Outpace Swim Workouts

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Outpace Swim Drill Library

24 videos to improve your Freestyle efficiency and speed

In swimming, the faster we move through the water, the greater the drag. Drag increases by the square of the speed that we swim.

For example, if you are swimming 50 meters in 25 seconds (2 meters per second speed), you have four more times the drag of someone swimming 50 meters in 50 seconds (1 meter per second speed).

This means, as we swim faster, the effects of drag will become more noticeable.

By cutting down drag, we not only help ourselves to swim faster, but we also learn how to swim more efficiently by improving our technique.

It is therefore essential to work on our technique before we worry about improving swimming fitness and speed.

The two main principles of an efficient swimming technique are:

  1. Minimizing drag and deceleration by improving your streamline and head & body position, as well as your body rotation from the waist. This rotation generates power
  2. Maximizing propulsion by developing your catch and power phase of the stroke.

The purpose of the following drills is to improve a specific part of the Freestyle stroke. Practicing one stroke area at a time will ensure that you can fully concentrate on the specific area.

Note: The selected drills are not for beginner swimmers. These specific drills are designed to assist pool swimmers, open water swimmers and triathletes from intermediate to advanced level. Before starting to practice a drill, always ensure that you understand the concept behind the drill. Not all drills are designed to produce the same results.

What is a swimming drill

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A drill is a specific exercise that focuses on a particular aspect of a swim stroke like your arm position, kicking, or breathing. 

Drills are designed to make your technique more efficient and economical as well as improving your body position in the water, which will make you swimming faster.

Swimming is a full body activity, which can make it challenging to change one particular component without compromising others.

This is why each drill should focus on isolating and targeting a specific component of a stroke. It trains one part of the body to perform a particular movement without necessarily changing how other parts move.

How to implement swimming drills in your training

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The key to successfully learn the different drills is to practice them patiently in the suggested order:

  1. Drills to help your coordination and breathing timing
  2. Drills to help you minimizing drag
  3. Drills to help you maximize propulsion

It often takes a few sessions to be able to execute a new drill correctly. You need to do them slowly, and with focus.

It is best to take your time and to start each session by rehearsing a few drills you already know. Ideally, you should only start a new drill once the previous one has been mastered.

Be patient!

Improvements don’t happen overnight. For drills to have an actual impact in the long term, they have to be done regularly. Repetition is key.

Even if you learn and master a new drill quickly, it may not translate to your regular strokes immediately. Muscle memory plays a big role in making lasting technique changes.

While drills are meant to result in a specific change in a particular component of a swim. An effective drill is essentially one that is successfully transferred to your regular swimming stroke.

As a result, I would recommend to practice a drill for a few lengths, focusing on a specific aspect of your technique, and then try to maintain that focus while swimming a few regular lengths.  

You will notice that the movements you do while practicing drills are often different than the ones you do during regular swimming. This ensures that previous bad habits don’t interfere while practicing the stroke.

In your training plan and sessions, I would recommend the following:

  • Introduce one or two key drills in your first week during or directly after your warm-up routine.
  • In the following week, review the drills practiced the previous week and then introduce one or two new drills

Equipment:

Drills can be challenging to learn and master. Depending on the drill, the use of fins (flippers), snorkel and pull buoy can provide you with support and propulsion. The right equipment for the right drill can help you to relax more and fully focus on the specific aspect of the drill you are practising.

If you need further help to implement swimming drills in your training or ideas to structure your sessions, the All-in-One plans will help you improve your technique and achieve your goals. 

Please click on the drill’s name to open the videos

Scroll to the richt to see everything
. MECHANICS MINIMAZING DRAG MAXIMIZING PROPULSION
Purposes Drill Videos
Coordination
& Breathing timing
Head position
Posture & Alignment
Balance & Rotation
Recovery & Entry
Catch
Pull
Push & Exit
Reach & D.P.S.
Rhythm & Timing
Anchor + + + + + + + +
Single arm
(Resting arm in front)		 + + + + + + + + + + + +
Catch-up + + + + + + + + + + +
Front Quadrant + + + + + + + + + + + +
Front kicks + + + + +
Superman kicks + + + + + + + + +
Pull buoy btw ankles + + + + +
Side kicks + + + + + + +
Kicks’n Switch + + + + + + + + +
Roll kick + + + + + + + + +
Fin keel + + + + + + + +
Single arm
(Resting arm at side)		 + + + + + + + + + +
Armpit pause + + + + + + +
Popov drill + + + + + + +
Fingertips drag + + + + + + +
Fist + + + + + + + +
Front Scull + + +
Mid Scull + + +
Scull Combo + + + + + + +
Doggy Paddle + + + + + + +
Long dog + + + + + + + + + + +
Double-arm Pulls + + + + + + + + +
Shark Fin + + + + + + + +
5 strokes & stop + + + + + + +

 + + +  most important purpose | + +  important purposes   | + other purposes

If you need further help to implement swimming drills in your training or ideas to structure your sessions, we offer a customized workout plans service to help you improve your technique and achieve your goals. 

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