Crooked Necks

Posts Tagged ‘Swimming’

What’s the secret to swimming faster? It may look like there is some secret technique to faster swimming but there really isn’t. Swimmers have been getting faster every year due to better training, improved techniques, nutrition and even suits they wear. Coach’s and swimmers alike just keep trying new things and pushing the limits and finding ways to keep shaving fractions of a second off their times.

A fraction of a second does not sound like much but it could be enough to win a race. When you are at the elite level you want that little bit of extra speed and more. So if you are a swimmer on a school team, club or compete on a recreational level, you too can use the same methods the elite use to go faster.

Work on your technique, this can save you valuable time during a race. Learn to swim like your body is longer than it really is so you slide through the water more easily. Perfect the arm stroke so you can get the maximum pull with each hand to give you the best forward propulsion. Relax while you swim, don’t be tense because this will actually slow you down.

When we swim there are forces that are out of our control that we must contend with in the hopes of swimming faster. It doesn’t matter if you are in the pool or the open water, we must deal with these forces. The drag that is created by the water on our bodies is one of the main obstacles we must deal with and finding a way to reduce this drag makes a difference in how fast we can swim. So, how do we reduce drag while swimming?

Being water is so much denser than air we also have to fight this resistance. When the water flows along our bodies it tries to cling to anything it can grab onto, this is drag and reducing the effect of this drag will help us slide through the water more easily. Not only is drag a problem but we also have to deal with the turbulence of the water. If swimming in a pool with others, the surface of the water gets choppy which itself can slow you down a little as you plow through the chop.