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4 Ways to Swim Faster – From the Beginning

If there’s one question we hear a lot at The Race Club, it’s “how can I swim faster?” The answer to that question is so unique and so personal to each and every athlete, but we do our best to try to provide guidance. Swimming faster is all about combining together the right tools and techniques for mind, body, and attitude.

If you’re looking to learn how to swim faster, here’s how you can start your journey, even before you begin working with a swimming coach:

Improve flexibility. Every athlete knows that stretching can make or break your ability to perform while avoiding injury. In addition to strength training and swimming drills, you should also spend time daily to stretching and movement to improve flexibility. Make time in the morning, before and after workouts, and before bed to stretch hard working muscle groups like your pectorals, shoulders, hamstrings, ankles and hips. Use a foam roller to deepen the stretch. Practicing yoga can also help.
Nourish your muscles. Meal planning can be a great tool for both managing your time and also keeping your nutrition in check. Create a meal plan that meets your needs for calories, micronutrients, and macronutrients. A swimmer’s muscles also need fuel both pre-workout and post-workout, so factor that into your plan.
Sleep more. Studies have shown that proper rest is critical to producing athletic results. Sleep is key for improving performance as well as boosting mood and alertness. While you sleep, growth hormone is released in your body, which is essential for stimulating muscle growth and repair, bone building, and fat burning. Make a commitment to get more sleep to give your body the time it needs to recover, repair, and build muscle.
Listen to your body. One of the biggest mistakes a swimmer can make in trying to learn how to swim faster is to overdo it. Pushing yourself too hard or not giving yourself enough time to recover can detract from your overall performance while raising your risk of injury. Respect recovery times and the need to rest your muscles. As much as you’d like to, you can’t keep working all the time. Training with a coach in this respect can help you with managing your workout time appropriately so that you give yourself enough time to warm up, cool down, and recover.

Whether you’re in or out of the pool, it’s about adopting a mindset and a commitment to your performance. If you’re ready to start swimming faster, contact The Race Club today to discuss training with our swim coaches.

Strength Training Exercises for Swimmers Outside of the Pool

Strength training is an important part of developing your swimming technique, speed, and power. Spending time on key muscle groups can support better endurance as well as reduce your risk of injury. Both in and out of the pool, there are a variety of strength training exercises swimmers can try. The next time you’re working with weights, try these dumbbell and barbell strength training exercises for swimmers:

Barbell Squats

This strength training for swimmers exercise is ideal for building strength in the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Start with a barbell rested on your upper back, about two inches below the neck to avoid injury. Then, squat carefully down until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Make sure your feet are shoulder width apart and that your back is straight with your head up at all times. Next, push up in a controlled but firm motion, driving through the heels and raising yourself back to the starting position. Avoid locking out the legs once you reach the top.

Barbell Military Press

For building up your deltoids, triceps and latissimus dorsi, try barbell military presses. Begin seated on a bench and grip your barbell with your hands. Hands should be placed slightly wider than shoulder width. While keeping your back straight and head lifted yet still, raise the bar to about neck level and then press the bar up over your head. Don’t lock your arms out at the top of the press. Hold and then lower back down to the neck position and repeat.

Dumbbell Flyes

To build pectoral muscles, begin this exercise by lying down on the bench on your back with your feet firmly planted on the floor. Lift the dumbbell weights directly overhead and while keeping your arms bent slightly, slowly lower the weights down to below the shoulder level. Keep the chest tight in this motion. Once the weights have reached slightly below the shoulders, drive the weights back to the top, concentrating on squeezing the chest muscles once they reach the top.

For additional strength training for swimmers, learn more about coaching and training services from The Race Club. We can help with drills, techniques, and exercises both in and out of the pool to make you a faster, more powerful swimmer.

Improve Your Technique With A Private Coaching Session

The Race Club Swim Camp sessions allow you to get expert training with our renowned coaching staff. But your instruction doesn’t have to begin or end at a swim camp.

Outside the boundaries of camp, our instructors offer private coaching sessions. These 1 hour and 50 minute coaching blocks are subject to instructor and pool availability, but provide swimmers with the personalized attention they need. In order to master the finer points of swimming, the Race Club methodology encompasses all aspects of competition, from perfecting the butterfly stroke to seasonal planning strategies.

Our instructors have coached thousands of swimmers, including more than 20 Olympic medalists. When you book time with these elite coaches, you’re getting a high level of expertise to help you achieve your goals. Whether you’re new to competitive swimming or are a seasoned swimmer, we can help you improve the nuances in technique and approach that separate the winners from the rest of the pack.

By working with world class athletes, we’ve learned what helps swimmers perform at their peak. From mental preparation to backstroke and butterfly stroke drills, we can guide you through the methodology that has served our students well for almost 2 decades.

