I learned to swim in the sea while I was a toddler. It just came natural to me. Our school took us swimming but, those of us that could swim a length of the pool, were then left to do what we wanted, while those that couldn't were taught. Most of us would spend the whole lesson just messing around on the diving boards. I naturally became a strong swimmer as I would spend hours in the pool, whenever possible. (probably about 3 evenings a week and at least one full day at the weekend) When I met my wife I was in peak physical shape and took her swimming. Naturally I was keen to impress her so challenged her to a race. She left me in the dust. She thanked me for going easy on her but, in truth, although I could swim all day, non stop, I wasn't fast. That day I discovered that I was actually pretty slow. It wasn't until I met her family I discovered that she actually swam for our county. Their house was littered with all the cups and medals she had won. It now occurs to me that nobody has ever given me any advice on how to swim. I've learned more about swimming in this one video than my entire life. (and BTW, I'm now a pensioner).
When I was a kid, the back float was a required skill. My legs sank. 'Just relax'. I am relaxed, my legs just sink. No swimming instructor ever understood that my legs sink. People have different bodies.
My legs sink like a stone, no matter what I try. I haven't swum for years as I suffer from severe psoriasis. Well anyway, my lung capacity is dreadful as I have asthma too, so I struggle to swim even a width of a pool.
I sink whole lol. I can't just float if I'm not moving. But I used to swim an under 24s 50m. If you have really low bodyfat you're gonna sink, that's just how it is.
Once I had a one-on-one swimming lesson and the coach had me do a star float. I sank to the bottom of the pool in a star shape. When I came up, he said he'd never seen that happen before. FML.
I'm trying to relearn how to swim after years and a lot of weight. What used to be effortless now takes a lot of effort. Thanks for these very good tips.
For a long time I have referred to my swimming style as drowning slowly. I wish I could have seen this years ago. This video talks about many of my challenges in the pool. Thank you for sharing this great video.
1. Front quadrant swimming (arm in front counterbalances the weight of the legs) 2. Comfortable, quick breathing with one eye/goggle in the water (avoids lifting head too high) 3. Long, tall, strong posture, tail tucked in (allows you to push downward on lungs, which causes legs to ride higher) 4. Kick with flexible ankle, allow knee to bend slightly but not much (avoids drag from overly bent legs or 90-degree ankle bend) 5. Don't over-rotate during recovery so you keep good balance. 6. Press back, not down. (Pressing down causes torso to rise and legs to drop.) (a) Hand enters water before arm is fully extended, then slides forward. (b) High-elbow catch aka early vertical form 7. Eyes pointed mostly downward with long straight neck will keep head in iceberg position (90% underwater), counterbalancing legs properly 8. Enough tautness to maintain good form, but relaxes enough to have good feel for the water.
People never believe me. They always say it's impossible and tell me I'm wrong. I just sink more than others. My legs are very dense and act like anchors. A swim instructor yelled at me in front of others saying it's impossible and then watched me sink to the bottom of the pool and almost drown. They say just relax as they effortlessly stay boyant with their heads above water and do light kicks. Meanwhile, I'm fighting for my life.
It is so insulting to deny sinkers. I don't have the problem but a woman I know did. She never learned to swim because of it. As soon as the sinking began, she would panic. I tried to teach her in shallow water but by that point it was a psychological problem. Thank you to this man for explaining it and admitting it is real.
Same. Totally relaxed, lungs full of air, and I'll just sink right to the bottom. I did find out that I actually can float in salt water though. Imagine my surprise when swimming ended up feeling totally natural to me at that point.
Me too. I swam for a lot of time and also played water polo ( a very bad player of course ). I love to swim and I am not bad at it but I can see from the ratio of effort and results that there was something wrong. I have very muscular legs with a blocky waist. Probably my weight distribution is just skew in the lower part and there is nothing to do about it.
I played Water Polo for years and loved it. I could only swim slowly so I played goalie. I also sank rapidly in water. My legs didn't sink, my whole body did. When we rest in the pool, everyone grabbed a ball to sit on or hug. I had one under each arm and sat on one. If I exhaled fully, I would sink while holding all of them. Even floating on my back happened at about a 45 degree angle and I had to use my arms to move slowly along or I drop like a rock. To be that young and fit again.
Thank you for explaining all this without saying 'engage your core'. These cues are really helpful. Proud, icecube, tuck tailbone, and long are much better cues than saying 'engage your core' which tells me onlny about tension and nothing about posture.
"Tuck tailbone" was what finally clicked for me! I also had to bend my knees 90° and extend my arms over my head in a Y shape to successfully float on my back stationary. I have always been a sinker and today was the first time I successfully floated without sinking.
As a once not very good, but persistent, swimmer, but a good sea kayak paddler. The kayak stroke engages the core, however, exactly as you point out, saying this is an utterly useless instruction. The kayak stroke is easy to learn. Lock your elbows straight and then paddle. We call this 'Frankenstein' like the 1930s movie monster. You can't not engage your core, but what the new paddle notices is they cannot move the paddle in the water unless they rotate their body. After you do this for a bit you can bend your elbows to make a more fluid stroke. But every now and then do some Frankenstein as a check in to make sure you are rotating your body. That's also where all the power is. Until you build up your core by paddling correctly, I think it's really difficult to have any idea what 'engaging your core,' actually means. Once it's a habit, you always want to do it. As a former masters swimmer I can say, I don't think I ever got the stroke quite right, but I've seen lots of swimmers who did. As a paddler, and a sailor around dozens of rented kayaks, it's been years since I saw anyone with a correct (rotation) and efficient stroke -- even though it's much easier to learn. This is a terrific video. I would've watched it every morning before heading to the pool.
