Quick tips to improve your swimming

As triathletes, many of us didn't grow up swimming beyond play time at the pool. 

It seems like those who were swimmers growing up have an insurmountable advantage over those of us who didn't, but let me tell you, you can close the gap!

And maybe you don't care to close the gap, you just want to start your race no longer terrified of the water.

A few things that improved our swimming has been drill work, keeping things short and consistency. 

So much of swimming comes down to your form, so if you can improve your form you'll glide through the water, making swimming easier and more comfortable (dare I say enjoyable).

A good drill to start with is kicking the length of the pool with arms straight in front of you, no pulling, no kickboard either! Try to think about pushing your torso to the bottom of the pool. This will cause your legs to rise higher in the water instead of dragging behind you. Do the drill, then swim back "normal" implementing the same thing. Repeat 2-3 times each session.

We like to keep things short because, once again, swimming is a lot about form. Swimming 50s and 100s with ample recovery allows you to truly focus on form. If you start swimming too far before you are ready your form will fall apart and bad form will be ingrained into your body even deeper. No bueno. 

Over time, the more you swim you better the water will feel. Take a month and get to the pool 5-6x/week. This is a great off season focus. I promise if you make these swims intentional you'll see massive gains! 

What are some of your best tips to improve swimming?