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Elements of good swimming form

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by Coach Katherine


Since the swim is the first portion of your triathlon, it is very important to come out of the water feeling warmed up but not exhausted.  If you can learn to swim efficiently, you will save precious energy for the bike and run portions of your triathlon. There are several key techniques that you can use to become a more efficient swimmer.

The first skill to practice is balance.  Your hips and legs will do the opposite of what your head does.  Lowering your head position in the water will help bring your hips and legs closer to the surface, creating less drag and making it easier to swim.  Imagine that you are trying to “hide” your head just under the surface of the water while swimming.  You can do this by relaxing your neck and allowing the full weight of your head to rest in the water, looking directly at the bottom of the pool.  While breathing, again try to relax the weight of your head into the water so that only a small portion of your face is showing.

The second skill to practice is length.  Longer vessels travel faster than shorter ones (imagine the speed of a rowing shell vs. a rowboat). To be as long as possible when swimming, you should try to have one arm in front of your head at all times.  This means that you should delay pulling your front arm until the recovery arm has just entered the water.  This skill can be difficult to do, especially while breathing, if you have not already mastered proper balance – so practice balance every time you swim.  

The third skill to practice is core body rotation.  Most of the power you generate to move through the water should come from the rotation of the core (torso) of your body, not movement of your arms or legs.  When you swim flat on your stomach, you are presenting a larger surface area to the water, leading to more drag.  Try instead to roll onto your side with each stroke you take, so that you can reduce your surface area and slice through the water with less drag and more power.

The fourth skill to practice is relaxing your legs.  Swimming for triathlon is much different than racing in a pool, since you need to save your legs for the bike and run.  If you have become proficient with the skills of balance, length, and core rotation, you should be ready to relax your legs.  Try swimming a few lengths of the pool without kicking, allowing your legs to effortlessly trail behind your body without dragging.  

Becoming a smooth, efficient swimmer is simply a matter of practice.  Rather than going to the pool just to get in enough time or distance, consider spending your swim time doing fewer laps while trying to perfect the skills of balance, length, core body rotation, and relaxing your legs.  Finding a “swim buddy” is beneficial because you can take turns watching each other swim from both the surface and under water and give helpful feedback.  Within a few weeks, you should start to feel more comfortable and smooth in the water, and maybe you will even begin to look forward to the swim portion of your triathlon!