@WillN2Go1I I like to think I’m a good kayak paddler. Should I be swimming with this in mind? I like to imagine my hand is a paddle and I’m trying to learn how to swim better 😅
@WillN2Go1 This is actually a really good analogy for me! I am a whitewater kayaker (one of my main motivations for learning to swim!) for three years now. You're absolutely correct that a proper paddle stroke uses the core more than the arms. I had never thought to link that back to swimming!!! I will look at it again with this new perspective.
Basically every coach will tell you all the good advice about how to breath easy, how to position your head and all the mistakes you do. Not a single one does address the issue that if your breathing seems hectic and you feel like you're going to drown or like not getting enough air into your lungs it's likely your head sending wrong signals. In fact you lungs might not be empty but full to the brim so that your breathing is ineffective. Try to focus on breathing should mean don't forget to exhale. I've done that and seen people do it.
As a beginner swimmer (we are talking 3 weeks in) this video is an absolute gold mine. To some degree or other I'm definitely doing every single one of these mistakes!
I really wish someone had mentioned these techniques to me 50 years ago. Very simple, logical and actually pretty obvious when pointed out, especially keeping one arm in front to balance your body.
Try bobbing exercise. That really helped me. Allow yourself to sink as deep as you can and kick off the bottom. start mid- pool depth and progress deeper & deeper
Great explanations! Wish the video had an X or a check to tell us if they’re doing it right or wrong- sometimes it’s hard to tell for a newbie. Thanks for your content!
Thanks so much. With your videos I have finally started swimming freestyle and I get better a little bit with every swim and every video you make. Keep them coming!
Great video. It really shows the key things to look at when evaluating swimmers Normand how to fix comm9n mistakes. Clear description and videos, thanks.
Thanks this was very informative. I had an outdoor ed. Class in college recently and we had a swimming segment, there was a lot that we didn’t really talk about in this video like centre of mass and boyouncy, your feet causing drag, and the breathing optimal breathing patterns. Thanks for the nice little look at technique as well
Thank you for highlighting for us how we beginners often misinterpret swimming mantra (e.g. high elbow)--and the bonus tip at the end made such a big difference today: good posture without stiffening up. This video really does help with self-correcting a number of problems with technique. And also solved the mystery of not moving forward when kicking. Much appreciated.
Coach is correct when he says the arms in front help lift the legs. Usually when women float on their backs their legs float at the surface; men's legs sink because they are generally more muscular. Men's arms are usually muscular. To prove Coach's hypothesis correct a man floating on his back with his hands by his side will find his legs sinking until his torso is almost vertical. Start the float again but this time extend both arm under the water beyond the head (spear position); you have to have good shoulder flexibility to keep the arms under the water but if you can you will float horizontally. Women, when learning to swim in their backs, have greater difficulty learning to stand from a back float because of their buoyant legs.
This so good. A very good overall set of tips to improve one's swimming. I already have implemented some of these tips over the years and it has improved my swimming.. I want to implement the others and see how it improves my swimming! Thank you for this
Love all this. What I’ve noticed that no one mentions is that when you’re a slow swimmer the pocket of air isn’t there to breathe into and that makes you do too much with your head to breathe. I noticed this when k used fins and was way faster and suddenly the famous pocket was there and of course I hardly had to move much to breathe. It’s hard to get to that speed when you’re a novice swimmer and I wonder if some coaches realise this. The tension thing is huge. I’m not nervous around water at all but any stress I carry goes straight into my body when I swim and the harder I try the worse it gets. It literally adds 30s+/100 to my speed. If you get into your own head it’s very difficult to get out again.
Yep! Saw someone say that pocket doesn't form until you're under 1:30/100. I agree that with fins the pocket is there for me too. Pipedream without fins...
The faster I swim, the more level I am with the surface. 1:30/100 ends up being less overall effort for me than 1:45. At that slower speed, my body sinks and I have exponentially more drag. It's paradoxical: faster is easier than slower.
Hi, let me help. Don't get dependent on Fins to breath! They'll ruin your stroke technique (as you'll rely on legs for propulsion). The solution is simple. Rotate more to breathe. Don't follow the typical RUclips advice of 'keep half your face and Goggles in the water'. As you say, this will end up in mouthfuls of water. Just rotate more, to start with you might be looking at 45% away from the surface and towards the sky - BUT - you'll be keeping your Alignment, so you'll still be supported by the water (instead of 'lifting away') from the water to get that clearance. So you'll need to work on 'rotation' and 'balance' postural drills, if you feel unstable when rotating more. This method will allow you to integrate more breathing successfully, allowing you to swim for more sustained distances, and that's where your speed improvement will come over time, and finally, you'll be able to rotate less to breathe.
The segments with the swimmer demonstrating are confusion - sometimes it's obvious when he is demonstrating what not to do, but other times it plays while the coach is describing what you SHOULD do. And so it's not clear if that demo was the correct or incorrect method.
Agreed. It would be nice if there were red or green markups showing what's right/wrong, or at least an x or checkmark so we know it's a good example or a bad one.
Been trying out your advice in my swimming, its a slow process adding your cues & i cant swim as far as usual but im ok with that while i make changes, i am definitely swimming faster. I still mostly swim with a pull bouy & find this latest video useful. I struggle with kick training as i have poor ankle mobility from numerous ankle sprain playing rugby when i was young, i also get leg cramps when kicking weirdly. My leg fitness cycling, tramping, rowing is great.
I've always enjoyed your videos, but this one is by far the best! I only wish that I could manage by taking breaths as if I was 'walking down the street', as you say. I find that works for maybe 50 yards, then I need more, and then more, and...
