Swimming Tips

Lots of tips on how to improve your technique and hopefully gain that all-important P.B's (and maybe a small cash reward from the parents for good effort)

NEW 2006 - Stroke guides Back, Breast, Fly, Front

Check out our Swimming Pyramid & Dynamic Warm Up Exercises

Before swimming

Never forget to do good stretching exercises before entering the pool. This will help to avoid the possibility of pulling muscles during warm-up or intense training.

Even if you're not swimming it is important to stretch EVERY day.

During swimming

We’ll start with the front crawl as that’s the most common stroke all juniors start off with.

Head position
One of the most important points in any stroke is the position of the head.
The head should be slightly up, looking forward with the water breaking over the forehead.

If you allow your head to rock from side to side, this makes the rest of your body rock from side to side also, making it more difficult to swim well.

You can see, then, that to swim well your head must remain steady, except when turning slightly to breathe.


Stroke Length / Counting

In all strokes, the actual length of the stroke is a major factor. It is essential therefore that during the early phase of the training that particular attention is given to stroke length.

Stroke counting should be carried out during the whole training session with you setting your own targets for the total number of strokes taken during each 25m, 50m and 100m.

The eventual aim is to take:

Fly and Breast stroke 17-18 per 50m
Front and Back Crawl 42 strokes per 100m

Enjoy your swimming.