Swimming is one of the most popular and useful fitness activities available. This fun activity can also help prevent injury and chronic disease, increase energy, improve mental health and enhance quality of life. Unlike other sports that require large investment in equipment, all you need to start swimming is your body. But if you want to swim faster, it helps to know the proper techniques.
When you’re learning to swim, you’re likely to hear many tips from your parents and instructors. Some of these may be silly, such as “move your arms like monkeys,” or maybe you’ve heard “move your hands together like an airplane.” But some of the most important lessons you’ll learn are from watching how the world’s fastest swimmers move through the water.
While everyone’s technique is different, it’s critical to find what works best for you. For example, some elite swimmers prefer to use a high catch, which requires keeping your elbow higher than usual during the pull. This can dramatically increase your speed. But if you have mobility issues, you might need to adapt this technique to your ability.
Another key tip is to maintain a streamlined body position. This reduces drag and increases your efficiency, especially during long distance swimming. This technique involves keeping your head up and aligning it with the hips and shoulders to maximize the propulsion generated by each stroke. The best way to achieve this is to stay relaxed and not overextend your arms when pulling.
You’ll also need to pay close attention to lane lines. This is essential to avoid running into or hitting other swimmers, particularly during backstroke. Lane lines are a series of round perforated plastic disks held in place by wire anchored to each end of the pool. Until the middle of the 20th century, these were known as “lane ropes.” Lane lines are used to separate swimmers and help control the flow of water in the pool.
The correct arm position during freestyle can make or break your speed and efficiency. One common mistake is to reach forward before pulling down. This creates a bad biomechanical position that puts your arm in the water for too short of a time, which is a major cause of slow and inefficient freestyle. The solution is to keep your elbow high until it passes your wrist, a position that will massively power up your freestyle.
The correct hand entry is also essential for efficient freestyle. When you pull, your hand should enter the water just in front of your nose. This allows you to grab the water with a paddle and creates more surface area for your stroke. It’s also a great trick for reducing hand entry drag, which can decrease your speed.