As a swim instructor for adults I find your videos to be awesome! I always learn something and you have most certainly helped me be a better coach. Really appreciate your quality content!
puhhh that is an excellent Video!! Thanks a lot. I have one wish. show longer sequences of you swimming "correctly". because I really can learn from watching, not only listening. the sequences you show are too short. I mean I also love watching you, but it could be more swimming. maybe 30 seconds at least once? Just an idea.
I spend most of my pool sessions working on these exact things so very helpful. Biggest bugaboo is keeping the head down when going for a breath because of getting too lazy with the head turn and aborting the finish prematurely and so missing out on that last bit of body rotation/extension that helps the mouth clear the surface of the water. So the head can pop up to compensate.
Another great video. Re the kicks not propelling swimmers forward, have you done a video on Thorpey being super efficient with his two best kick, but how he would switch to a 6 beat kick to bring it home. I’m curious how his 6 beat kick helped him. Many thanks
Tons of good stuff in here and you covered a lot. Two small points to add. Allowing hips to roll a bit let's people breathe easier - as you said many panic and twist their neck and head too much. Many are also too flat in their stroke and need to roll their hips a bit. (Not a lot) Especially in longer distance swimming. I know that sprint stroke is flatter, please no attack comments about that. 2nd point is about center of mass thing. This less applies to swimming because there is no fulcrum. Buoyant forces act along the whole length of the body. It is more center of density. The head is most dense while the chest is least (lungs). That being said, it doesn't really change any of the advice, which was all excellent. Great video!
Suggestion: Different sequencing. Tell us what to change in the order that is needed. Ex: Avoid telling us about B before you tell us B won't work unless you do A. Thank you!
This is just the video I needed to see at this point in my swimming development. I have watched many of your videos. Yet another great video my friend 👍🏾. Thank You!
Ufff ! Thanks a lot ! As a beginner, i have to think aaaa lot about , while i'm trying to swim... I'm going from : "o.k., now i got it",.. the next problem is arriving !... 🤣🤣
Also on the topic of doing things no coach videos do. Could you fillm a demo doing a catch and pull while you are actually lying down on a bench? Its so hard to know what the proper path is when I just see people standing up doing it or just tilting forward to do it.
I was in the pool doing a 10 minute water tread and I was struggling like you wouldn't believe. I was about to drown (because my body naturally sinks like a rock), breathing like crazy and trying my best to move my arms and legs in a manner that would help me to stay afloat. i tried the eggbeater, etc. but nothing worked. There was an older lady in the water with me who instructed me to keep my head back and try to relax my shoulders, I tried that and it would work for a bit, but after a few seconds panic and desperation took over again and I began to struggle. Every time that happened she would snap at me to relax my shoulders and keep my head back. At some point, when I did that, I found an arm movement that fit me and I was able to tread MUCH better. At that point I realized that I could make it for the 10 minutes. However, the key was keeping my head back (and I mean way back), and my shoulders relaxed. It's almost like you're trying to float on your back, but you're moving your arms in a cupping motion as if picking water up, then pushing it back down. When I got out, I saw the other folks that were in with me still hanging out in the water, just bobbing there with no effort at all. They just naturally floated when they hopped into the water! Some were looking at me like I was crazy, because they couldn't understand why it was so hard for me to tread or stay afloat. They didn't even have to move their hands. They could just wiggle their legs a bit and stay afloat in the water forever.
Many thanks for your videos sir! They've been a tremendous help to me and my daughter. Very much appreciate you guys and what you're doing here! Keep it up!
A couple things really resonate, and make physics sense The straight things for sure. I think hamstring and back tension in particular. And arms forward, like 3/4 catch-up.
For most people who have some kind of ball game or running backround it is almost impossible to point their toes and also keep their ankles flexible. If you try to force your toes straight the whole leg will tense.
Love the example videos used, but it might help to have some text that explains if its a GOOD or BAD example (i.e. what to do vs what not to do) and why. There was one bit where youre talking about having an iceberg head with only 10% of the head out of the water and it had video of someone with a huge amount of their head out. Im assuming that was meant as an example of what not to do haha, but it confused me at first, as did quite a number of the examples in this video when you were talking about what to do but it might have been showing exactly what not to do.
I find keeping my feet stretched with stiff muscles keeping toes pointed directly backward as if there were little jets coming out of the tips of my toes increases the speed from my arm strokes. It is just the feet and ankles that I keep stiff like I am wearing invisible fins.
LIfting one's head out of the water will shift the CoG forwards (not back) as it's no longer part supported by the water it displaces, so it's like adding more weight to the upper region. If lifting heads does in practice drop the legs it is more likely due to it being connected via the spine.
U can also add Belly breathing! Belly breathing improves your water position by moving your Center of Buoyancy closer to your Center of Mass, which prevents your legs from sinking. However, high-level swimmers usually aim for a "360-degree"(Front/Side/Back-belly) expansion that fills the lungs while maintaining enough abdominal tension to keep the torso stable.
My trouble is turning my head to get a breath of air and panicking that my nose/mouth is not breaking above the waterline. Or worried that I might start to inhale and have the waterline come above my airway while inhaling and get a nose/mouth full of water.
If I’ve seen this content before, I was probably in denial of how I was killing my swim speed. Even recently I was dragging my fingers during recovery over the water like I was pulling a zipper up my side. I’m a barge at 1:57/100 yd. I’m old (68), but not chubby, so maybe I can cut a couple more seconds off. Thank you.
