DRILLS & EXERCISES

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Stroke Drill Name Description
Any Anchor & Skate Imagine your hands are like ice skates - as you dig into the 'ice', push and feel your body propel past your anchor point (same drill as Ladder Pull Drill, but with different metaphor)
Any Build Start at 70-80%, increase your effort to 95-100% over the distance specified
Any IM order Butterfly, Back, Breast, Free
Any One-arm
  • Swum like regular Free/Back/Fly, except only one arm is moving.
  • The other arm is stationary, either forward (front hand) or backwards, against your side (back hand).
  • The moving hand takes a series of strokes, each arm performing a set number of pulls before they switch roles.
  • Practice this drill with the stationary arm in both positions.
  • When your stationary arm is on your side, breath towards that side (away from the moving arm).
  • When your stationary arm is forward, breath away from it (towards the arm doing the work).
  • Again, time the breathing so that as your body rolls, your head rolls with it for a breath, then your head should return to its forward alignment.
Any Negative Splits Split distance in half, try to swim second half faster than the first half
Any Pass the Fast  Faster Swimmer starts later, tries to pass the others. 
If you are evenly matched, then the first swimmer swims at 85-90%, late starter sprints)
Alternate if swimming alone: Try to cut off 1 stroke per 50m
Any Reverse Build  Start at 100%, build down to 75% over the distance specified
Any S.K.P.S. Swim, Kick, Pull, Sprint. If 100m SKPS, then 25m of each. If 200m SKPS, then 50m each, etc.
Any S.K.I.P.S. (Usually 500m or 1000m) - For 500m SKIPS, Swim 100m, Kick 100m, IM 100m, Swim 100m (IM is 25m each stroke)
Any S.K.U.D  50m Swim, 50m Kick, 50m Swim Underwater, 50m Drill 
Any Trade 25's For 2 or 3 people. One person at other end of pool. Alternate sprints - other person leaves when 1st (or 2nd) touches the wall
Any Two Turn 25's Start in the middle of the pool, swim 25 sprint with a turn (ending in the middle of the pool). Work on flip turns and first few strokes out of the turn
Any Underwater Pop-ups Push off wall, glide u/w kicking (no arms) and sprint the rest of the way
Free Alligator Eyes Swim Freestyle, but keep eyes out of water, looking straight ahead
Free Catch Up Both arms stroke. The arm stays in the forward position (or glide position) until the other arm 'catches up' - then the arm starts to pull, while the arm that just 'caught up' now waits in the forward position. In this drill, both hands will momentarily be in the glide position at the same time, just as one arm catches up with the other.
Free Fingertip Drag This drill is swimming normal Freestyle while dragging your fingertips along the surface of the water on the recovery. Focus on a high elbow recovery, which ensures proper hand and elbow position at your hand entry. You should also check your body position during this drill, focusing on good side-to-side rotation.

An alternate version of this drill involves dragging the entire hand, wrist-deep, through the water. This helps build strength and speed of the arm recovery motion.
Free Fist Freestyle Freestyle but make fists - to feel the water on your arms as you pull without your hands 
  • Vary the pattern and the number of strokes that you are "fisted."
  • When you unclench your hand, you should notice a difference in pressure on your hand - use this feeling to keep your hand holding water as you move through your pull pattern.
  • When you are clenched, you should also try to press on the water with the inside (palm side) of your forearm - think of the lower arm, from elbow to wrist, as an extension of your hand. And don't forget body roll!
Free Gallup  3 really fast strokes, 2-3 easy strokes, repeat to end of pool
Free Gorilla Arms Free, but swing your arms wide, with little bend in the elbows (reach forward, like swinging from tree to tree)
Free Kayak Start by floating, above the line, arms and legs stretched out. Slowly bring arms (straight out in front) and legs in, forming a perfect line. Start with arm pull, then kick, focusing on keeping as straight at possible. Swim 3-4 strokes before taking first breath
Free Ladder Pull Regular Free, but imagine as you grab the water you are grabbing a rung on a ladder. Pull yourself along the ladder, making your body slide over the rung (instead of your hand sliding down your body).
Free Press Your "T"  Imagine a line down your sternum, and another line from one shoulder to the next, forming a "T". Concentrate on pressing your sternum (at the "T") down into the water.
Free Shark Fins Leave arm bent, out of the water like a shark fin for 10-12 kicks, slide back down to your side, and repeat (also called the 'zipper' as you zip up an imaginary zipper on the side of your suit)
Free Stop, Stop, Switch Hesitate stroke when hand is by your side, hesitate again when arm is out of the water (like a shark fin), when hand moves forward, pull hard with hand in the water to roll quickly (SWITCH) your body over to the other side
Free Sweet Spot Kick Only. Kick on your side, focus on finding the 'sweet spot' of optimum balance.
Free Tarzan Swim with your head completely out of the water, looking forward and keeping your head still. Increase the tempo of your kick to help with horizontal positioning. This drill helps when you sight breathe in open water.
Back Double Arm Stroke both arms at the same time
Back Press Your "T" (Back) Imagine a line down your spine, and another line from one shoulder to the next, forming a "T". Concentrate on pressing  the "T" down into the water.
Back Wave to Fans Hesitate arm at the peak of the stroke out of water (straight up), 'wave' hand, finish stroke
Breast 1 Pull, 2 Kicks Pull once, Kick twice
Breast 3 Second Glide After kick, glide for 3 seconds before arm pull
Breast Breast Pull, Fly Kick Normal Breast arm pull, use fly kick instead of breast kick
Breast Kick Heels to Hands Place hands straight down to your sides. As you draw your legs up to kick, touch your hands with the heels of your feet
Fly Fly Stroke Drill Fly kick, but alternate 3 strokes Right arm 3 strokes Left are, 3 strokes both arms (full butterfly)
Fly Slither Kick only, but don't emphasize the kick - focus on the undulating movement of the Butterfly. Think about 'Slithering' above and below the waterline (your head and butt should come out of the water as you slither through the water).
Fly Stroke & Slither Use the Fly stroke, but not too hard (no kick)  - focus on the undulating movement of the Butterfly with just the arm pull. Think about 'Slithering' above and below the waterline (your head and butt should come out of the water as you slither through the water).
Fly Stroke - Pop - Slither Same as Stroke & Slither, but add the finish power to the stroke (the "Pop"). This includes the arm power and the pulse of the body. Keep working on the slither.