Having moved from professional swim coaching into professional triathlon coaching, I was enamoured by the mental toughness of triathletes compared to swimmers. Their drive to push themselves to the limits day in and day out was refreshing—but it becomes frustrating when trying to get them to change their swimming technique and actually improve their swimming.
When I arrive at the pool, I can spot a triathlete from a mile off—even without an Ironman tattoo. A triathlete is the one in the fast lane who thrashes around and swims constantly. In fact, you often only see their determined face as they reach the end of the pool, locked in the zone. You might catch a fleeting expression after they finish, but usually, they’re completely focused on the grind.
One thing I’ve found since coaching triathletes is that everything revolves around training zones or aerodynamics. No one considers technique, as it’s time better spent getting fitter by bashing out some LT2 200s.
What Triathletes SHOULD focus on:
If you think about the science of water—just as with air—you’ll notice that as your speed increases, drag increases. However, because water is much denser than air, even a small increase in speed causes a significant, exponential rise in drag. For example, if you want to improve your pace from 2 minutes per 100 m to 1 minute 40 per 100 m, you need to boost your pace by 20 seconds (20%). But without refining your technique, you’d have to become 44% fitter. Trying to go from 2 minutes to 1 minute 20 per 100 m would require a 125% fitness improvement. Good luck with that!
This is why I work every day to shift the triathlete mindset toward spending more time on technique—the biggest speed gains come from refining it.
But…
Improvement won’t magically come from random drills. Just because you do a drill doesn’t mean your technique will improve. In many cases, it can even make things worse. When performing swimming drills, ask yourself: “Why am I doing this?” and “What is it aiming to achieve?” If you can’t answer those questions, stop immediately.
If you’re going to do drills, you need to understand what each drill targets and be aware of its pitfalls. After all, a drill typically focuses on one part of the stroke while neglecting others.
Take a simple single-arm drill, for example. Sure, it gives you a better feel for the water as you catch a pull at a slower speed, and you’ll notice a boost in your pull. However, it also prevents you from rotating your hips through a full range of motion. This can affect which muscles you use during your pull, how far forward you extend, your arm recovery over the water, and even your entry into the water. If you aren’t aware of these disadvantages, they may negatively impact other aspects of your stroke.
If you’re confident in your drills and can use them in moderation with a coach’s support, by all means, keep them. But if you’re unsure—or if your coach isn’t fully aware of their pros and cons—it’s wise to reconsider your approach.
I’m a strong advocate for focusing on one specific aspect of technique rather than breaking it down solely with drills. This way, you can hone in on a weakness with minimal negative impact on the rest of your stroke. Often, you don’t even need a coach’s input; you can feel the positive or negative effects yourself. With a coach’s guidance, you can exchange feedback and adjust more precisely. From my experience, focusing consistently on one part of your stroke is more likely to yield lasting improvements than starting with a drill to “find” the feeling in your typical stroke. If you want a few simple things to work on, check our 5 key technique improvements post.
How to Fit This Into a Session
I always plan sessions the same way: Warm Up, Technique Set, Main Set, and Cool Down. Technique is so crucial in swimming that it deserves its own set in every session—no matter how strong a swimmer you are. You need a plan outlining what to focus on and in what order. Sometimes improvements in technique come quickly; other times, they take a while. Persevere. I once focused solely on my hand positioning during the catch for four months—training three sessions a week—to make it automatic. That focus shaved about 1 second per 100 m off my time, which, when accounting for increased drag, equated to a 2.9% improvement.
More recently, I’ve focused on my rotation, which has dropped my 100 time by 4 seconds. You can check out my recent 100 attempt video here.
“I focused on my technique, but I feel like I have gone backwards.”
Firstly, have someone knowledgeable check your technique to ensure your feelings are grounded in proper fundamentals. Often, when you work on your technique, you get faster—but this change can also alter the way your body moves, causing you to use different muscles in new ways. For instance, if you always pulled with a straight arm, you’d overload your shoulders. By bending your arm through the water, you shift more of the work to your chest, back, core, and triceps. Since your shoulders have adapted to a certain load, changing your technique may mean tapping into muscles that aren’t as strong or conditioned for your usual swim session.
What About the Long Swims?
It’s best to break long swims into intervals. Why? Because as your muscles fatigue, your stroke tends to fall apart. The more you swim with poor technique, the more it becomes ingrained. It’s far more beneficial to allow recovery time within long sessions so you can maintain efficient technique, rather than forcing through and letting your form deteriorate. For example, you can break a 1500 m swim into 5 × 300 m intervals with 20 seconds of rest. These short breaks give your muscles a brief respite, enabling you to maintain solid technique while still achieving the desired training effect.
Triathletes and Swimming
To improve your swimming as a triathlete, focus on your technique—especially if you’ve hit a plateau. When your fitness peaks, improving your efficiency in the water is key.
If you’d like 5 free sample sessions to help improve both your fitness and technique, simply enter your email below (on mobile), or to the right (on desktop) to give your swim training the focus and positive direction it deserves.
