To improve your breaststroke you will need to work on coordinating your pull motion and kick. Timing of each movement and your breathing technique also make a big difference. Fortunately, there are a few simple drills you can work on that will take your breaststroke from good to great! Contents Your breaststroke arm pulls. The…
The front crawl stands as the poster child of swimming strokes. Its high efficiency makes it the faster of the four techniques, and it’s commonly chosen as the stroke of choice in freestyle races. Basic front crawl involves laying on your stomach in the water, and moving your arms overhead in a smooth and streamlined…
There are a few simple actions you can take to improve your backstroke. Better form and movements of the arms,body posture and kick can turn this basic stroke into a real powerhouse technique in the water. Contents Body positions and movement. Working on tempo and timing. Drills to improve your backstroke. The backstroke, along with…
In this article, we will explore techniques for how to teach a one year old to swim that I have learned as a swim instructor. We will begin by gently introducing them to the water and the sensation of getting their faces wet. We will work our way towards what I call a ‘big swim’,…
When it comes to learning how to teach breaststroke kick, plenty of people struggle. With this swimming stroke, your power comes from the kick. So, emphasizing the wrong body parts can be a quick route to teaching poor technique! And, whilst this stroke is one of my favorites, I know just how hard it can…
What is the best age to start competitive swimming? Michael Phelps started competing at seven years old, and Katie Ledecky started at six. Like these two greats, most world-class swimmers have begun competing by the time they are eight to twelve years of age. Children as young as one year old can learn to swim….
I passionately believe that just about everyone could benefit from knowing how to tread water better. Being able to stay afloat by treading water is vital in any water survival situation, and in some cases, it’s more important than swimming ability. Treading water is all about using as little energy as possible to stay buoyant….
I have a love-hate relationship with the smell of chlorine in my hair. On the one hand, it’s not exactly a pleasant smell. But sometimes it does feel a bit like a badge of honor, proving that yes I did get out of bed extra early enough in order to go for a swim before…
Which is the better way to swim: breaststroke vs butterfly? I’ll admit, at first these two strokes seem so different from one another in terms of technique, energy and speed that it hardly seems worth comparing them at all. Surely everyone is going to know which one they prefer without much difficulty? Butterfly is all…
How many people know how to swim in the country where you live? What about worldwide? Learning to swim was something I took for granted during my childhood, but when the time came for me to arrange swimming lessons for my own daughter, I realized I didn’t know if it was a common experience or…
