How to Swim Fast

Swimming style makes the difference in speed

Whether you are training for a triathlon or just want to maximize your swimming workout, it is very important to learn how to swim quickly. While you can get a good workout swimming slowly, your form is best when your rate of speed is increased.

Things You'll Need

• A Drag Suit
• Goggles
• Kickboard
• Leg Floats

Instructions

How to Swim Fast

1. Wear a drag suit over your regular swim suit. A drag suit can be any old, worn out swim suit you have on hand. This will get you used to swimming with more drag and you should be able decrease your lap time by several seconds.

2. Take slower, more purposeful strokes in the water. Quick, thrashing strokes will not make you go faster, but it will exhaust you much faster. The speed at which you swim is determined by how many strokes you take in a set amount of time, and how far you travel per stroke. Essentially, you want to maximize your travel distance per stroke.

3. Find your center of buoyancy. Generally this is located in your chest, so many swimmers find that if they push the chest down into the water while swimming, it will cause the hips to come up toward the surface, making it easier to propel the body with the legs. This will also help your body not to sink into the water, causing more swimming resistance.

4. Streamline your body while swimming. Pause between strokes with one arm outstretched in front of you and your other arm alongside your body. This will help your body glide through the water more easily.

5. Rotate your body from side to side with each stroke. This is pertinent to backstroke and freestyle. As you reach forward with one arm, and push the other back, roll to the side with the arm back to take a breath. Don't pull your head straight up to breath, as this takes too much energy and throws off your buoyancy. Roll just enough to the side to get your mouth out of the water to take a breath. Try to alternate sides every three or five strokes so you don't strain the muscles in your neck and upper back by only rolling to one side.

6. Use a kick board to help develop your leg muscles. Keep your face in the water and the kick board in your hands stretched out in front of you. Tilt your chest into the water to find your point of buoyancy, then focus on kicking to propel yourself forward.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a kick board to strengthen your legs. By keeping your arms steady, you must propel your entire body using only the legs, therefore developing better leg form.

• Use leg floats to strengthen your arms. By keeping your legs steady, you must use your arms to get your body through the water, therefore strengthening them, and developing a better stroke.

• Don't swim in water that is dark and murky, or where you can't see the bottom. This is unsafe water and you could get tangled in something below the surface.

• Don't swim alone. Make sure you swim in a group, a populated area of the ocean, with a friend, or with a lifeguard on duty to avoid any injury or disaster.

• Swimming with poor form can lead to injuries, so use proper form at all times.

Resources

• Speedo Swimsuits and Accessories
• Endless Pools