I wish I could take lessons from you. I took beginner swimming lessons in my mid 20's at the Y. and they didn't teach me anything. They were shocked that I couldn't swim being a athletic life time citizen, compared to the handful of students who were new immigrants and some scared of water. I love water and diving I have my whole life I just never had much access to it growing up. I swim like cement. I can last for about 15 seconds until I reach desperation and panic mode. No one teaches or shows how to tread water. I can do that for about 30 seconds and then oh oh time to grab on to something! I can float on my back in a pool easy enough but out on a lake or ocean with waves eventually I'll be swallowing water and enter that sinking cement mode. I'm about to turn 60 and I'd still love to learn how to swim.
Yep, when I was in my mid-late 20s I also took public swimming lessons at a pool. ...The instructor didn't know why I kept sinking and couldn't help me.
Welcome to the choir. I never got a comfortable air exchange down, and the great Oct 2025 vid is helping overcome 61 years of panic after 20 m I don't float, and it is so frustrating. I'm trying open water swimming, and the group posed for a picture treading water with hands up... I tried and sank underwater. There's a fun 500 m race next week... And I just don't know if I can do it, no matter how much I want to .
People always thought I was crazy when I said I simply can’t swim. It’s physiologically impossible. I have zero fear of water and tried really hard to swim. Unfortunately I have the opposite issue of what you’re talking about. All my weight is in my torso. I have a serious heart defect with enlargement plus an injury to my diaphragm, so one lung barely inflates. And my legs are just skinny; always have been. It’s just too much weight in my torso and not enough air in my lungs. I don’t have the stamina to overcome all this. I know the motions. Took swimming lessons even. Can barely swim enough to save myself in a very small, still pool.
I never could swim without sinking. Now I have a neurological disorder that is making it impossible, but I was thinking maybe if I had a snorkel. Cuz I can swing a long ways as long as my head's underwater
My Dad tried teaching me to float. He could float for hours and fall asleep. He like to put a can of beer on his chest and have a snooze. He could float in cold fresh water. The only place I managed to float was the Dead sea. It's the highest salinity I have been in. Beyond that the best I could do would be a huge lung full of air,arms up ,back arched and I could last until I took a breath. Then the old lead legs started down.
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Your best video yet…great detailed explanation. Thanks!!
I think what you are missing to mention is the rotation. If your hips rotate (and they do!) your legs naturaly go up if your hips do not bend sideways
I wish I could take this into the pool with me. Thank you.
I learned to swim in the sea while I was a toddler. It just came natural to me. Our school took us swimming but, those of us that could swim a length of the pool, were then left to do what we wanted, while those that couldn't were taught. Most of us would spend the whole lesson just messing around on the diving boards. I naturally became a strong swimmer as I would spend hours in the pool, whenever possible. (probably about 3 evenings a week and at least one full day at the weekend)
When I met my wife I was in peak physical shape and took her swimming. Naturally I was keen to impress her so challenged her to a race. She left me in the dust. She thanked me for going easy on her but, in truth, although I could swim all day, non stop, I wasn't fast. That day I discovered that I was actually pretty slow. It wasn't until I met her family I discovered that she actually swam for our county. Their house was littered with all the cups and medals she had won.
It now occurs to me that nobody has ever given me any advice on how to swim. I've learned more about swimming in this one video than my entire life. (and BTW, I'm now a pensioner).
When I was a kid, the back float was a required skill. My legs sank. 'Just relax'. I am relaxed, my legs just sink. No swimming instructor ever understood that my legs sink. People have different bodies.
My legs sink like a stone, no matter what I try. I haven't swum for years as I suffer from severe psoriasis. Well anyway, my lung capacity is dreadful as I have asthma too, so I struggle to swim even a width of a pool.
Everyone is always amazed i cannot float no matter how many times i try and blow water out of my nose and then try again! Lol
I sink whole lol. I can't just float if I'm not moving. But I used to swim an under 24s 50m. If you have really low bodyfat you're gonna sink, that's just how it is.
My legs sink like a rock and I struggle with the flutters and stretching
Once I had a one-on-one swimming lesson and the coach had me do a star float. I sank to the bottom of the pool in a star shape. When I came up, he said he'd never seen that happen before. FML.
I can’t breathe calmly cause I think I’m going to drown.
extremely well written.
Same i feel like I’m drowning so I just breathe for a second
One stroke at a time then next and next
Me too 😢
I'm trying to relearn how to swim after years and a lot of weight. What used to be effortless now takes a lot of effort. Thanks for these very good tips.
For a long time I have referred to my swimming style as drowning slowly. I wish I could have seen this years ago. This video talks about many of my challenges in the pool. Thank you for sharing this great video.
1. Front quadrant swimming (arm in front counterbalances the weight of the legs)
2. Comfortable, quick breathing with one eye/goggle in the water (avoids lifting head too high)
3. Long, tall, strong posture, tail tucked in (allows you to push downward on lungs, which causes legs to ride higher)
4. Kick with flexible ankle, allow knee to bend slightly but not much (avoids drag from overly bent legs or 90-degree ankle bend)
5. Don't over-rotate during recovery so you keep good balance.
6. Press back, not down. (Pressing down causes torso to rise and legs to drop.) (a) Hand enters water before arm is fully extended, then slides forward. (b) High-elbow catch aka early vertical form
7. Eyes pointed mostly downward with long straight neck will keep head in iceberg position (90% underwater), counterbalancing legs properly
8. Enough tautness to maintain good form, but relaxes enough to have good feel for the water.
Thanks for your hard work. Great video but hard to grasp without your contribution!
You realize a novice or problem swimmer cannot process 8 improvements at once.
@ItsMrRoysterswimming is a constant progress, you have to be patient.
Thank you.
