What Swimmers Need to Know About Improving Their Technique

Michael Butler
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It takes time and repetition to change your technique.

The best thing swimmers can do to improve their technique is to keep practicing and to find an experienced coach to help them along the way. The more repetitions you put into a muscle memory, the easier it becomes. When you practice correctly for a long enough time, it becomes a habit.

For example, learning the freestyle stroke is a process that can take years to perfect. This is because the stroke requires coordination of several different muscle groups and an understanding of body position. You can feel the motion in your body, but you’ll need time to master how to move your body.

The same process is true for other swimming styles as well. But even for a freestyle stroke, you should expect it to take a year of repetitive practice to feel comfortable and natural.

Once you’ve mastered the stroke, you can focus on other areas of focus. This will help you nail down the areas that are still weak. One easy way to do this is through drills. We can help you with this.

Doing this as often as you’re comfortable will help you understand your stroke better and help you improve. But most importantly, it’s important to keep your stroke as low-impact as possible. This will help you recover faster between workouts.

Press time-out on the competitive instinct .

Swimmers often lose the plot by focusing on beating others rather than doing everything they can to ensure they swim as fast as they can in a race. When swimming competitively, it is not uncommon to get caught up in the desire to outperform the other person in your lane. This competitive drive can be more of a distraction than a motivator.

When you’re training, focus on yourself, not the person in the next lane. Try to achieve the goals that you’ve set for yourself. If you notice an improvement, you’ll have at least one person cheering for you, and that person is you.

Your focus and attention levels will get tested .

Swimming is a sport that requires 100 percent attention and focus, which makes it a very tiring activity. While learning to swim, it is best that you don’t think about anything else but concentrate on the skill you will be practicing. However, as you develop as a swimmer or continue to swim, you may encounter many situations when you lose focus. It will be hard learning or improving your swimming technique at this time because it will be hard for you to really keep your focus at its best. But there are things you can do to handle this situation.

Make a swim buddy. If you have a swim buddy by your side, you will not have a hard time training and you can enjoy the activity too.

If you have a swim buddy by your side, you will not have a hard time training and you can enjoy the activity too. Practice your breathing. Many swimmers do not like to breathe through their mouths because they believe it leads to swallowing water, which can lead to choking. But if you learn how to breathe properly, you will not have a problem if you eventually swallow a small amount of water.

Persist past the struggle .

Simple drills can be boring and frustrating, but pushing through the frustration builds mental stamina that you will need when things get rough and you need to persevere. One of the most helpful skills for swimmers to build is mental toughness. So if an exercise seems too difficult or ineffective, continue with it. After a while the movements become automatic, and suddenly things become effortless. It’s all about the process.

Trust that your stroke will improve .

Don’t obsess about perfecting every single stroke in the pool. You’re working with nearly 20 muscles at once. Don’t get bogged down by the hyper-focus on every tiny aspect of your technique.

Don’t obsess about perfecting every single stroke in the pool. You’re working with nearly 20 muscles at once. Don’t get bogged down by the hyper-focus on every tiny aspect of your technique.

Focus on one change at a time .

Many swimmers spend years trying to “fix” their technique without much progress. It’s a lot easier to see improvement if you focus on adjusting just one thing at a time.

Many swimmers spend years trying to “fix” their technique without much progress. It’s a lot easier to see improvement if you focus on adjusting just one thing at a time.

Pace yourself. It can be difficult to learn something new and difficult and still expect to be able to do it at full speed. Take a few steps back so you can walk block-by-block with your changes, until eventually you can trot out full-speed and do all the new things you learned. You’ll be faster for it in the end.

It can be difficult to learn something new and difficult and still expect to be able to do it at full speed. Take a few steps back so you can walk block-by-block with your changes, until eventually you can trot out full-speed and do all the new things you learned. You’ll be faster for it in the end.

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To improve your swimming technique, the best proven methods to success are to practice and to be given constructive feedback on your body’s form.