throughout the cycle.

  • Monitor Over Time: Use your TritonWear workout data to see if changes in training lead to lower ICV.

  • Combine With Other Metrics: Pair ICV analysis with Stroke Rate, DPS, and Speed Overwater to understand the full picture of your technique.

By focusing on these details, you can minimize speed variation within your strokes, conserve energy, and ultimately swim faster with less effort.