Online Swimming

The best butterfliers combine grace and power in what seems like effortless forward motion. The primary point of technique that these butterfliers share is good body position. While the line of the stroke is characterized by a wave or rocking motion, it is a stable,...

There are many elements of the stroke technique that make up freestyle work in combination to produce coordinated forward motion. Each element affects another, together contributing to a unified, productive freestyle. The goal of the following coordination drills is...

Using leverage gives freestlyers an advantage. Instead of swimming flat, and depending on the small muscles of the arm, swimmers can use the body to roll into and out of each stroke. Doing so accesses more power from the core. By engaging the large muscles of the core...

Integrating the act of breathing into the stroke is a challenge. By timing the breath to the natural roll of the stroke, a swimmer can breathe rhythmically while continuing the forward line of the stroke. The goal of the following freestyle breathing drills is to...

Although there are many effective styles of freestyle recovery, they all have common aspects of technique. They all release the water. Each balances the stroking arm. All of them use a relaxed hand that is higher than the shoulder. The goal of the following freestyle...

With the long, sweeping, alternating arm action of the freestyle stroke, humans are capable of producing the most potential speed of all the strokes. To develop an efficient freestyle, the swimmer must be concerned with three things. First, achieving correct alignment...

An efficient freestyle is built on good body position. The way we float in the water is affected by our core tension. For a better freestyle, we must learn to shift weight forward, and achieve a downhill floating position. The goal of the following drills for body...

A productive flutter kick is part of a good freestyle. It provides constant momentum, and counterbalance to the arm stroke. Because the legs require a disproportionate amount of energy, developing a relaxed, sustainable kick is important. The goal of the following...

WHEN TO USE DRILLS : -Because swimming drills are one of a swimmer's best tools for practicing toward efficient swimming, they should be included in every swim session. They can be done as a part of warm-up to establish a foundation for the rest of the practice. They...

Swimming is a complex sequence of actions. Like driving, playing guitar, or typing, multiple crucial actions are performed at once, or in tight succession. Correct technique is necessary or the result is unsatisfactory. Certain types of drills are very successful for...

Olympic swimmers don't just dive into the pool like the rest of us. They start on a block called, appropriately enough, a starting block. London will see the Olympic debut of a track-style starting block with an inclined surface and a lip at the back. The blocks,...

Traditional high-volume model of training will not optimise performance It is probably fair to say that most swimmers and swim coaches see the number of hours spent in the pool as the main ingredient of swimming success and distances of 6-10k per day are not uncommon...