Interview with
Fares Ksebati of MySwimPro
MySwimPro, a swimming technology and training company Founded in 2014 by Fares Ksebati, Adam Oxner and Michael Allon. MySwimPro App is a personalized swim training subscription service that provides the user with swim coaching, workouts, and helpful videos. Our thanks to Co-Founder, Swim coach, and best selling Author Fares Ksebati for taking the time to answer a few of our questions.
What was the inspiration behind the creation of MySwimPro?
I was coaching adult swimmers and a few would ask me for a workout plan while they were out of town or on vacation. That gave me the idea to create a swim training mobile app to help more people who didn’t have access to a coach. The idea started in 2014, and that’s when I partnered with fellow swimmers Adam Oxner and Michael Allon to launch the first version of the MySwimPro app. Today, over 2.5 million people around the world are improving their swimming with our award-winning app, retreats, academy, and digital coaching.
Who is the typical MySwimPro app user?
MySwimPro helps people swim for life. Whether your goal is to cross the English Channel, race at a local Masters Swim Meet, or to lose 100lbs, the MySwimPro app can help you. A personalized swim training plan in the app is perfect for swimmers who are looking to improve their technique, get faster, and stay motivated to stick to a routine. If you swim with a smart watch, it’s like having a personal swim coach right on your wrist. Just show up to the pool, and be guided set-by-set through the workout – saving you time, and money.
Is there a specific age group or type of swimmer best suited for MySwimPro App?
We focus on adults who swim at least once per week. While the app is primarily geared toward interval training in the pool, we also help lots of open water swimmers and triathletes as well.
In what areas can MySwimPro app best improve your swimming?
If you’re bored of your swim routine, tired of not getting faster, or need some accountability to keep swimming – a personalized swim training plan in the app keeps you focused on improving your technique, and getting faster. How does your app help motivate athletes to keep swimming? Swimming alone without a coach or teammates around you is really tough. It’s hard to stay motivated, and even harder to push yourself in the pool when you’re coming up with your own workouts. MySwimPro gives you a fresh one-of-a-kind workout every single day, that is 100% personalized to you. As you log workouts, your intervals automatically update and adapt as you progress – keeping every workout efficient, effective, and fun.
What are some of the philosophies you use for coaching?
Swimming needs to be fun! If you do the same workout over and over, you’ll get burned out and plateau. I’ve personally never swum the exact same workout more than once and neither should our members.
Has Covid had any lasting impact on MySwimPro, and if so, how is your user base different now compared to prior to the pandemic?
It was rough when most of the pools in the world shut down, but now we are seeing even more swimmers training on their own without a masters team or group. It’s also exciting to see so much interest in swimming surrounding the Olympics! We’re excited to keep growing the sport of swimming.
Recently, it seems age group programs are re-examining the yardage versus technique debate. Where do you stand on this?
If you want to swim fast, you need to focus on swimming efficiently and training at different speeds. This philosophy isn’t new, but the implementation has evolved over time and I think it will continue to change in the decades to come.
What is your, ‘must have,’ piece of swim gear or equipment?
A parachute. Training with resistance for very specific sets is the most underutilized way to swim faster in a short period of time.
What advice would you give to someone getting started in Masters Swimming?
Make it a priority! I like the expression: “Show me your calendar & I'll show you what you value.” If you don’t make the time to swim, it’s not going to be consistent and you’ll either burn out or simply drop off, so get ahead of that and make it a priority.
How different is using the MySwimPro app, or other services you offer, from having a more conventional coaching experience?
The MySwimPro app gives you a personalized workout. The Swimming Academy pairs you with a coach for 1:1 technique feedback and accountability. Our Swim Retreats offer a unique one week camp in paradise to work with world class coaches in paradise.
With so many users, what is the process for creating individual training plans, and evaluating video analysis for technique? How does the coaching algorithm adjust workouts over time?
Creating personalized training plans for over 2 millions members is one of the areas where MySwimPro truly excels. Our coaching algorithm uses data from your swimming history, goals, and performance metrics to create personalized workouts. As you progress, the algorithm continuously adjusts your training plan, making it more challenging or altering the focus areas based on your improvements. With Test Sets and goal times for intervals, it’s easy to see how your workouts will adjust as you improve. When it comes to video analysis, swimmers can upload videos of their swimming to our Swimming Academy. Join a weekly call with coaches to get detailed feedback, highlighting areas for improvement and suggesting specific drills to help you refine your technique.