People never believe me. They always say it's impossible and tell me I'm wrong. I just sink more than others. My legs are very dense and act like anchors. A swim instructor yelled at me in front of others saying it's impossible and then watched me sink to the bottom of the pool and almost drown. They say just relax as they effortlessly stay boyant with their heads above water and do light kicks. Meanwhile, I'm fighting for my life.
Same here
It is so insulting to deny sinkers. I don't have the problem but a woman I know did. She never learned to swim because of it. As soon as the sinking began, she would panic. I tried to teach her in shallow water but by that point it was a psychological problem. Thank you to this man for explaining it and admitting it is real.
Same. Totally relaxed, lungs full of air, and I'll just sink right to the bottom. I did find out that I actually can float in salt water though. Imagine my surprise when swimming ended up feeling totally natural to me at that point.
Me too. I swam for a lot of time and also played water polo ( a very bad player of course ). I love to swim and I am not bad at it but I can see from the ratio of effort and results that there was something wrong. I have very muscular legs with a blocky waist. Probably my weight distribution is just skew in the lower part and there is nothing to do about it.
I mean to say "FIGHTING" is the right word for my attempts at swimming.
I played Water Polo for years and loved it. I could only swim slowly so I played goalie. I also sank rapidly in water. My legs didn't sink, my whole body did. When we rest in the pool, everyone grabbed a ball to sit on or hug. I had one under each arm and sat on one. If I exhaled fully, I would sink while holding all of them. Even floating on my back happened at about a 45 degree angle and I had to use my arms to move slowly along or I drop like a rock. To be that young and fit again.
Thank you for explaining all this without saying 'engage your core'. These cues are really helpful. Proud, icecube, tuck tailbone, and long are much better cues than saying 'engage your core' which tells me onlny about tension and nothing about posture.
"Tuck tailbone" was what finally clicked for me! I also had to bend my knees 90° and extend my arms over my head in a Y shape to successfully float on my back stationary. I have always been a sinker and today was the first time I successfully floated without sinking.
I’m a stone lol! I’ll have to try that 😅
As a once not very good, but persistent, swimmer, but a good sea kayak paddler. The kayak stroke engages the core, however, exactly as you point out, saying this is an utterly useless instruction. The kayak stroke is easy to learn. Lock your elbows straight and then paddle. We call this 'Frankenstein' like the 1930s movie monster. You can't not engage your core, but what the new paddle notices is they cannot move the paddle in the water unless they rotate their body. After you do this for a bit you can bend your elbows to make a more fluid stroke. But every now and then do some Frankenstein as a check in to make sure you are rotating your body. That's also where all the power is. Until you build up your core by paddling correctly, I think it's really difficult to have any idea what 'engaging your core,' actually means. Once it's a habit, you always want to do it.
As a former masters swimmer I can say, I don't think I ever got the stroke quite right, but I've seen lots of swimmers who did. As a paddler, and a sailor around dozens of rented kayaks, it's been years since I saw anyone with a correct (rotation) and efficient stroke -- even though it's much easier to learn.
This is a terrific video. I would've watched it every morning before heading to the pool.
@WillN2Go1I I like to think I’m a good kayak paddler. Should I be swimming with this in mind? I like to imagine my hand is a paddle and I’m trying to learn how to swim better 😅
@WillN2Go1 This is actually a really good analogy for me! I am a whitewater kayaker (one of my main motivations for learning to swim!) for three years now. You're absolutely correct that a proper paddle stroke uses the core more than the arms. I had never thought to link that back to swimming!!! I will look at it again with this new perspective.
It's been a year of watching your videos -- from zero to a mile a day/5 days a week. Thank you!!! 🏊♀
@hatpeach1 awesome!
Good job!! 🎉
This is perseverance. Well done.
@DogbertChew 🤟 It's been a fun ride!
Wow! I surely will practice this per your comment hopefully I can make it one mile each time I’m in the water😊
Clearest and most accurate breakdown I've heard for sometime, cheers fella!
Lol I can't even swim and I was recommended this
One of the best videos on this problem! 👏🏼
Basically every coach will tell you all the good advice about how to breath easy, how to position your head and all the mistakes you do. Not a single one does address the issue that if your breathing seems hectic and you feel like you're going to drown or like not getting enough air into your lungs it's likely your head sending wrong signals. In fact you lungs might not be empty but full to the brim so that your breathing is ineffective. Try to focus on breathing should mean don't forget to exhale. I've done that and seen people do it.
As a poor swimmer, this helped correct my biggest problems. Thank you.
As a beginner swimmer (we are talking 3 weeks in) this video is an absolute gold mine. To some degree or other I'm definitely doing every single one of these mistakes!
I really wish someone had mentioned these techniques to me 50 years ago. Very simple, logical and actually pretty obvious when pointed out, especially keeping one arm in front to balance your body.
Magnificent presentation thank you compulsory listening from australia
These points are GOLD!!
Think I have all of those faults!!
Tension... that's my main problem. I didn't know how to get rid of it and make myself more relaxed.
Mine too . I don't know how to over come this
Try bobbing exercise. That really helped me. Allow yourself to sink as deep as you can and kick off the bottom. start mid- pool depth and progress deeper & deeper
Great explanations! Wish the video had an X or a check to tell us if they’re doing it right or wrong- sometimes it’s hard to tell for a newbie. Thanks for your content!
thank you so much for clarifying this all in the video. i was never taught any of these specifics and i was never confident in swimming!
As a beginner in swimming, this video was really very helpful! Thank you very much
This is spot on advice
Thanks so much. With your videos I have finally started swimming freestyle and I get better a little bit with every swim and every video you make. Keep them coming!
