For some years, my New Year’s post for those taking up swimming for exercise or weight management has been one of the site’s most popular and has gone viral on a number of occasions. But like with my Christmas Swim post, I wanted to change it up this year. Like so much of what I’ve written, I was thinking of what you other lone swimmers out there, who like myself, might benefit from that I’ve learned and the thousands of questions I’ve gotten over the year here and elsewhere.

I have previously said that there are no tricks or secrets in learning to swim. But while that’s true about swimming, it’s not entirely accurate about other aspects of swimming. It struck me this year when I was often in the pool while the local tri club were getting lessons that there are many coaches who themselves aren’t or weren’t swimmers and that there are things therefore that they do not know and don’t teach or teach incorrectly. So these are secrets in that experienced swimmers know them, but it can take a long time for others to learn. These are the nuggets of knowledge that get passed in changing rooms and on decks, and are part of what we might call swim culture.

Like every pursuit, this is knowledge that swimmers often don’t realise they’ve learned or absorbed over the years of practice, from swimming technique, to equipment and hygiene. So while I’ve probably not covered this completely, because it’s hard to remember everything when writing such a list, this should help collect some of the “soft” knowledge that experienced swimmers gain over time and so many new and improving swimmers haven’t yet learned, especially if they are not part of a swim group.

1. 1. Ask or let the swimmer already in the lane know you are joining.
   2. Don’t start swimming or turn in front of a faster swimmer.
   3. The fastest swimmer has the right of way.
   4. Stay aware of what everyone is doing to avoid collisions and frustration for all.

Because every swimmer in the world has an opinion and will happily entertain long discussions about goggs.

• No anti-fog will last on goggles longer than a couple of months
• Spit into googles for a simple reasonably effective anti-fog. Never touch the inside of the goggles.
• Use a 2/3 water, 1/3 baby shampoo mix, swirl it around and rinse it out for a more effective anti-fog
• Most “high visibility open water goggles” aren’t high visibility and are seriously over-priced. The google design offering the most visibility are clear Swedish goggles (aka Swedes). Which are also the cheapest.
• More expensive goggles does not in any way mean better. Blame triathletes for the escalation of costs. The best goggles I’ve bought in years were €4 in Lidl the summer before last.
• There is no such thing as a generic “best google” answer. Competitive swimmers/online swimmers most often respond Vanquishers  or Swedish Goggles. Vanquishers are not available in Europe anymore & Swedes (Which I wear myself in the pool and I show you how to fit here) aren’t a good idea for beginner swimmers. I also wrote this article about understanding the different kinds of goggles so you can choose based on your own requirements rather than other’s opinions, because I had never once seen anything like this by any of the goggle manufacturers, or anyone else.
• Silicon straps don’t last long. Bungee straps are a great replacement.
• Two thirds of my swimming time is spent with my face underwater exhaling. I can see everything including guys jerking off, teenagers and older couples fiddling with each other and numerous erections.

The name of the stroke is front crawl. Freestyle means that in competition you can swim any stroke, and since crawl is the fastest, it (mostly) gets used, so a lot of swimmers think crawl is freestyle and visa versa. Someone will probably even say in the comments here that no-one calls it front crawl. Front crawl is extensively used outside the US and is the accurate term.

• BLABT  is the acronym for the process most swim experienced teachers use to evaluate stroke and teach front crawl. It stands for:
• Body position
  • • Get horizontal in the water. Not being horizontal is the most common reason for swimming slow.
    • Push your chest forward and down into the water. Try to swim downhill!
    • Keep your head low and steady, don’t allow it to swing to the side. Imagine you are an a rotisserie spit that enters through your forehead, your whole body rotates around the centre point. If you raise your head, it’ll cause the rest of your body to sink.
    • Clench your butt cheeks. (Core muscles are used for position and rotation, doing this helps engage them).
• Legs
  • • In an elite swimmer, the maximum propulsion that comes from kicking is only 15% of overall speed. But to do that requires the body’s largest muscles and disproportionate amount of energy. (Long distance swimmers like myself do very little or no kicking).
    • Fixing the kick is important for beginners so the legs don’t slow you down or cause you to sink. Kicking wildly (especially common in runners or triathletes) is more likely to cause you to slow. This is also part of the horizontal body position above. From what I have seen most triathlete swim coaches get this completely wrong and spend far too much time focusing on a better kick.
    • You are not riding a bicycle. Kick from the hips, with only a little movement in the knees. New swimmers often have a big wide kick or their legs sinks, or both. This slows them down.
    • While reading this, see if you can point your toes like a ballet dancer. If you can’t, start stretching your ankle while watching TV or while sitting at a desk. Not being able to point your toes while swimming is like pulling a weight behind you.
    • Try swimming with your toes clenched into a fist. Yes, just like Die Hard. This will stop you kicking from the knees. You won’t be able to do it all the time, but it will help you understand what your position and kick should feel like.
• Arms
  • • Reach forward. No, further.
    • Pull back underwater. But only when your palm is facing backwards behind you, not when they are facing the bottom. This called the Catch, when your hand starts effectively pulling.
    • Keep pulling, then pushing backwards until your thumb scrapes your thigh.
    • Try to always keep your elbow above your hand, at every point in the stroke. This is not easy, and take a long time to get right.
• Breathing
  • • Exhale underwater
    • Hum a little to get used to controlling your breath and exhalation
    • Try sinking to the bottom of the pool with no arm or leg movement
    • Rotate your head out of the water, don’t lift it. Don’t look forward or around. There is no forward visibility as part of standard front crawl, and learning this is a separate activity.
• Timing
  • • Both arms and legs alternate and all actions are smooth and continuous.
    • Breathing is to the side.
    • Rotate your hips to drive your arms to reach forward.