The ultimate question and goal for most swimmers is to get faster. A common misconception is that the faster you move your arms and legs the faster you will get through the water. However, the ‘fastest’ swimmers, in fact, move their arms and legs slow and hardly look like they are exerting any energy as they effortlessly glide down the pool. The secret behind this is in the strength in their stroke. To build the strength in your stroke and therefore get ‘faster’, you need to do three things:
- Correct your stroke
- Work on your endurance and stamina
- Swim multiple times a week
You could swim every day and be the fittest swimmer in the pool but if your stroke isn’t correct then your speed will not increase. To achieve that effortless, easy stroke you need to know exactly what to do and how to position yourself in the water. If you have done any stroke correction in the past, this means you need to remind and refresh yourself of the drills you learnt and get rid of any bad habits that may have crept back in. If you haven’t done any stroke correction before you may want to consider having some lessons, you will be surprised at what you could achieve!
Once you have mastered your stroke you can start to build up your endurance, stamina and overall fitness. Coming down to squad training and smashing out a 2-3km swim set will build up your fitness. You can also incorporate other forms of exercise such as running, cycling, SUPing, yoga, pilates etc. All of which will build your overall fitness and increase your speed in the pool! Without good fitness, you will find you are able to swim fast for a short distance but can’t sustain it.
Finally, swimming multiple times a week is the only way to both solidify your stroke and build your fitness. The more you swim the more you will feel comfortable with your new and improved stroke, and eventually, it will feel like second nature. Practice makes perfect! With any sport, the more you train the fitter you will get. You will really feel the difference swimming three times a week compared to just once a week or joining a swim session every now and then.
💪 Here’s a challenge:
Time yourself over 1000m (get 100m splits if you can as well!) then commit to increasing your swim practice by 2- 3 times more each week for 6 weeks and see for yourself with a 1000m time trial at the end and let us know if you haven’t improved!! Or, join our Lap Time sessions and we’ll keep you honest and committed (and you might just learn how a few tips on how to swim train as well 😃 )