That last tip is actualy essential. I try to relax and enjoy the ride. Thx for awesome tips. 🎉
Thanks for this swim info. I might have kept up with it, if I knew all this.
Awesome video!!
This is a great video, thanks very much!!
that was actually super helpful
Outstanding, thank you.
Very good and clear
Amazing and thorough discussion. Thank you for your work.
Thats very helpful thanks alot 😅
Very well explained- thanks.
Thanks for posting this, I’m trying to get better at this ❤
Great video. It really shows the key things to look at when evaluating swimmers Normand how to fix comm9n mistakes. Clear description and videos, thanks.
Thanks this was very informative. I had an outdoor ed. Class in college recently and we had a swimming segment, there was a lot that we didn’t really talk about in this video like centre of mass and boyouncy, your feet causing drag, and the breathing optimal breathing patterns. Thanks for the nice little look at technique as well
Thank you for highlighting for us how we beginners often misinterpret swimming mantra (e.g. high elbow)--and the bonus tip at the end made such a big difference today: good posture without stiffening up. This video really does help with self-correcting a number of problems with technique. And also solved the mystery of not moving forward when kicking. Much appreciated.
Very good, thank you!
Coach is correct when he says the arms in front help lift the legs. Usually when women float on their backs their legs float at the surface; men's legs sink because they are generally more muscular. Men's arms are usually muscular. To prove Coach's hypothesis correct a man floating on his back with his hands by his side will find his legs sinking until his torso is almost vertical. Start the float again but this time extend both arm under the water beyond the head (spear position); you have to have good shoulder flexibility to keep the arms under the water but if you can you will float horizontally.
Women, when learning to swim in their backs, have greater difficulty learning to stand from a back float because of their buoyant legs.
I’m going try this next time I back float to see if I can get away with keeping less air in my lungs.
both extensive and intensive ❤
Excellent.
I love your videos ❤ detailed, paced well, explanative and applies to all levels of swimmers 🏊♂️
Great advice!!!!!! thank you! 🙂
Excellent Video. Must watch. I prepared lots of notes to internalise and be part of my body
WOW! How enlightening. The finer points of doing it right are covered here, "be like water', thanks.
Great videos. Thank you.
This so good. A very good overall set of tips to improve one's swimming. I already have implemented some of these tips over the years and it has improved my swimming.. I want to implement the others and see how it improves my swimming! Thank you for this
Thank you.
Thank you
Love all this.
What I’ve noticed that no one mentions is that when you’re a slow swimmer the pocket of air isn’t there to breathe into and that makes you do too much with your head to breathe. I noticed this when k used fins and was way faster and suddenly the famous pocket was there and of course I hardly had to move much to breathe. It’s hard to get to that speed when you’re a novice swimmer and I wonder if some coaches realise this.
The tension thing is huge. I’m not nervous around water at all but any stress I carry goes straight into my body when I swim and the harder I try the worse it gets. It literally adds 30s+/100 to my speed. If you get into your own head it’s very difficult to get out again.
Yep!
Saw someone say that pocket doesn't form until you're under 1:30/100. I agree that with fins the pocket is there for me too. Pipedream without fins...
The faster I swim, the more level I am with the surface. 1:30/100 ends up being less overall effort for me than 1:45. At that slower speed, my body sinks and I have exponentially more drag. It's paradoxical: faster is easier than slower.
@ReVoltaire yes I can imagine. unfortunately I can’t keep this speed up for more than a few lengths (yet.. fingers crossed haha)
@JJBpilot oh dear that’s a way off for more than a tiny distance for me!! Nice to know it’s there as a reward for effort (or something..)
Hi, let me help. Don't get dependent on Fins to breath! They'll ruin your stroke technique (as you'll rely on legs for propulsion). The solution is simple. Rotate more to breathe. Don't follow the typical RUclips advice of 'keep half your face and Goggles in the water'. As you say, this will end up in mouthfuls of water. Just rotate more, to start with you might be looking at 45% away from the surface and towards the sky - BUT - you'll be keeping your Alignment, so you'll still be supported by the water (instead of 'lifting away') from the water to get that clearance. So you'll need to work on 'rotation' and 'balance' postural drills, if you feel unstable when rotating more. This method will allow you to integrate more breathing successfully, allowing you to swim for more sustained distances, and that's where your speed improvement will come over time, and finally, you'll be able to rotate less to breathe.
The segments with the swimmer demonstrating are confusion - sometimes it's obvious when he is demonstrating what not to do, but other times it plays while the coach is describing what you SHOULD do. And so it's not clear if that demo was the correct or incorrect method.
Agreed. It would be nice if there were red or green markups showing what's right/wrong, or at least an x or checkmark so we know it's a good example or a bad one.
Been trying out your advice in my swimming, its a slow process adding your cues & i cant swim as far as usual but im ok with that while i make changes, i am definitely swimming faster. I still mostly swim with a pull bouy & find this latest video useful. I struggle with kick training as i have poor ankle mobility from numerous ankle sprain playing rugby when i was young, i also get leg cramps when kicking weirdly. My leg fitness cycling, tramping, rowing is great.
I've always enjoyed your videos, but this one is by far the best! I only wish that I could manage by taking breaths as if I was 'walking down the street', as you say. I find that works for maybe 50 yards, then I need more, and then more, and...
As a swim instructor for adults I find your videos to be awesome! I always learn something and you have most certainly helped me be a better coach. Really appreciate your quality content!
💪
This is incredibly insightful. I'm going to buy a boat.
