How to Improve Swim Strokes

Improve swim strokes by first calculating your stroke rate. The stroke rate will help you identify stroke problem areas, while determining your swimming rhythm and timing. Swimmers seeking to improve swimming strokes can change posture, relaxation and breathing techniques. Reduce post workout stiffness and practice correct shoulder, hand and finger movement while swimming to increase stroke efficiency and reduce fatigue. Exercise properly to loosen the spine with yoga, running or biking. Sufficient rest is required to help build a stronger body, enabling a swimmer to lengthen endurance. Proper swimming technique takes time and practice to develop.

Things You'll Need

  • Swimming cap
  • Goggles
  • Stopwatch
Show More

Instructions

    • 1
      80 strokes per minute is high, whereas 40 strokes is low.

      Calculate your stroke rate. Stroke rate is equal to how many strokes made per minute with both arms. Ask a swimming coach or friend to time your strokes for 10 minutes on a stopwatch. Swim at your normal rate without using a push-off. Swim Smooth online provides a stroke rate chart for reference and a free stroke calculator.

    • 2
      Yoga postures help swimmers reduce spine stiffness while improving balance.

      Exercise and relax your body and lungs using yoga techniques to help improve swimming efficiency. Postures, such as Downward Dog in yoga, according to Triathlon Training Schedule online, help improve shoulder angles, needed to properly support the body.

    • 3
      Improper breathing decreases swim stroke rate.

      Breathe slowly at steady rates in order to utilize the majority of your lung capacity. If you often feel out of breath when swimming, it could be a sign you are not breathing out enough.

    • 4

      Rest and relax more often. If you are struggling to improve swimming strokes, take a day off from training or use yoga meditation techniques 30 minutes prior to swimming.

    • 5
      Streamline the body, maintaining straightened posture and hand positions.

      Position your hands and fingers appropriately while swimming. Entering hands too far into the water or too close to the body's midline can slow a stroke down or cause breaks in the rhythm. Georgia State University online suggests "climbing a water ladder" when swimming, by feelings hands and forearms resting and moving along solid rungs of water similar to a ladder. This technique is often referred to as having a "feel for the water."

    • 6
      Balance the body's buoyancy by pushing the chest into the water.

      Press your chest into the water, positioning the hips closer to the surface. This technique reduces frontal tension, according to Georgia State University online.

    • 7
      Rotate the body side-to-side from the hips while swimming the backstroke.

      Practice by warming up with 250 to 400 meters of breast, back and easy crawl strokes. Practice balance by doing scissors kicks, arm pulls, double arm pulls and the chest-buoyancy technique. Swim using breast, and back swimming strokes. Rest within the warmup with the 30 to 60 seconds of freestyle stroking. Cool down at the end of a practice, using a stroke of your choice for 150 to 250 meters.