5 Ways To Be A Better Swimmer

There are three universal truths of swimming. The first one, as all of you should know, is that Coach Farris, after 25 years of swimming, starting businesses and being a coach, what are the secrets of swimming? You have to know your why. Why are you swimming? Why are you going to the pool? Why are you training? Maybe you started out because your parents signed you up as a kid. Maybe you picked up swimming as an adult because your doctor told you you need to get in shape. Regardless of why you started swimming, if you lose sight of the thing that got you into swimming in the first place, you're not going to be consistent and you're not going to be able to follow the next secrets that I have on the board. And so none of this is going to matter. So first and foremost, you have to know your why. Coach Leo, what is your why? Why do you swim? Why do you coach? What motivates you to come and do the thing day after day? My why and my reason to why I do what I do is I love inspiring people. I love what I do because I love motivating people. I love teaching you guys how to swim. I love teaching you guys how to get better at what you guys are doing. So my why is inspiring. And when it comes to you as an athlete, as a coach, regardless of what your background is, you need to recognize why are you doing what you do? Because if you don't remember this on the days that you get tired, you don't feel like going to work out, you don't feel like getting up and doing the things that are difficult. This is what's going to keep you motivated. Now we can move on to the true fundamentals of swimming faster. Before we move on, Coach Farris, please tell us your why. Give us an example of what your why is. As a swimmer, when I'm in the water, I feel completely weightless. I'm in my own world. I can disconnect. The world's problems just simply disappear and I am in my own element. And when I swim, that is the feeling that gives me the greatest joy, to be in the water, to be in this medium that is 800 times more dense than air. That is the thing that keeps me motivated to go into the pool, to coach, to create these videos, to help you guys find your purpose, to find ways that you can swim faster. That is why I do what I do. So guys, there are three universal truths of swimming. The first one, as all of you should know, is that water is 800 times more dense than air. The second one is that the number one way to swim faster is to decrease drag as you are swimming, and finally, increase propulsion. As mentioned, because the water is so dense and when we are swimming, it is so difficult to move through the water, but the number one way to make swimming effortless is to simply decrease the amount of resistance and the amount of drag you are creating as you are swimming. The number one way to do that is to, of course, improve your body position, and the number one way to move forward and increase propulsion is to, of course, use your pull and improve your kicking. So if you want to decrease drag, focus on having a great head position, keep your eyes on the bottom, get your hips up, and if you want to increase your propulsion, make sure you enter the water cleanly with your fingertips and initiate an early vertical form so that way you're maximizing the surface area of which you're pulling the water with. You don't want to have your hand sliced through the water like a noodle or a scissor. Instead, you want to grip the water and pull as if you have hands the size of dinner plates. Really grab the water and pull. Over the years, that's what I've noticed is the biggest difference between some of the fastest swimmers in the world and those who are just okay at swimming. It's how good their body position is, how high they ride in the water. Also, being able to increase your propulsion to the point that you can move effortlessly through the water and pull the most water. The fastest swimmers are able to move through the water with great propulsion. So regardless of how big or strong they are, they can move by other swimmers who might have more training. They've been swimming for longer, but they're not pulling the water as efficiently. And the fastest swimmers are able to engage the catch earlier and earlier and earlier in the stroke so that way they can move through the water more quickly using less effort. Now Coach Leo, the fourth secret here is something that you and I know very well because we're coaches and we're more competitive athletes, but what's something that a lot of swimmers, they kind of just don't understand because they just go to the pool and they swim back and forth. They swim 100 laps, they call it a day, and they think they're confused why they're not getting any faster. And that's because they are not following a good structured training plan. So guys, if you are out there, and as Farah just mentioned, you're just turning up to the pool, you haven't really got an idea of what you are doing, you're just doing continuous laps, thousands and thousands and thousands of meters of just continuous point of swimming, you have to make sure you invest and look into getting a good training plan. Whether that's you training for a triathlon or being a competitive swimmer, it is very, very important that you are training at the correct intensities, doing the correct amount of volume, and pushing yourself the right way in training to make sure you are swimming fast and efficient. And a training plan is just one of three pillars to swimming faster. We already talked a little bit about technique, that's one of them. Of course, having a training plan so that you know what you're doing, when you're doing it is going to be the most efficient. And the third is accountability. That's what a coach can do. If you want to work with ourselves, make sure you check out the links below. But regardless of how you do it, you've got to make sure you're following a training program that is specific and personalized to your goals, otherwise you're wasting your time. You're not using your time effectively in the water because you're just swimming back and forth, or you're doing some generic training plan that you found somewhere that's not going to be customized to exactly what you need to find success. Coach Leo, let's say you want to swim until you're 80 years old, you have no plans of competing, you just want to feel good in the water. Should I follow a training plan? Absolutely. I think so. Again, even if you're not competing, if you're not looking to break any world records, I think it's still very, very important to follow a training plan because even from a simple perspective of injury prevention, for example, you still have to make sure you are warming up correctly, you are getting your body to swim a certain amount of meters. And from an enjoyment perspective, it's still very important to follow a training plan because just doing 3,000 meters of swimming is not going to be much fun. So breaking things down and following a plan which is going to push you in maybe different ways other than just going fast, it's just going to be a lot more fun and it's going to prevent you from a lifetime of injury. So absolutely. Now, if you've made it this far in the video, it means you're serious about improving your swimming. And one of the common features that I've noticed over two and a half decades of swimming and coaching and interviewing some of the best swimmers in the world is if you want to really improve, if you want to take it to the next level, regardless of your swimming for life or you're trying to win Olympic gold, you have to be obsessed with not only swimming but the process, the journey of learning. If I open up your YouTube feed, it should be all videos that I have created about how to swim faster or other creators about how to improve your swimming, race analysis, technique, training, interviews. If your feed on social media is not reflective of someone who is absolutely obsessed with swimming, you are not going to reach the absolute pinnacle of what is possible because someone else who is more obsessed than you will. And so if you're really serious, if you've made it to this point in the video and you're not already subscribed, what are you doing, folks? Subscribe. Surround yourself in that environment of people who are going to help you level up. And that is the single most important thing that I've learned over all the years of swimming. You have to absolutely love it. You have to be all about your why because your why is what's going to allow you to be obsessed. And everything that happens in the middle is a result of those two things. Coach Faris, I love the fact that you mentioned the word process. I think many, many people are so focused on the outcome. Everybody wants to be great. Everybody wants to be the best swimmer. Everybody wants to improve their stroke. Everybody wants to start a YouTube channel, have a million followers. But the most important thing is the process, is making sure you are doing the right things, you are getting into the right habits to help you get to your end goal, whatever that may be. So just making sure you're focusing on the process, which will then ultimately help you get to your desired outcome. And the journey, it's not just the process. The process is what lays the foundation for the journey that you will follow. So if you want to be successful in not only swimming, know your why, be obsessed, love the process because that is what creates the journey that will allow you to swim for life and reach your goals.