Overview

Most adult-onset swimmers reach a plateau where extra training yields nothing. The plateau isn't fitness — it's technique. Freestyle is a skill-dominant stroke, and without targeted technical work, you'll bury fitness under drag for years.

This guide gives you a working drill library organised around the four key elements of freestyle: body position, kick, catch/pull, and rotation. Incorporate 10-15 minutes of drills at the start of every swim session for 6-8 weeks and the changes will be measurable. Your 1km time should drop 5-15% with no fitness change.

Golden Rule: Drills don't feel like real swimming, and they shouldn't. The point is to isolate one element. When it clicks, you'll feel it when you put the whole stroke back together.

How to Use This Library

Each session, pick 2-3 drills that target your current weak link. Do 4-8 × 25m of each drill with 15-30 seconds rest. After the drill block, swim 1-2 × 50m freestyle paying attention to the element you just drilled.

Don't do every drill every session — pick the ones for the fault you're currently chasing, stick with them for 2-3 weeks, then reassess.

Self-Diagnosis: Where Is Your Fault?

Symptom	Likely fault	Drills to prioritise
Legs sinking, feel like you're uphill	Poor body position / weak kick	Superman glide, kick drills
Arms feel tired fast, short pull	Weak catch, dropped elbow	Catch-up, fingertip drag
Breathing is panicky / lifts head	Poor rotation	6-3-6 drill, side kick
Good in the pool, terrible in open water	Sighting + stroke rate issues	Sighting drill, build swims
Gas in legs after kick sets	Kick too wide / bending knees	Vertical kick, streamline kick

Body Position Drills

Superman Glide

Push off the wall into streamline (arms extended, ears between biceps). Float without kicking or stroking for as far as you can. Focus on pushing chest down — it lifts hips.

What it teaches: You float when you stop fighting. The instinct to tense up makes you sink.

Streamline Kick on Back

On your back, arms in streamline overhead. Gentle flutter kick. Focus on:

Kick from the hips, not knees
Toes pointed, ankles loose
Head relaxed back

What it teaches: Kick mechanics without the distraction of breathing.

Dead-Man Float with Rotation

Face down, arms relaxed at sides, legs extended. Rotate slightly (one shoulder breaks surface, one drops) and hold. Breathe when needed by lifting head briefly, then reset.

What it teaches: Static body position. Most swimmers can't hold a relaxed float — that tension is what makes stroking harder than it needs to be.

Kick Drills

Vertical Kick

In the deep end, vertical with arms crossed on chest. Kick to keep your head above water. Start with 20 seconds, build to 60 seconds.

What it teaches: Kick from the hip, constant rhythm, no knee bend. If you rely on knees, you'll sink.

Fins, Fast Kick

Short fins, streamline, 25m sprint kick. Focus on fast tempo (not big kicks) and staying streamlined.

What it teaches: Kick drives forward motion when the tempo is right. Over-kicking wastes energy; short, fast kicks propel.

Kick on Side (6 Kicks + Stroke)

On your side (right or left), lower arm extended, upper arm on hip. Kick 6 times, then take one stroke, rotate to the other side, kick 6 more times. Continue.

What it teaches: Rotation and kick integration. Most important kick drill for open-water swimmers.

Catch & Pull Drills

Fingertip Drag

During the recovery (arm out of water), drag your fingertips along the water surface. Forces high-elbow recovery.

What it teaches: Elbow leads the recovery, hand relaxed, no muscled-through sweep.

Catch-Up

Each arm stays extended until the other arm returns and touches (catches up) before it begins its stroke. Exaggerated pause.

What it teaches: Front quadrant swimming — arm extended for longer, creating better streamline between strokes.

Sculling Drills (Front Scull)

Arms extended in front, elbows high, hands in "high elbow catch" position. Move hands side-to-side in small sculling motions, moving forward slowly.

What it teaches: The feel of pressing water backward, not down. The "catch" moment where your pull actually starts.

Doggy Paddle (Underwater Recovery)

Face down, pull with one arm while the other stays out front. Recover underwater (arm doesn't leave water). Alternate arms.

What it teaches: Feel for the water on the pull without the distraction of recovery mechanics.

Rotation Drills

6-3-6 Drill

Kick 6 times on one side, take 3 strokes, kick 6 on the other side. Repeat.

What it teaches: Rotation from core, not shoulders. Critical for efficient long-distance swimming.

Single-Arm Freestyle

Only use one arm for the entire 25m length. Other arm stays extended in front. Swap arms each length.

What it teaches: Forces full rotation — without rotation, single-arm is almost impossible.

Breathing Every 3 Strokes (Bilateral)

Breathe every 3rd stroke (alternating sides). Do a 4×50m set of this.

What it teaches: Symmetrical rotation. Most swimmers over-rotate to their breathing side and under-rotate the other. Bilateral fixes it.

Open Water-Specific Drills

Sighting Drill

Every 4 strokes, lift head briefly forward (eyes just above water, chin still down), look at a target at the other end, then return to normal breathing.

What it teaches: Sighting without breaking stroke rhythm. Lifting too high or too long stalls you.

Tarzan Drill

Heads-up freestyle — swim with face out of water entirely for 25m. Exhausting on purpose.

What it teaches: Core engagement and stroke rate needed to keep head above water. After Tarzan, normal freestyle feels effortless.

Build Swims in Open Water

100m-200m swims where you build effort from easy to hard. Teaches pacing into and out of race efforts in open water.

Weekly Template for a Technique Block

6-8 weeks of 3 sessions per week:

Day	Session
Mon	400m easy warm-up → 8 × 25m drills (2 body position, 2 catch, 2 kick, 2 rotation) → 400m easy freestyle focusing on drill you just did
Wed	400m warm-up → 10 × 50m with 15 sec rest, build pace each 50m → cool-down
Fri	400m warm-up → 6 × 25m drills → 4 × 100m at steady pace → cool-down

Plus 1-2 optional swims per week at conversational pace for fitness.

Video Yourself

The single biggest technique leap most swimmers make is seeing themselves swim for the first time. Most pools allow phone/GoPro use poolside with permission. Underwater footage (friend dipping a waterproof camera) is gold.

You will hate what you see. That's fine. It's information. Pick one thing, drill it for 2 weeks, re-film.

Common Mistakes

Drilling too hard. Drills are for feel, not fitness. Move slowly enough to notice the mechanics.
Doing every drill every week. Pick 2-3 for a 3-week block. Master, then rotate.
Drilling without video. You think you're doing the drill correctly. You're probably not. Record it.
Drilling without integration. After a drill, always swim 1-2 × 50m of normal freestyle immediately. Otherwise the pattern doesn't transfer.

What's Next

After 6-8 weeks of technique work, your stroke will feel transformed. Apply it to the Pool-to-Open-Water Race Prep plan if you have a race on the calendar, or move to volume-focused work if you want to build distance.

Freestyle Technique Drills🔒

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