Critical Swim Speed is the slope of a distance-versus-time line through your 200 m and 400 m tests: CSS = (400 − 200) ÷ (T400 − T200). It is a strong predictor of sustainable aerobic pace. The zones are percentages of that CSS pace (75% recovery, 85% easy, 90% steady, 95–100% threshold, 105% VO₂, 115% sprint).