If you own a dog and unexpectedly it jumps up at someone, it is not the dog’s fault - it’s yours. This is the analogy we use to get our swimmers to understand that their stroke is their responsibility, not someone else’s (not, for example, the coach’s). Take full responsibility for your stroke in the same way an owner has to take full responsibility of their dog’s behaviour!

Practicing the wrong thing only makes you better at… doing the wrong thing! Don’t undo any progress you are making by allowing yourself to switch off and practice the very thing you are trying to correct. Always maintain that focus.

Whenever you swim there should be an inherit sense of ’forwardness’ that permeates the whole of the stroke. When you do so all your actions will become aligned and purposeful. You should try to avoid simply performing a series of movements without having a clear sense of where you are ultimately going.

Pull your body forwards. The most important thing here is to focus not on what the movement feels like to you but what the relative movement is with respect to the water itself. Imagine the top of your head cutting through the water like the bow of a ship and you will probably find you have already reduced your stroke count!

To benefit from making the ‘hull’ of your body as streamline as possible you can learn to swim ‘downhill’. The downhill body position in the water involves keeping your head in line with your torso whilst looking at the bottom of the pool. This, of course, will mean you have to start orientating yourself using the black lines rather than constantly looking at what’s in front of you. When you get it right you will actually experience just the slightest sense of actually swimming downhill - it is a real feeling. In this position you will be optimally horizontal in the water.

Don’t simply accept that the more flexible you are as a swimmer, the better. Developing sport-specific flexibility is exactly that. Want to know more?

• Some often overlooked considerations

• Ankles

• Shoulders

• Spine

• Legs