How did you get on with the Swolf session from the last blog? So in the last blog we wrote about analysing and improving your swim efficiency with a Swolf swim set. This should have you thinking ‘how can I hold my pace and swim faster’. In this blog we'll be delving deeper into how you can swim more efficiently. Maybe you're thinking, well if my swim stroke falls apart a bit when I'm swimming faster, then how do I correct it, and more importantly know what to correct? For example: If your arms are too straight in the catch and pull phase, or you have a crossover of the mid line of your body with your hands, you bend your knees to kick, or over rotate your hips to one side and not the other, or breathe from your chest and not your diaphragm, then there are areas you would want to focus on and improve. Try doing the following set as a variation on the swolf one. Swim golf set 6 x 50 metres Front Crawl with 20 seconds rest Count your strokes and time the 50m. Add the 2 together. Try and hold the cumulative number of strokes and time over the course of the 6 x 50 m FC One of the ways we measure this is by using a Swim golf session regularly as above every 4 weeks, as a benchmark for syour swim efficiency. The adage "If you're not assessing you're guessing" rings true here. This should also be coupled with the following areas too: 1. Stroke rate 2. Stroke count (or distance per stroke) 3. Technique and how much water you're pushing behind yourself 4. Pacing and the law of diminishing returns These can all merge into a grey area all together, and become a bit confusing, so we're keeping them to the above headings and talking about them separately below: 1. Stroke rate We know that for many swimmers, and particularly beginners, when your stroke rate is below 60 per minute, you won't have constant motion through the water. It will be more of a stop / start, since you'll be gliding too far on each stroke, and effectively speeding up and slowing down on each stroke. If you're stroke count is between 40 and 50 you'll be doing this for sure, and probably swimming with straight arms underwater.

SWOLF and Swim metrics - what are they? This is Week 8 of our front crawl technique correction series: Swolf and swim efficiency If you're not measuring or assessing you're guessing! The following swim metrics are a good idea to have on your watch: 1. Interval Swolf 2. Average swolf 3. Pace per 100m 4. Distance 5. Stroke count per length 6. Stroke rate 7. Average pace 8. Lap last pace 9. Elapsed time 10. Last lap distance 11. Interval time 12. Interval strokes / length 13. Average strokes / length Swolf is for reference the number of strokes per length added to the time. The aim is to reduce the overall number over a set interval distance. A goal for stroke count per 50 metres is 45 - 55. A guide for stroke rate per minute is 55-65 (both arms), your watch will probably record just one arm ie the watch side. For more information and to continue reading about this check out our recent blog post article here: https://www.speedyswimming.co.uk/single-post/if-you-re-not-assessing-you-re-guessing-how-to-use-swim-metrics-to-measure-and-monitor Here are a couple of articles from my blog if you want to read more... https://www.speedyswimming.co.uk/single-post/2017/06/26/what-is-swolf-and-how-will-it-make-your-front-crawl-swimming-more-efficient https://www.speedyswimming.co.uk/single-post/2018/11/30/do-you-want-to-increase-your-distance-per-stroke-and-learn-how-to-use-a-high-and-earlier https://www.speedyswimming.co.uk/single-post/2019/11/21/improving-your-distance-per-stroke-part-2

Struggling to get more pull and efficiency in your freestyle? It’s all in the catch! In this video, we break down: ✅ How to position your hand and forearm ✅ The key feel for a stronger pull ✅ Common mistakes to avoid Perfect for triathletes and swimmers looking to swim smoother, faster, and more efficiently. 📹 Watch now and take your catch to the next level!

Want to swim faster, smoother, and more efficiently? Let’s break down your stroke from top to bottom: Gliding & Stretching – Each stroke should include a full second of glide to reduce bubbles and drag. Hip-Driven Rotation – Power comes from your hips, not your shoulders. Rotate on a long axis from head to feet for maximum efficiency. Arm & Hand Mechanics – Pull with your forearm, finish with your palm at 90° to your hip, and focus on a clean underwater path. Kicking Technique – Keep knees straight and legs tight to lift your body higher in the water and stay streamlined. Breathing Made Easy – Start inhaling when your hand is in line with your shoulder. Breathe big from the diaphragm, in through the mouth & nose, out the same way. Small tweaks to your technique = faster, stronger, more effortless swimming. 💡 Want personalised feedback? Book a swim video analysis session and see exactly what to fix to unlock your best stroke yet! https://www.speedyswimming.co.uk/5-week-accelerator-programme Transcript: We're going to look at gliding, breathing. Going to talk you through kicking and body rotation from your hips. We want to rotate on a long axis from your hips. So your arm stretch comes through. So as soon as your hand starts to move backwards, you rotate on a long axis from your head to your feet. I'm just going to talk you through your swim stroke. We're going to go through gliding, reaching, breathing, a little bit of kicking, do different angles, and you know what your arm should be doing underwater. So when you're basically as you're coming through is your hands want to reach and glide for one second every stroke, and that helps eliminate any bubbles in your stroke. Okay? So you can see, I'm now I'm going to start rotating from my hips. So you should be rotating on a long axis from your head to your feet. You know, drive the movement and the motion from your hips. So, your head and shoulders really want to try and stay still, but they will turn with the rest of your body as your hips turn, but they're not driving this. Your hips are. Okay. So, we're coming through like this and there. Okay. Now, if we slide onto your arms, we want to come through.