Get Faster at Swimming Freestyle

Increasing speed during freestyle requires a focused effort on improving your technique and avoiding bad habits that break the streamlined stroking. It is also about training hard and often, and competing with yourself.

Steps

Working the legs more

  1. When kicking in freestyle, make sure that your feet only come out of the water a tiny bit, if at all. Kicking is very important in freestyle, as in any swimming stroke, because it is what propels you forward.
  2. Develop a strong but smooth kicking motion. Feel the propulsion as a force and seek to build it into an even stronger one. Find a rhythm that is comfortable and stick with it

Smoother arm movements

  1. When you are putting your arm back into the water, go in pinky side first but do not karate chop the water.
    • Keep your fingers together, slightly cupped, to provide a streamlined "paddle".
  2. Then pull back in the water towards your ribs. Keep your wrist straight.
  3. When your first hand is pulled back towards your ribs start to bring your other hand out of the water. Repeat all the steps for this one. Make sure when you are putting your arm out to go back in the water, that you glide on that arm for awhile. Don't pull it back in the water right a away.
  4. Don't shorten your stroke. Keep gliding, but pick up your pace.

Flip turning

  1. Do a flip turn. An easy way to ensure a faster time while swimming freestyle is doing a flip-turn. When you do a flip-turn don't get so close to the wall that you hit your head (getting too close will also result in a slower, less efficient turn), but get close enough that you are able to push off the wall with your feet when finished with the flip.
  2. When you do a flip-turn, lean on a certain shoulder. Usually, whichever hand you write with is the shoulder you lean on when you flip. Lead with your arm entering the water, then use your core muscles to flip yourself over. Your feet should be tossed over your head as you flip. Come out of the flipturn on your back in a streamline to keep the power from your flipturn. Flip over onto your stomach, but still be sure to keep a tight streamline in doing so, then you're ready to resume your stroke!

Breathing

  1. Turn your head for breathing rather than lifting it. Lifting requires more energy and breaks your streamlined shape. Most of all, it slows you down by causing frontal drag. Instead, turn the head and breath from the pocket. Turn either left or right; your coach will advise on the preferred method for stroke-per-breath, as the approach depends both on preference and updated theories about what works best.

Training

  1. Train regularly. You can't improve without regular training. In addition to the regularity, compete against your times. Compete against last month's time, against last week's time, against yesterday's time. Outdo yourself as much as you can. Later you can race team members but be confident that you can beat your own training times first.
  2. Notice what causes you to swim faster. A good swimmer doesn't just rely on suggestions but feels the outcome through training and picks up on what works best for him or her. By making the most of what causes you to swim faster, you set yourself apart from the other swimmers who haven't put in the same attention and effort.

Tips

  • Make sure to have a regular breathing pattern, such as three strokes a breath or even five. A great way to improve is the 3, 5, 7, 9, which is where you do a 100 free and on the first lap you do 3 strokes per breath then on the second lap you do 5 strokes per breath. Continue until you achieve your maximum.
  • Move your arms and legs fast and strongly against the water.

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