So when is it right to schedule a private coaching session?

When you can’t make it to one of our swim camps
When you are preparing for an important competition
When you are feeling like your training has reached a plateau
When you’ve decided to take swimming more seriously
When you are looking for fresh and challenging instruction
When coaches and clinics in your local area are not keeping up with national and international standards
When you want to push yourself to the next level but don’t know how to get there

Remember: this is your chance to get some valuable feedback from the instructors you see featured in our weekly videos, newsletters, and other online content. This is your opportunity to test yourself outside the limits of the swim camp structure. This is when we can really help you hone in on the skills that will help you succeed: better starts, better turns, better freestyle, back, and butterfly stroke technique, and better preparation for every part of a swimmer’s life.

Enhance your swim performance. Jump into a private coaching session with us in Islamorada, Florida or Coronado, California! Register for your personalized instruction with us today.

Get in Lane for our Swim Camps

Success in the swim world depends on more than just showing up to meets or making sure you know the basic strokes. For those who want to excel both in and out of the pool, our swim camps are the perfect solution! We offer a variety of drills, classes, and seminars to help you leave the competition behind.

Camps Could Be Your Answer

Race Club Swim Camps aren’t like other events. We teach you a complete methodology of swimming to improve your technique and your approach. Whether you want to get back to basics or push into new territory by perfecting expert form, we’ve got the instructors and educational program that push you to a higher level of performance.

We’ll teach you a comprehensive set of skills, including:

Strokes
Starts
Turns
Freestyle
Backstroke
Breaststroke
Butterfly

But we go far beyond in-pool instruction. We’ll teach you a range of dryland training techniques to keep you sharp. We’ll coach you on the science of swimming and instruct you on developing the disciplines needed for faster swimming.

A Well-Rounded Training Experience

Making sure you’re at your best is about more than swimming itself. Our swim camps include race strategy, mental training, and seasonal planning sessions so you’re always in top form.

Our coaches and instructors are well-trained in a variety of disciplines to support swimmers’ development as athletes. We provide the feedback and guidance you need to train your body to perform at its best.

Swim camps that offer a well-rounded approach to training, like The Race Club, create an environment that’s supportive and comfortable for athletes of all skill levels. Additionally, when you combine hands-on instruction and with the right education, you have recipe for success.

Swim Camp Details

We recommend all campers, regardless of their expertise level, to join us for all eight sessions so they can get a complete knowledge of our methodologies and training regimens.

Each scheduled camp day includes a morning session and an afternoon session, so you’ll have plenty to work on when you return home. Morning sessions are 3 hours at $250 per session and afternoon sessions are 2 hours long at $150 per session.

Signing up for our camps early also gives you a big discount. If you register more than 30 days before a camp, you can save $200. To learn more about our camps and to find out when a Race Club Swim Camp will fit into your schedule, visit our swim camp details page.

If you want to become a much better swimmer–no matter what your level of expertise–we can help you get there! Sign up for one of our Race Club Swim Camps today.

Backstroke Drills To Put You Ahead of The Competition

Body rotation is the most least appreciated and understood element of backstroke and freestyle swimming. If you’re looking for the ultimate in propulsive power, developing this rotation of your body is crucial for success. We offer our subscribers a variety of backstroke drills to improve their form and get them ahead of their competition.

The quick rotation of the body during the arm pull is one of the coupling motions that increases speed and power during backstroke swimming. How far you rotate the body does not determine the additional power you generate. This extra power comes from the speed at which you can rotate.

In mathematical terms, the coupling energy of the body rotation is related to its angular velocity, squared. This means that by snapping the body from side to side, you’ll derive much more power from your backstroke than by turning it slowly.

The most important factor in backstroke swimming is stroke rate. You must learn to increase your stroke speed. Because there is no hip-driven backstroke, you’ll need to get your arms turning quickly in order to compete. In such a shoulder-driven stroke, it’s important to get the form exactly right. These backstroke drills will help you take your technique to the next level.

Body Rotation Drill

The faster we rotate the body, the more distance per stroke we receive. Put your hands at your sides and then take 6 kicks on one side of your body. Quickly rotate and then take 6 more kicks on the opposite side. If you prefer, you can use fins for this drill to help you get the most power from your kicks. As you perfect this form, you’ll see that you can generate much more power from a rotation, than you can from simply reaching back.

The 6 Kick/3 Stroke Drill

Take 6 kicks on your side and then 3 strokes with excellent rotation, bringing the shoulder back to vertical each time. Then alternate. This drill should be performed slowly at first to guarantee proper form, but then increased in velocity as you become more comfortable.

