How to Swim Faster

If you want to swim as fast as you can, you need to work on improving your technique and training your mind. Practice and determination are two core elements that any swimmer should embrace. Although correct swimming technique is the most important thing, if you know how, you will save a lot of time on learning to swim and still achieve the desired effect. This article will show you some tricks to help you swim faster.

Table of Contents

Improve swimming technique

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Minimize drag. When swimming, people often focus on swimming speed and pay little attention to reducing water resistance. Resistance is the friction force that the body has to bear under water. Remember that reducing the drag of the water requires not only force, but also the necessary skill. There are ways to reduce drag, such as improving balance or buoyancy. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Improve balance. This will help you reduce drag quite effectively. For balance, maintain a horizontal position while swimming. Thereby limiting the cross-section of water entering the swimming path, slowing you down. This is an especially important position when swimming, and you should not raise your head too much because it will lose your balance, instead, you must pedal harder to create balance. ^{[2] X Research Source}

The breaststroke and butterfly strokes are slightly different, meaning your body will bounce up and down instead of being fully balanced while swimming.

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Stretch your body out. Try to stretch as long as you can while in the water. The longer you stretch, the better and faster you will swim. For example, to extend your body while swimming, you need to first reach into the water with your arms, and when your arms are over your head, stretch your arms forward as far as you can before you start rushing and fanning the water. .

Note that: Tightening your body instead of relaxing your body will make it difficult to swim.

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Smash your feet effectively. When slamming your legs, you should not splash water or move your feet too low compared to the horizontal line of your body. The effect of foot banging is mainly to maintain balance, so this movement will affect balance and create resistance for the body. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Improved thrust. This does not mean that you will focus on strength more than skill. Remember that about 10% of your speed comes from your feet, while the rest comes from your arms, so you should hit your feet hard and make sure your feet don’t slow you down but push your body forward. faster. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Hip rotation. Don’t be afraid to turn around as you use your hands to fan the water. With this move, the large back muscles and shoulder strength will work effectively. It will take you a while to practice, but once you get used to it, your strength and speed will be significantly increased. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Don’t forget the core muscle group. The core muscles are made up of the back, hips, abs, and upper body, and they work when you turn your body back and forth. Utilizing this muscle group when swimming will make swimming easier and faster, although focusing on the core instead of the arms and legs can be difficult at first. Actively contract this muscle group to keep the body straight. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

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Arm adjustment. For maximum speed, you need to align your hands and forearms to the back. This will make it easier to move your arms out after swimming. You may already know this move as the high elbow fan in stroke, as you have to keep your elbows above your head to really master this move. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Keep your head in a natural position. To swim as fast as possible, you should keep your head in the most natural position throughout the swim. This can reduce drag and help you swim more efficiently. If your head is not centered correctly, you will swim to the side. The wrong head position is the reason you feel you are “sinking” because your hips or leg muscles are pulled down. You should look down, not up or forward to keep your body horizontal in the stroke. Relaxing your neck will keep your head and eyes down, which in turn will help your lower body stay higher in the water. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

If you’re an intuitive thinker, take the advice of fisherman Garret McCaffery: “Imagine you’re a whale with a squirt hole in your neck, and you need that hole open all the time to keep it open. breathe or you’ll die. If your neck goes up, the hole will close and you won’t be able to breathe. You should keep your head and neck in the right position.” ^{[9] X Research Source}

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Spread your fingers while swimming. By slightly spreading your fingers instead of pinching them together, you’ll create an “invisible web” that can increase force by up to 53%! The ideal distance for finger diameters is 20-40%. Although these differences are quite small, they can help you swim faster. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Swim faster in races

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Avoid illegal turns. Even if you are not participating in a swimming competition, you should not illegally turn lanes when swimming to avoid this bad habit. Maintaining a natural head position and training like in a real race will help you swim faster.

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Hit the wall quickly. A lot of people think of walls as a comfortable resting place, even if they only “rest” there for a fraction of a second. However, if you want to swim faster, you absolutely should not think about this. Quickly hit the wall, head into the water for two strokes for all strokes except breaststroke. This will help you stay ahead and be able to beat your best swimmer as well as your competitors in other lanes.

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Go beyond your limits. When pushing hard against the wall, make sure to slam your feet hard to maintain the gain speed. In breaststroke, doing a full stretch can give you an advantage. Continue to maintain your surfing technique while swimming and you will notice a significant increase in your swimming speed.

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Pedal the dolphin’s feet in the water. If you’re used to pedaling when swimming, you can swim even faster with the dolphin kick method. This method will help you increase your swimming speed, and pounding your feet hard in the water can increase your lung capacity. You should discuss this with your trainer, as some people only swim faster with long-distance slamming, others can’t, but you should stop doing dolphin kicks and Surf when you find yourself slowing down, or if you’ve reached the 15m or hit the mark.

