Front crawl gets you speed, but it burns energy fast and forces your face in and out of the water — not ideal if you’re tired, in open water, or swimming in street clothes. Sidestroke and elementary backstroke solve that problem. Both keep your head above the surface (or fully out of the water) and … [Read More…]
A great relay takeoff can shave real time off your split, but a takeoff that’s even a hair too early can get your entire team disqualified. That tension is what makes relay exchanges one of the hardest skills in swimming to master — you’re trying to leave the block at the exact instant your teammate’s … [Read More…]
The individual medley rewards swimmers who can hold technique together under fatigue, and nowhere does that show more than at the walls. A clean, legal turn between strokes can save real time and keep a swimmer out of the disqualification tent, while a sloppy one can undo an otherwise strong swim. This guide breaks down … [Read More…]
The backstroke flip turn is one of the trickiest skills in swimming to learn, mostly because you can’t see the wall coming. Instead of spotting the wall like you would in freestyle, you have to rely on the backstroke flags and a memorized stroke count to know exactly when to roll over and go. This … [Read More…]
Butterfly has a reputation as the stroke that empties your tank in under 25 yards, and for most amateurs that’s not because they lack strength — it’s because their arms, kick, and breath are all fighting each other instead of working on the same beat. This guide breaks down the timing that makes butterfly feel … [Read More…]
If your backstroke zig-zags across the lane or feels like you’re dragging your arms through wet cement, the problem usually isn’t your kick or your catch — it’s that your body isn’t rotating. Backstroke is a side-to-side stroke, not a flat-on-your-back one, and swimmers who keep their hips and shoulders locked flat lose reach, power, … [Read More…]
Breaststroke is usually the last stroke kids master, and the kick is almost always the hardest part. Unlike freestyle or backstroke, the breaststroke kick asks a child’s ankles, knees, and hips to move in a sequence that feels backwards at first — bend, turn out, sweep around, then snap together and glide. This guide breaks … [Read More…]
If your backstroke feels like you’re dragging an anchor, the problem is probably happening below the surface where you can’t see it: your knees. A lot of swimmers instinctively kick backstroke the same way they’d pedal a bike, bending deeply at the knee on every beat. It feels powerful, but it does the opposite of … [Read More…]
If your freestyle feels rushed, choppy, or like your arms are fighting each other instead of working together, the catch-up drill is one of the fastest fixes a coach can hand you. It slows the stroke down on purpose so you can feel exactly what each arm is doing at every phase, instead of blasting … [Read More…]
A kickboard looks simple, but used with intent it’s one of the best tools for isolating your legs, fixing kick timing, and building the kind of hip-driven power that carries over directly into full-stroke swimming. The problem is most swimmers just hold one and kick laps without a plan, which trains bad habits as often … [Read More…]
Butterfly has a reputation as the hardest stroke in competitive swimming, but almost every problem in a young swimmer’s butterfly traces back to one skill: the dolphin kick. Get the wave motion right and the arms, breathing, and timing fall into place with far less effort. Skip it, and kids end up muscling through the … [Read More…]
Breaststroke looks deceptively simple, but its timing is the most complex of the four competitive strokes. Get the sequence even slightly wrong — kicking too early, gliding at the wrong moment, or rushing from one phase into the next — and the stroke falls apart. Everything slows down and you work twice as hard to … [Read More…]
If you’ve ever watched a coached swim practice, you’ve probably heard someone shout ‘breathe to both sides!’ — and if you’ve ever tried it mid-set, you know how disorienting that can feel. Bilateral breathing (the practice of alternating which side you breathe on during freestyle) is one of those skills that feels counterintuitive at first … [Read More…]
Butterfly is widely considered the hardest competitive swim stroke — and for good reason. It demands simultaneous arm recovery, a coordinated two-beat kick, and a full-body undulating wave, all working together at the same time. Most beginners who try to swim it by brute force end up exhausted after half a length. The good news: … [Read More…]
Breaststroke is widely considered the trickiest stroke for young swimmers to learn—and the kick is usually where things fall apart. Unlike freestyle or backstroke, the frog kick demands a very specific sequence of movements that feels unnatural at first: bend, turn, push, squeeze, glide. Miss any one of those steps and the kick stops working. … [Read More…]
A freestyle flip turn is one of the most time-saving skills in competitive swimming — but it can feel disorienting and awkward the first time you try it. Done right, it keeps your momentum and shaves seconds off every lap without a wasted breath or clumsy stop at the wall. This guide breaks the flip … [Read More…]
Swimming starts and turns for youth competitive swimmers are the fastest place to find race-time improvement, because most practice hours go to stroke and conditioning while the start and every wall touch get almost no dedicated attention. A swimmer who dives cleanly, streamlines tight, and turns without hesitation can out-touch a faster swimmer who wastes … [Read More…]
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