Master Your Swim Start

Swimming can be a tough sport. It’s an individual sport. There’s no equipment. Everything is dependent on you. Fortunately, most of the swimmers I’ve had the pleasure to work with have a fierce tenacity that drives them not only to be hard on themselves but to seek growth physically and mentally. One of those areas is the swim start. If the start doesn’t go well that sets the stage for the entire race. This is similar in other sports however in swimming the start has a huge impact on the race because in swimming a race sometimes comes down to milliseconds.

You need a plan

One of the reasons swim starts is challenging is because swimmers don’t have a mental plan for dealing with the start of their race. They get behind the blocks with a ball of nerves and can’t shake them. Those nerves get transferred to the start and show up through rapid heart rate, muscle tension, and negative thoughts turning over and over in a swimmer’s head. Some swimmers can shake it off once they get going (while others can’t) but in a race, were milliseconds determine who wins or loses, a swimmer has already lost several critical seconds tangled up in a ball of nerves.

Another reason swim starts can be so challenging is because swimmers don’t get enough time to practice the physical elements of the start. And you hardly ever practice or train your brain for a swim start. You have to practice both of them more often. A swimmer would never go into a race not having practiced their stroke technique or kick. A swimmer should not go into a race not having practiced starts.

Lastly, if a swim start doesn’t feel right or they are not placed in the position they were hoping for, it sets the stage for the entire race. And you have to practice these circumstances also because they will come up.

Starts depend on the length

Each race will have a different start. Since a 50-free is an all-out sprint, a swimmer needs to get in the water quickly. An explosive swim start is the goal in this race. A 400-free is a slower race so the start may not be the same as it is for a 50-free. I think this coupled with less frequent practice on swim starts can make it challenging to understand what the game plan is at the start of the race. It is a challenge that many of my clients talk about. Many go out too fast and then die out or go out too slow and are not able to catch back up.

Part of developing a proper race plan is to ensure swimmers understand how fast or slow they need to go out, and having a plan for each one.

Get the feel

As I said above, practice is crucial. From what I’ve seen there is just not enough of it. I realize with pools full of swimmers, practicing swim starts can be complicated so you have to utilize other avenues to ‘get the feel’.

Imagery can be helpful: what does the start need to look and feel like. Practice the best starts over and over again in your mind. See it. Feel it. Music can also help support a good swim start: listen to a song before the race that has the right tempo. Make sure it gives you that positive pumped feeling. You’d be amazed on how both of these can help you.

Create your swim start plan. Practice your swim start plan. Tweak to make it just right for you. Practice it again and again.