This Is Why Swimming is so Hard
Getting better at swimming can be a difficult and frustrating task for triathletes. Most triathletes did not start off as swimmers in their early lives. They don't have a coach focused on honing their technique.
The result is usually putting a massive amount of effort in the swim for an unsatisfactory pace. Like cycling and running, to get better at swimming you need to spend a lot of time doing it.
Focus on technique for swimming has to be much more intense than the other 2 disciplines if you want to see progress.
That's the difference.
The reason for this is that the amount of "friction" your body gets from the water is so much greater than the air. This is why you can put out more effort in the swim and not maintain (or even getting worse) speed.
You end up getting very little, or even no, return on your effort. So it makes sense that you get frustrated when you're not getting faster but you're trying so much harder.
So what are the best ways to focus on getting faster for swimming?
Beginners can often learn to swim faster with no extra effort. Sometimes, they even need less effort than before.
Think about this: Your goal is to eliminate drag. NOT to swing your arms wider or kick your feet faster... At least when you're starting out.
With that said here are the 2 biggest faults that I see new swimmers making that kill their speed in the water.
Not being horizontal enough in the water
While you're swimming you want your body to be as horizontal in the water as possible. Think about Superman flying through the air.
New swimmers tend to lift their head too high in (or even out of) the water and their legs drop as a result. This leads to you swimming through the water with your legs acting as a wall.
The first step to improve this is getting comfortable breathing to the side while continuing to take strokes in the water. This will prevent you from lifting your head too high and having a miserable time.
Sometimes all you need to be more comfortable breathing in the water is a better pair of goggles. Check out these 2 pairs of goggles that we like and recommend.
Speedo Mirrored Vanquisher 2.0 - Great for open water swims to counteract that sun glare, these are perfect for race goggles
Speedo Speed Socket 2.0 - For increased visibility and drag these are great for the serious swimmer
You can practice a drill (same as the one below) where you hold onto the wall, take a stroke, and breathe to the side. That way you will have more stability in the water compared to regular swimming.
If you fix your breathing and still have trouble with this it may be your shoulder mobility.
If you can't fully reach over your head with a straight arm your body will compensate. This will happen by dropping your legs lower in the water and creating more drag.
I've linked a few very quick exercise demonstrations below to help with this. It's best to do these for a warm up and cooldown for your swim workouts. But, if you really want to see results shoot for 5x/day.
Do 5 reps of each exercise holding 5 seconds each time.
Kicking your feet too far apart
This is a common mistake new swimmers make. They lack coordination in the water to stay balanced and in a streamlined position. The easiest first step in fixing this is to perform a kicking drill on land rather than in the water.
The drill has you lay face down on a bench with a short resistance band tied around your ankles. From there you kick your feet like you would want to in the water.
The band keeps your feet close together and engages your core. This in turn helps with staying in a more streamlined position.
The next step in this drill is to add a resistance band to simulate the pull strokes of freestyle.
This way you can develop your coordination without a lack of stability and oxygen.
Check out the video link below to see how this drill is done.
Links for the bands we recommend listed below:
Crossover Symmetry
Resistance Loop Bands
After you've got this drill down the next step is to move to the water and work on your kicking like kids in swim lessons do. Hands on the wall of the pool, face in the water, and kicking your feet.
But, unlike the kids your goal is to keep the kicks small, smooth, and controlled. This will help you learn to maintain your form while swimming.
Once you've gotten hang of that, practice taking a stroke with one arm and breathing to the side. Now you're basically swimming (without actually going anywhere).
Finally, put these drills to use and try doing a few laps swimming only focusing on how close your feet are. Try not to think about anything else, all that matters is how close your feet are kicking.
Take it slow and easy to start. The first goal is to learn the skill of keeping your feet close together for short distances at an easy pace.
After you've got that down, you can increase the distance.
Shoot for a goal of 400-500 yards with good technique. After that, you can work on increasing the pace while maintaining good kicking form.
If you don't have a coach giving feedback, you'll know from how much easier swimming feels in general.
After fixing your mobility and kicking form you should notice swimming becomes much easier and faster.
Drag is the main source of fatigue and slowness in swimming. So, if you're having a bad day in the water, try working on these two things before you give up on the workout for the day.
