How To Swim Competitively: A Pro Swimmer’s Step-By-Step Guide

Did you know that more than 3 billion viewers tuned in to watch competitive swimming during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? This staggering number shows just how captivating our sport truly is when performed at its highest level.

The road to competitive swimming excellence isn’t just about natural talent in the water. Most of us who’ve reached professional levels started around age 5 or 6, committing to tough training schedules with double sessions daily. We spend countless hours perfecting our strokes, building the stamina needed for race day, and sharpening our mental game through visualization and mindfulness work.

Want to make the jump from casual swimming to racing? You’ll need to embrace serious technique work, endurance training, and mental preparation. This guide breaks down exactly what you need to know to transform your pool time into competitive success. I’ve packed it with strategies I’ve learned through years on the blocks and coaching other swimmers just like you.

 

Building Your Competitive Swimming Foundation

Every champion swimmer starts with rock-solid fundamentals. Before you can chase those medals, you need to master essential techniques that form the backbone of competitive swimming success. Let’s dive into what really matters for your swimming foundation.

Mastering the four competitive strokes

The beauty of our sport lies in its four distinct primary strokes, each demanding its own technical approach. Freestyle—what most call front crawl—reigns as the fastest and most efficient stroke in our arsenal. You’ll need to maintain a horizontal body position while executing alternating overhand arm movements paired with a flutter kick. Backstroke follows similar principles with alternating arms and flutter kick, but you’re facing skyward instead. Then there’s breaststroke, often the trickiest to perfect and slowest to execute, requiring those synchronized arm pulls combined with the distinctive “frog” kick. Butterfly rounds out the group—it’s the real power stroke, combining simultaneous overhead arm recoveries with dolphin kicks that test your strength like nothing else.

I tell my swimmers that training all four strokes isn’t just about versatility for meets. When you practice different strokes, you develop a much better feel for the water while engaging different muscle groups. Plus, mixing up your strokes prevents those frustrating training plateaus and keeps your shoulders happier by avoiding the repetitive strain that comes from swimming the same stroke day after day.

Developing proper breathing techniques

You can’t swim fast if you can’t breathe right—it’s that simple. Proper breathing is the cornerstone of competitive swimming success. When your breathing falls apart, everything else follows—your technique crumbles and your energy tanks fast. The key? Exhale underwater, then grab that quick inhale when your mouth breaks the surface. One common mistake I see even with talented swimmers is breath-holding. Instead, you should steadily exhale underwater, finishing with a forceful push of air just before turning your head to breathe.

Your breathing pattern needs to match your race distance. Sprinting a 50? You’ll want minimal breaths to maintain that perfect stroke efficiency. For middle-distance events (30-75 seconds), breathing every second, third, or fourth stroke works well. Going longer? Then you’ll typically need air every second or third stroke to keep your energy levels up through the entire race.

Understanding competitive swimming rules

Swimming looks simple from the bleachers, but competition comes with strict rulebooks that can make or break your race. For freestyle, you’ve got the most technical freedom—just make sure you touch that wall during turns. Backstroke demands you stay on your back throughout except during the turn sequence. Breaststroke is particularly rule-heavy, requiring simultaneous arm movements and leg kicks on a horizontal plane, plus your head must break the surface during each stroke cycle. Butterfly needs simultaneous arm recovery paired with dolphin kicks, and both hands touching the wall together at each turn.

Don’t forget the critical regulations for starts and turns. You can stay underwater for up to 15 meters after starts and turns before surfacing. And unlike some sports, swimming offers no second chances on starts—jump early and you’re disqualified right then and there. I’ve seen countless races lost to technical disqualifications, so mastering these rules becomes absolutely essential as you progress toward serious competition.

 

Creating Your Pro Swimmer Training Schedule

Every champion in the pool follows a carefully designed training plan. The pros typically hit the water 5-11 times weekly, with workouts lasting 1.5-3 hours each. What those sessions look like depends entirely on your specialty and upcoming competition calendar.