One Arm Drill

As in any swimming style, reducing drag is key to improving backstroke technique. A straight, outstretched arm will increase drag substantially. Bending the elbow and keeping the hand closer to the body alleviates much of this drag. The best drill for developing this technique is to keep one arm at your side and pull with the other. By isolating this motion, you can really feel how the form affects the efficiency of the backstroke.

If you’re looking for more backstroke drills, and other ways to improve your swimming technique than become a subscriber with us today!

Flip Turn Swimming 101

Flip turn swimming is a skill every swimmer should master, as it allows for the fastest and most efficient turn when you reach the pool wall. Not only does a flip turn help to retain energy, but it maintains your momentum when you swim into the wall, allowing you to spring off of it as quickly as you touch it.

How to Do a Flip Turn

The body motion of a flip turn is fairly simple. As you approach the pool wall, following your last stroke and tilt your body weight forward. Then, bring your knees up to your chest. Tuck your chin and then use the momentum to somersault forward. Your arms should be at your sides and use your nose to exhale as you start to rotate. Remember that the tighter you tuck your body, the faster and more efficient your flip turn will be.

Another tip you can try in flip turn swimming is to accelerate as you reach the wall. The more speed you bring toward the wall when you reach it, the more power you’ll have to spring off of it when you complete your flip turn. Practice acceleration in addition to your flip turn swimming technique.

After you’ve somersaulted and your feet have reached the pool wall, unfold your upper body and extend your arms backward in the direction from which you just came. The upper body should be a straight line from torso to the tips of your fingers, you should be fully on your back (avoid rolling toward your belly), and your knees should still be bent at a 90 degree angle, ready to push off.

Next plant your feet firmly against the wall and push off hard, straightening your legs. Begin to rotate your body so that your back is toward the surface and the belly is toward the pool floor. Hands should be twisted in the direction of your rotation and the head should not move. This rotation should be quick and fluid.

Swimmers who wish to master flip turn swimming should practice each motion of the flip turn independently to ensure a compact body position in the somersault, strong push offs, and smooth rotations as you begin your swim strokes when you reach the surface.

Ready to start perfecting your flip turn swimming technique? Schedule a private lesson with our coaches to get started.

3 Breathing Tips for Freestyle Swimming

Breathing while freestyle swimming takes a fluidity of motion and an understanding that your breathing should be in tandem with your other movements. In freestyle swimming, breathing may be one of the most important parts of your overall technique.

When practicing freestyle, use these tips to anchor your breathing technique for optimal performance, speed, and endurance.

Tip 1: Be mindful of head position and over-rolling.

When taking a breath, notice your degree of head and body rotation. Most swimmers who over-rotate their heads, necks, or bodies while in freestyle end up breathing late and they actually throw the rest of their motion out of balance.

A good rule to keep in mind is that when breathing, you should take your breath with one goggle, one ear, and one cheek still present in the water. You may worry that only half of your mouth will be available for breathing, but it’s actually more than it seems and you’ll still be able to get enough air.

Tip 2: Practice multiple breathing techniques.

Freestyle swimmers need to be prepared for a variety of swimming conditions. Bilateral breathing, or breathing from both sides while in freestyle, can be a good foundational skill for any swimmer. However, when speed counts, learning to breathe from one side can be incredibly useful.

Freestyle swimmers should be mindful of spending as much time on their sides as possible, as this creates a much more streamlined body than lying flat. Breathing from one side on every stroke or alternating breathing sides on every stroke (e.g. left side to one end of the pool, right side on the return) ensures you’re drawing in more air but that you’re also spending more time in that side position, which helps with speed.

Tip 3: Don’t hold your breath too much.

Constant exhalation is key, even though instinct is driving you toward inhaling as much as possible. Most swimmers that hold their breath too long in freestyle experience difficulty as there’s not enough exhalation and that builds up carbon dioxide in the body. This further contributes to fatigue and energy loss. When exhaling, use your nose to expel as much air as possible so that your lungs are clear for your next mouth inhale. Practice building up a breathing rhythm that involves short holds, nose exhales, and mouth inhales.

Breathing properly can make all the difference in your overall swim performance. Looking to optimize your breathing in freestyle? At The Race Club, we strive to provide our subscribers with the information and resources that will dramatically increase their performance in the pool.

From online coaching to race analysis, and seasonal planning to freestyle swimming drills, our subscribers enjoy a range of benefits – better breathing technique being one of them!

How to Streamline Effectively to Reduce Drag

As Gary Hall Sr. states, “Drag is the number one enemy of the swimmer.” Many swimmers will focus on strengthening their bodies’ and improving technique. However, not many swimmers consider the effect of how water interacts with your body. When we coach campers and professional swimmers on how to swim faster, we notice that one of the biggest mistakes among swimmers is streamlining incorrectly.

