Articles and Videos
How to Use Backstroke Flags in Swimming
At all competition pools, spectators notice colored flags strung across the pool at each end. To the casual observer, they can appear quite festive. As festive as they are, however, swimmers know what they’re really for: avoiding painful encoun...
How Can I Start a Lap Swimming Routine?
Congratulations on deciding to start a new lap swimming routine! Swimming is one of the best forms of aerobic exercise you can perform because it engages all the muscles of your body while strengthening your cardiovascular system without placing too ...
Best 3,000-Yard Swimming Workouts
Do you ever get to the pool and have no idea what you want to swim? Or do you have a lot on your schedule and need to fit a good workout into a short amount of time? A 3,000-yard workout (plus or minus a few yards) from USMS’s Workout Library i...
Why Do You Float in Water?
One of the very first things every learn-to-swim student practices is basic floating. Learning to find that comfortable, mostly weightless place where your legs or body don’t sink but you don’t have to exert much effort to stay stable&mda...
How Swimmers Should Warm Up for a Meet
What constitutes a good warm-up routine is often ruled by your experience. If you have age-group, high school, or college swimming experience, you might have a great idea about what worked for you back then. But will it work now?
How the Breaststroke Pull Has Evolved
Modern breaststroke traces its roots back to ancient eastern Egypt, where cave paintings depict people swimming the stroke. It’s been described in many cultures around the world, and it’s theorized that the stroke originated by swimmers m...
Why Swimmers Shouldn’t Cup or Flatten Their Hands While Swimming
Swim instructors back in the day often used verbal cues about hand positions such as, “Don’t make your hands like forks—cup your hands to make a spoon,” or “Keep your hands flat like a paddle.” If these tableware r...
Freestyle Differences Between the Pool and Open Water
Open water swimming is increasing in popularity as more Masters swimmers jump into lakes, rivers, and oceans for an enjoyable swim. One of the most common questions I receive from these swimmers about open water swimming is, “Should I emulate h...
Does Cross-Training with Running or Biking Help Swimming?
If your coach has been encouraging cross-training, you might be wondering what that is and whether it’s something you really need to do to improve your swimming.
How to Stop Anxiety as a New Swimmer
Swimtimidation is real, but it’d be a shame to let it hold you back. Here are some tips for managing and eradicating this common and understandable anxiety.
