Swimming: Three Ways To Swim Fast!

When we think about swimming fast, most swimmers think about moving their arms quicker and increasing their stroke rate.

For a lot of swimmers this doesn’t actually increase speed – or if it does, not by much – but instead creates high fatigue and is often unsustainable.

Long And Strong

When I’m working with a swimmer and they want to swim fast, I generally try and get them to increase their speed by slowing their stroke down, lengthening their stroke and improving their propulsion from each stroke.

This could be through:

Improved hand extension and reach
A better catch
A firm hold of the water
Directing the pull underneath the shoulder
Some good acceleration through the pull phase
Pushing right through to the hip
Stroke timing and rhythm

Once we have developed the swimmers’ pull and their ability to swim fast with a ‘slow’ turnover, then we turn to stroke rate and moving the arms a little faster – without sacrificing stroke length.

Developing long, purposeful strokes is definitely an area that we will continue to concentrate on during our Swim Squad sessions during the year.

Stroke Counting

Following on from stroke length and the importance of ‘making the most’ from each pull, here is a little tip for you to incorporate into some of your swim sessions.

Every now and again, count your strokes for a length.

Very simple, but very powerful.

Just by counting, you are suddenly focused on each arm stroke, aware of what each stroke does, how fast it is moving and how far it is taking you through the water.
You get to know what your number is. Everybody is different and takes different amount of strokes to cover a length. By counting, you are now aware of your number.
“What gets measured, gets improved”
Work on reducing that number – not artificially through extra big push offs, super strong kicks or big glides – but through focused efforts on the technique and power of each stroke.

There are plenty of ways to work on this further.

Try and keep the same stroke count per length, but increase pace.
Keep the same strokes per length, but swim at different paces – faster and slower.
Measure strokes per length at different paces.
Swim as fast as you can with as few strokes as you can.

Although very simple, it’s another useful way to stay focused in your swim and work on your technique.

If you’ve not tried this before, give it a try and see how you get on!

Feel For The Water

To generate good propulsion and travel well with every stroke, and swim fast, we have to ‘hold the water’ well.

I have spoken to a lot of triathletes and swimmers about catching and holding the water.

How do you get hold of the water and move it backwards?
How do you make sure your hand doesn’t just slip through the water?

When I answer this, I keep talking about tension through the wrists. Keeping a firm hand. Feeling the pressure and the resistance of the water as you press back.

Coach Gerry Rodrigues from the famed Tower 26 triathlon swim squad in California tells it best. He suggests that many swimmers have hand and wrist strength equivalent to that when stroking a kitten. Soft, gentle. Their hands are soft and slip through the water as a result. In my experience, these are the swimmers who struggle to generate much power and often swim with 25-30 strokes (or more) per 25 metres.

Instead, Gerry suggests, they should have a much firmer hand and wrist. Rather than stroking a kitten gently, they should be stroking a Great Dane or German Shepherd. Much firmer. Much rougher. Keeping the hand strong.

Can you see what he means?

Try it. Get it right and you will notice the difference immediately. Your stroke count will drop. Your speed will increase.

Swimming: Three Ways To Swim Fast!

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Swimming: Three Ways To Swim Fast!