Over the years, we've covered hundreds of swimming tips, drills, and techniques. To help you navigate it all, we've dug into our archives to create a roundup of the most popular and impactful lessons ever published on the Swimator Blog. Whether you're a novice overcoming a fear of the water or an...

Since I am on the topic of breathing while swimming, let me explain, what seems like an obvious procedure, how to breathe through the swimmer's snorkel. Before we get to that, perhaps a bit of an introduction of what the swimmer's snorkel is and how it can help you improve your swimming techniq...

Every few years, a revolutionary piece of swim gear is launched with promises of free speed and record-breaking performance. One of the most famous examples was Speedo's Fastskin3 "racing system." While new technology is exciting, it often obscures a fundamental truth: for 99% of swimmers, the sec...

"Bilateral breathing" is one of the most misunderstood terms in swimming. Many beginners assume it means you must breathe every third stroke, only to find themselves gasping for air and hitting a frustrating plateau. The truth is, there's a huge difference between the act of rhythmic bilateral...

The Swim Smooth's Clean Up Your Stroke DVD set is not your usual learn to swim program on DVDs. It is more of a series of short hints and tips addressing a few important aspects of an efficient freestyle stroke. Paul Newsome, an accredited level II triathlon coach who coaches triathletes in Wester...

Open water swimming and triathlon are becoming incredibly popular. And since 70% of our planet's surface is covered by water, it only makes sense we'd discover it sooner or later :). But with this popularity comes a challenge: many swimmers have a hard time understanding that swimming in open wate...

Triathletes are some of the most self-motivated athletes in the world. To achieve a competitive level in three different sports requires incredible discipline and time management skills. But this drive often creates a major problem in the pool. Running and cycling are sports where effort usually...

In 2011, British comedian David Walliams did something extraordinary. He swam 140 miles (225 km) down the River Thames in just 8 days for charity. To put that in perspective, that's an average of 18 miles a day, a distance that even Olympic athletes rarely cover in training, let alone in dirty riv...

If you are just starting out learning how to swim, or if you struggle to improve your swimming, you have probably heard someone along your swimming journey say: "You just need to relax more". At that moment you also probably thought to yourself: "Yeah right. How am I supposed to relax if I am usi...

The freestyle flutter kick is the engine of your stroke. A proper kick provides propulsion, lift, and balance, but it's also one of the hardest swimming skills to master. This guide will break down the mechanics of an effective flutter kick, using analogies and a unique "learn-by-doing-it-wrong" a...

I try not to live by too many rules, but when it comes to kickboards (or swimming boards), I have one: Do not use them when you are learning to swim! Kickboards can be a huge impediment to your swimming progress. Ok, that’s not entirely true:). Kickboards do have their place in training...

Let's be honest: most of us don't love doing housework. Mundane chores like vacuuming, washing dishes, and dusting are just a necessary evil. But what if you could improve your swimming and your overall health while doing them? What if you could turn that boring chore into a powerful core workout?...