This is the video I needed, and the next one “why I’m exhausted” I have to watch
puhhh that is an excellent Video!! Thanks a lot. I have one wish. show longer sequences of you swimming "correctly". because I really can learn from watching, not only listening. the sequences you show are too short. I mean I also love watching you, but it could be more swimming. maybe 30 seconds at least once? Just an idea.
Thank you
I spend most of my pool sessions working on these exact things so very helpful. Biggest bugaboo is keeping the head down when going for a breath because of getting too lazy with the head turn and aborting the finish prematurely and so missing out on that last bit of body rotation/extension that helps the mouth clear the surface of the water. So the head can pop up to compensate.
Another great video. Re the kicks not propelling swimmers forward, have you done a video on Thorpey being super efficient with his two best kick, but how he would switch to a 6 beat kick to bring it home. I’m curious how his 6 beat kick helped him. Many thanks
Tons of good stuff in here and you covered a lot. Two small points to add. Allowing hips to roll a bit let's people breathe easier - as you said many panic and twist their neck and head too much. Many are also too flat in their stroke and need to roll their hips a bit. (Not a lot) Especially in longer distance swimming. I know that sprint stroke is flatter, please no attack comments about that. 2nd point is about center of mass thing. This less applies to swimming because there is no fulcrum. Buoyant forces act along the whole length of the body. It is more center of density. The head is most dense while the chest is least (lungs). That being said, it doesn't really change any of the advice, which was all excellent. Great video!
Suggestion: Different sequencing. Tell us what to change in the order that is needed. Ex: Avoid telling us about B before you tell us B won't work unless you do A. Thank you!
📌 Study Note-Preventing Sinking Legs in Freestyle 🏊♂
⚖ 1. Body Weight Distribution & Balance
• ❌ Cause: Hips & legs heavier → natural sinking.
• ✅ Solution: Extend arms forward ➝ shift center of mass.
• ✅ Solution: Maintain front-quadrant freestyle (one arm always extended).
💨 2. Breathing Technique
• ❌ Cause: Panicked/rushed breathing (tiny gasps or huge inhales) → balance lost.
• ❌ Cause: Lifting head too high → “bowling ball effect,” legs drop.
• ✅ Solution: Controlled sip of air, steady exhale.
• ✅ Solution: Keep one goggle in the water when turning your head.
📏 3. Body Posture & Buoyancy
• ❌ Cause: Arching lower back or “sticking bum up.”
• ✅ Solution: Elongate body, tuck tailbone, keep spine straight.
• ✅ Solution: Gentle downward chest pressure → lungs act as buoyancy.
🦵 4. Kicking Technique
• ❌ Cause: Over-kicking with bent knees/hips → drag ↑.
• ❌ Cause: Toes pointing down → drag ↑ up to 42%.
• ✅ Solution: Long legs, knees slightly bent, toes pointed back.
• ✅ Solution: Ankles loose & floppy.
• ℹ Kick = support & balance, not main propulsion.
💪 5. Arm Recovery & Alignment
• ❌ Cause: Misinterpreted “high elbow” → dragging elbow/thumb behind.
• ✅ Solution: Elbow relaxed to the side, hand loose, stay aligned.
🤲 6. Catch & Pull Mechanics
• ❌ Cause: Pressing too much downward → chest rises, hips drop.
• ❌ Cause: Elbow-first entry → “dropped elbow” → legs sink.
• ✅ Solution: Fingers-first entry, high-elbow catch, press water backwards.
🧠 7. Head Position
• ❌ Cause: Head too high → legs sink.
• ❌ Cause: Chin forward → lower back arches.
• ✅ Solution: Head mostly submerged (10-20% above water).
• ✅ Solution: Eyes straight down/slightly ahead, neck extended.
🌊 8. Body Tension (Bonus Tip)
• ❌ Cause: Too stiff = rigid, too loose = unstable.
• ✅ Solution: Balanced tension-firm but relaxed (Bruce Lee: “Be like water”).
🎯 End Goal: All techniques work together to keep hips & legs afloat in freestyle.
Great video
We are sinking, .... weeee aaaare sinkingggg, ... ! - What are you thinking about? Good video, thx from Germany.
Agree that head position is critical to body position and floating. A tiny lift of the head causes a huge problem with the lower body position
Great presentation. Any chance I could message you separately about couple days of in person instruction?
I am laughing my ass off over the fact that an ad for ED ended right before he said, "...and floppy". 😂 Dying.
This is just the video I needed to see at this point in my swimming development. I have watched many of your videos. Yet another great video my friend 👍🏾. Thank You!
@dublion7 thanks!
Ufff ! Thanks a lot ! As a beginner, i have to think aaaa lot about , while i'm trying to swim...
I'm going from : "o.k., now i got it",.. the next problem is arriving !... 🤣🤣
Also on the topic of doing things no coach videos do. Could you fillm a demo doing a catch and pull while you are actually lying down on a bench? Its so hard to know what the proper path is when I just see people standing up doing it or just tilting forward to do it.
I was in the pool doing a 10 minute water tread and I was struggling like you wouldn't believe. I was about to drown (because my body naturally sinks like a rock), breathing like crazy and trying my best to move my arms and legs in a manner that would help me to stay afloat. i tried the eggbeater, etc. but nothing worked. There was an older lady in the water with me who instructed me to keep my head back and try to relax my shoulders, I tried that and it would work for a bit, but after a few seconds panic and desperation took over again and I began to struggle. Every time that happened she would snap at me to relax my shoulders and keep my head back. At some point, when I did that, I found an arm movement that fit me and I was able to tread MUCH better. At that point I realized that I could make it for the 10 minutes. However, the key was keeping my head back (and I mean way back), and my shoulders relaxed. It's almost like you're trying to float on your back, but you're moving your arms in a cupping motion as if picking water up, then pushing it back down.