Persist

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Develop a structured workout schedule. If you’re part of a swim team, your coach will create a structured workout plan for you. However, it is better to have your own training schedule. Forming a schedule with elements of aerobic exercise, (i.e. swimming longer distances) as well as moderate endurance training (focusing on middle and moderate swimming) can help you swim faster . Among other factors, you should focus on strength training, speed and muscle endurance. Here’s an example of a structured workout you can try: ^{[11] X Research Source}

Spend 10-15% on the warm-up (4 x 100 swims with 20 seconds rest between each distance)
Spend 10-20% on training and slamming (8 x 50 seconds alternating training, with 1 leg slam with 15 seconds rest)
Spend 40-70% on core exercises (6 x 200 with 30 seconds rest or 12 x 100 with 15 seconds rest)
Spend 5-10% on cool-down movements (100 seconds of relaxation)

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Join a swimming team. Search for swimming teams in your area and look up information like registration costs, practice times, and equipment needed. If you have never been in a group, joining a swim team will definitely help you swim faster as you will have more motivation to practice every day, as well as get more practice in races and training. staff to help you master the correct technique.

If you’re on a swim team, commit to practicing every day.
Always push yourself when you practice. Try starting your workout with 5-7 seconds of rest. Once you’ve mastered it, try gradually increasing it to 10 seconds, 15, etc.

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Participate in swimming competitions. If you are a member of the swimming team, you will be regularly participating in swimming tournaments. Do not worry; Because winning is not the end goal, it is important that you can set a record time for yourself. In tournaments, most swimmers often swim faster than in training because adrenaline is released quite high and there are more opportunities. You can “trick” your body into swimming faster just by participating in swimming tournaments.

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Join the swimming club. A swim club can teach you better swimming posture, tips for swimming faster, as well as help you learn how to dive and turn water, and provide an unforgettable experience. You can meet like-minded swimmers like you and get motivated. Some swimming clubs are coached by Olympic athletes. The cost of such clubs is often quite expensive, but many people consider this place to be well worth it.

You can find a club or coach that records your swimming and provides helpful comments to help you improve your technique. It’s hard to know where you’re progressing without someone else watching your moves.

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Learn more about swimming. Watch videos and read books about swimming to get a better understanding of how to swim faster. You can check out many videos on YouTube to improve your swimming. Also, try to read books on swimming technique as well as books about the success of swimmers like Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin for extra motivation. Although the body determines swimming speed, training the mind will also have some impact.

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Join the gym. While swimming is important, you can also improve your swimming speed by building a stronger body. Do some cardio exercises like jogging, weight training, and sit-ups to improve core muscle groups. Strong abs and arm muscles can help you swim faster. Plus, this type of workout gives you relaxation after a long soak in the water.

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Let others motivate you. If someone swims faster than you and your goal is to beat him, think about this every time you practice to motivate you to work harder. Swimming with faster swimmers will give you extra motivation as well as help you increase your swimming speed. As long as the person next to you doesn’t swim too fast and discourage you from training.

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Prepare mentally as well as physically. There’s no point in exercising if you’re always nervous or unmotivated. Stay focused and motivated during practice and get ready for the tournament. Don’t worry about tournaments, instead, see them as an opportunity to give your best. Remember that this is not an occasion to prove you are the best swimmer on the team or at the competition, but to beat yourself up. This will motivate you to swim faster.

Advice

Wearing a swimming cap to keep your hair in place can also help you swim a few seconds faster. Swimming caps will reduce water resistance while swimming.
Do not give up! When you first start exercising, you will feel tired and exhausted with intensive exercises. Be very patient. It can take you about 6 months to really master the exercises, the important thing is that you have to be patient.
If you are in a swimming tournament, make sure all hair is covered. Regularly wear a swimming cap, shave, and remove hair from other parts of the body. Water in contact with your hair will slow you down.
Do not splash water with your hands; Instead of pushing the water away, use your hand to fan the water.
If you’re on the swim team, it’s understandable and understandable to miss practice for a short time, but if you skip practice quite often, or anger your coach, or if If you feel unmotivated, ask yourself why you came to swimming. Is it to win, stay in shape, or enter the Olympics? Whatever the reason, always stick to the training plan that both you and the coach have in place.
When swimming, determine which strokes you are best at and practice the rest. This method will help you to improve your fitness and time management, while building better muscles and becoming a formidable swimmer. In addition, you should choose long or short swimming distances. This is important because not everyone can swim short distances. Determine the competition that is right for you and what you like to do the right strokes.

Things you need

Swimwear
Swimming goggles
Swimming cap
Swimming board
Swimming float
Duck-legged
Swimming fins
Breathing tube (optional)
Swim belt (optional)
Gloves or drag reduction devices (optional)

Steps

Improve swimming technique

Swim faster in races

Persist

Advice

Things you need

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