Triathlon swim technique: swim efficient, not fast

Body position: your first free gain

Before thinking about pull strength, think drag. A body that sinks at the hips brakes like an anchor. The goal: stay as horizontal and braced as possible, gaze toward the bottom slightly forward, hips high.

Two reflexes pay off immediately: press the chest down (which lifts the legs) and keep an active core. Many triathletes kick frantically to compensate for a bad position. Fix the position first, you'll save an oxygen-costly kick.

Breathing: the skill that unlocks everything

Swim panic almost always comes from breathing, not lack of fitness. The key: exhale continuously underwater through nose and mouth, so you only have to inhale when the head turns. If you hold your breath then try to exhale and inhale in a split second, you suffocate.

Learn to breathe on both sides (bilateral, every 3 strokes) in training: it balances your stroke and saves you in open water when waves come from one side. On race day, you can revert to your preferred side.

• Exhale continuously underwater, only inhale when rolling the head
• Roll the head with the body, don't lift it (it sinks the legs)
• Train bilateral breathing (every 3 strokes) in practice

Sighting: swimming straight in open water

In the pool, the black line does the work. In open water, with no reference, many swim in zigzags and add 10 to 20% distance without knowing. Sighting means lifting the eyes just enough to spot the buoy, without breaking the stroke.

Technique: lift the eyes just above the surface (crocodile-style) right before turning the head to breathe, spot the buoy, then breathe to the side. Two to three glances every 6 to 10 strokes are enough. Rehearse in the pool by aiming at a fixed point on the wall.

How to structure sessions to progress

Swimming rewards frequency more than duration. Three short 30 to 45 minute sessions per week progress faster than a single one-hour session. And every session should include technique work, not just laps.

Winning format for a triathlete: warmup, a drills block (kicks, catch-up, distance per stroke), a main set in endurance or threshold per phase, then cooldown. The CSS test (Critical Swim Speed) gives target paces, like FTP for the bike.

• Target frequency: 2 to 3 short swims rather than one long
• Include drills every session (technique before volume)
• Set paces on your CSS, not on feel
• End some sessions in a wetsuit to acclimate