The two fastest points you reach while swimming is the second you touch the surface of the water and when you push off for turns. The first technique to master when learning how to swim faster is your streamlining technique. By completely streamlining the body whenever you hit these two points, you will drastically improve your speed.

The first step to streamlining is to practice on dry land in order to fix your form. Many coaches will teach swimmers to squeeze the biceps next to the ear, but we prefer a streamlining technique that opens up the whole body and keeps it inline. Stand up and try it out for yourself:

With your arms in the streamlining position, drop your chin to the chest and squeeze your elbows behind the end as close together as possible. The goal is to make your arms look like one arm. From this position, pull the shoulders out of the socket and reach to the sky. While not the easiest or most comfortable position, we have found that this streamlining technique significantly reduces frontal drag.

Many professional swimmers will not pay attention to the form of their hands when they streamline, but the water takes every single inch of your body into account when it comes to drag. The proper technique that we teach our campers is to treat your hands as a tight, cohesive arrow leading you through the water. Keep the fingers straight and place the left hand on the right. Wrap the left-hand thumb to the front of the right hand and flatten the two hands as much as possible.

This streamlining technique requires a lot of time, practice, and determination to master, but it is one great technique for learning how to swim faster and more efficiently.

How to Reduce the Three Types of Frontal Drag

Swimmers are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to swim faster and more effectively. However, most will often overlook the old and classic laws that revolve around us and affect our everyday life: the Laws of Motion founded by Sir Isaac Newton. These are the laws that govern our interactions with the world around us, especially when it comes to your swim technique in the water.

The Race Club is outlining the three variations of frontal drag experienced by all professional swimmers to reduce drag and swim faster:

Friction drag is caused by the water molecules colliding and moving around the swimmer’s skin. Luckily, reducing friction underwater comes down to a couple of easy changes to your swimming gear. The ideal swimsuit and cap reduces the resistance of the water created when swimming. The key is finding the right gear that is tight enough to completely streamline your body while simultaneously allowing enough control of the arms and legs.

Pressure (form) drag can be felt when swimmers begin to build up speed through the lap. The pressure is mostly felt around the top part of the body and shoulders, whilst swimming through the water head-on. Most swimmers make the mistake of pulling the water underneath rather than pulling the elbow high. This simple elbow trick takes a bit to get used to but overall, keeps your upper arm in line with the body and drastically reduces pressure drag.

Surface (wave) drag places a limit on how fast a swimmer can move through the water. As you begin to gain speed, pockets of pressure begin to form around the body, which causes you to expend more energy to swim faster. The solution? Keep your head and body under the surface as much as possible. There is surprisingly less wave drag under the water than on the surface because by keeping your entire body under water, you eliminate the surface from frontal drag.

Understanding these laws and finding ways to improve your body position can take your swim technique to the next level whether you are high school swimmer or a triathlete. The Race Club is dedicated to the swimming community. Our swim camps, subscriptions, and many other training services are concentrated on helping you swim faster and more powerfully.

How to Start Swimming Competitively

Whether it’s the thrill of the race or feeling motivated by the Olympics, many people become interested in swimming competitively at least once in their life. But the road to swimming competitively can be difficult especially if you were not exposed to the swim camps at an early age, but The Race Club is here to make things a bit easier for new swimmers.

Here are some tips for a beginner who is interested in swimming competitively:

Create goals and milestones – What is motivating you to start swimming? Whether you are looking to stay fit or swimming for the bragging rights, do not just dive into the pool and figure it out. Create a long-term swimming plan for your overarching goals that are realistic and attainable. Once you get started, it is okay to change a couple of your milestones to fit skill level and ability, but this is a great way to stay focused on the goal.

Learn the basic rules of swim etiquette – Before you start training, review some of the basic rules of swim etiquette. Always swim in the lane that is relative to your speed, follow and respect the swimming patterns of other swimmers, and learn the proper manner for passing. Some pools might have their own etiquette rules, so always ask another swimmer for advice as long as they are not in the middle of a workout.

Join a local swim camp or club – The availability of swim camps or clubs might be limited depending on where you are from, but you would be surprised how many unknown swim clubs are located in your area. The Race Club swim camps are designed for beginners, masters, triathletes, and competitive swimmers and are located in Florida and California.

Join a monthly swim training subscription – Make sure you are constantly improving and working on your swim technique to stay motivated. There is always going to be another way of doing the same stroke or workout. Join the Race Club for weekly training videos and resources to help you swim faster and more efficiently.

The Race Club was created for all swimmers. From our upcoming swim camps to our swim video analysis service, learn more about our coaching services to improve your technique and get you swimming at the competitive level.