When I got out, I saw the other folks that were in with me still hanging out in the water, just bobbing there with no effort at all. They just naturally floated when they hopped into the water! Some were looking at me like I was crazy, because they couldn't understand why it was so hard for me to tread or stay afloat. They didn't even have to move their hands. They could just wiggle their legs a bit and stay afloat in the water forever.
Many thanks for your videos sir! They've been a tremendous help to me and my daughter. Very much appreciate you guys and what you're doing here! Keep it up!
Our pleasure!
😊als erstes sollte in den Knast gehen, wer den Pass vermittelt hat. Wo bleibt die Verantwortung? Sehr guter Beitrag.
A couple things really resonate, and make physics sense The straight things for sure. I think hamstring and back tension in particular. And arms forward, like 3/4 catch-up.
For most people who have some kind of ball game or running backround it is almost impossible to point their toes and also keep their ankles flexible. If you try to force your toes straight the whole leg will tense.
Im a runner and when pointing my toes i always get cramps in the sole of my feet
Love the example videos used, but it might help to have some text that explains if its a GOOD or BAD example (i.e. what to do vs what not to do) and why. There was one bit where youre talking about having an iceberg head with only 10% of the head out of the water and it had video of someone with a huge amount of their head out. Im assuming that was meant as an example of what not to do haha, but it confused me at first, as did quite a number of the examples in this video when you were talking about what to do but it might have been showing exactly what not to do.
I find keeping my feet stretched with stiff muscles keeping toes pointed directly backward as if there were little jets coming out of the tips of my toes increases the speed from my arm strokes. It is just the feet and ankles that I keep stiff like I am wearing invisible fins.
LIfting one's head out of the water will shift the CoG forwards (not back) as it's no longer part supported by the water it displaces, so it's like adding more weight to the upper region. If lifting heads does in practice drop the legs it is more likely due to it being connected via the spine.
Thanks for not saying kick with your glutes. To me that's as useful as saying blink with your tonsils. How do I make that mystery part move? 😅
5:40 am I the only one that bust out laughing at this?
Thanks!
Thank you 🙏
Just watch some Ian Thorpe videos. Perfect stroke.
U can also add Belly breathing! Belly breathing improves your water position by moving your Center of Buoyancy closer to your Center of Mass, which prevents your legs from sinking. However, high-level swimmers usually aim for a "360-degree"(Front/Side/Back-belly) expansion that fills the lungs while maintaining enough abdominal tension to keep the torso stable.
What can possibly go wrong after watching this video?
My trouble is turning my head to get a breath of air and panicking that my nose/mouth is not breaking above the waterline. Or worried that I might start to inhale and have the waterline come above my airway while inhaling and get a nose/mouth full of water.
If I’ve seen this content before, I was probably in denial of how I was killing my swim speed. Even recently I was dragging my fingers during recovery over the water like I was pulling a zipper up my side. I’m a barge at 1:57/100 yd. I’m old (68), but not chubby, so maybe I can cut a couple more seconds off. Thank you.
I wish I could take lessons from you. I took beginner swimming lessons in my mid 20's at the Y. and they didn't teach me anything. They were shocked that I couldn't swim being a athletic life time citizen, compared to the handful of students who were new immigrants and some scared of water. I love water and diving I have my whole life I just never had much access to it growing up. I swim like cement. I can last for about 15 seconds until I reach desperation and panic mode. No one teaches or shows how to tread water. I can do that for about 30 seconds and then oh oh time to grab on to something! I can float on my back in a pool easy enough but out on a lake or ocean with waves eventually I'll be swallowing water and enter that sinking cement mode. I'm about to turn 60 and I'd still love to learn how to swim.
So, I'm not alone. And neither are you. 80% of your comment sums up my swimming history.
Yep, when I was in my mid-late 20s I also took public swimming lessons at a pool. ...The instructor didn't know why I kept sinking and couldn't help me.
Welcome to the choir. I never got a comfortable air exchange down, and the great Oct 2025 vid is helping overcome 61 years of panic after 20 m
I don't float, and it is so frustrating. I'm trying open water swimming, and the group posed for a picture treading water with hands up... I tried and sank underwater.
There's a fun 500 m race next week... And I just don't know if I can do it, no matter how much I want to .
Keeping your heartrate down by being relaxed WILL NOT change your balance in the water.
There is no translation in Portuguese😢
Não tem tradução em português😢
As a diver we lye on our back and kick slow to save energy
ankle floaties?
Should you hold tension in your core?
People always thought I was crazy when I said I simply can’t swim. It’s physiologically impossible. I have zero fear of water and tried really hard to swim. Unfortunately I have the opposite issue of what you’re talking about. All my weight is in my torso. I have a serious heart defect with enlargement plus an injury to my diaphragm, so one lung barely inflates. And my legs are just skinny; always have been. It’s just too much weight in my torso and not enough air in my lungs. I don’t have the stamina to overcome all this. I know the motions. Took swimming lessons even. Can barely swim enough to save myself in a very small, still pool.
Also I try this and when I try to go forwards I don’t go anywhere at all
I never could swim without sinking. Now I have a neurological disorder that is making it impossible, but I was thinking maybe if I had a snorkel. Cuz I can swing a long ways as long as my head's underwater
My Dad tried teaching me to float. He could float for hours and fall asleep. He like to put a can of beer on his chest and have a snooze. He could float in cold fresh water. The only place I managed to float was the Dead sea. It's the highest salinity I have been in. Beyond that the best I could do would be a huge lung full of air,arms up ,back arched and I could last until I took a breath. Then the old lead legs started down.