Weekly training structure for competitive swimmers

The best coaches structure workout days deliberately throughout the week. Here’s the training rhythm many top programs follow:

• Monday: Aerobic endurance and freestyle focus (high volume)
• Tuesday: Stroke-specific training (technique refinement)
• Wednesday: IM (individual medley) work across all strokes
• Thursday: Second stroke day with technique emphasis
• Friday: Speed work (lower volume, higher intensity)
• Saturday: Combined speed and endurance
• Sunday: Active recovery or rest

Your yardage will vary dramatically based on your race distance. Sprinters typically knock out around 43.2km weekly, while distance swimmers push closer to 58.1km. For perspective, Michael Phelps famously logged 13km daily during peak training – that’s a whopping 80,000 meters every week.

Balancing water workouts and dryland training

Pool time alone won’t cut it at the competitive level. Elite swimmers typically add 2-5 strength sessions weekly to their routine. The science backs this up too – mixing resistance training with swimming boosts performance by 2-2.5% compared to just swimming.

Your dryland work should directly support what happens in the water. Core stability exercises are absolute gold because “the core holds the stroke—providing form in the water and strength in the kick”. I’ve found weighted bodyweight movements, functional training, and exercises that lengthen muscles rather than bulk them up work wonders for swimming mechanics.

Recovery practices that enhance performance

Swimming fast tomorrow means recovering right today. The best swimmers I know utilize multiple recovery approaches: quality sleep (some even track it religiously), serious nutrition (some elite athletes pack away 7,500 calories during heavy training blocks), regular massage work, and active recovery sessions.

Tapering—cutting back training volume before big meets—isn’t just tradition, it’s science. A proper two-week taper with 30-50% less volume improves both mood (20.8-47.8%) and race performance. Don’t forget the extras that keep you fresh between those grueling sessions: compression gear, ice baths, foam rolling, and mobility practices like yoga. These aren’t luxuries – they’re essential tools that maintain muscle function when you’re pushing your limits.

 

Perfecting Your Technique with SwimMirror

Visual feedback makes all the difference between good swimmers and those who dominate the podium. Even the most gifted athletes can’t fix what they can’t see – verbal coaching only gets you so far when you can’t actually watch yourself swim.

Analyzing your stroke mechanics

SwimMirror gives competitive swimmers something we’ve always wanted – real-time visual feedback during actual practice. This sleek aluminum mirror rests at the pool bottom, letting you see your movements as you swim. What a game-changer! Instead of trying to remember your coach’s cues or visualizing what you think you’re doing wrong, SwimMirror creates that instant feedback loop so you can adjust your body position, fix asymmetrical strokes, and clean up movement patterns on the spot.

When you can see yourself swim, you’ll enjoy:

• Catching and fixing technique flaws immediately
• Feeling exactly where your body should be positioned
• Learning faster because you can confirm proper form visually
• Spotting those tiny details that make huge differences in speed

I’ve watched swimmers instantly spot problems they’ve had for years – poor head alignment, insufficient rotation, or sloppy hand entry patterns. These issues steal precious speed but often go completely unnoticed without visual feedback.

Improving your starts and turns

Races are won and lost at the walls, especially in sprint events. Place your SwimMirror strategically near the wall, and suddenly you can analyze every aspect of your turns – the approach, how you rotate, and your push-off mechanics.

For starts, focus on three critical elements: explosive power off the blocks, entering the water cleanly with minimal splash, and maximizing your underwater distance. Position SwimMirror correctly and you’ll finally see if you’re maintaining that perfect streamline with pointed toes – a technique that slashes frontal drag by 41% compared to letting your feet dangle.

Using video analysis for technique refinement

While SwimMirror gives you instant feedback, video analysis offers the perfect complement. Today’s analysis systems capture everything happening both above and below the surface simultaneously, providing that complete 360-degree view of your technique.

Video extends what you learn from SwimMirror by letting you review your swimming after practice, spot recurring problems over time, and compare your current technique against previous recordings to track improvements. The combination of SwimMirror’s real-time feedback plus detailed video review creates the ultimate improvement toolkit for any swimmer serious about getting faster.

 

Advancing to Competition Level

Ready to test your skills against other swimmers? Moving into competitive swimming takes more than just showing up at meets. You need a smart approach covering event selection, thorough preparation, and race-day tactics that play to your strengths in the water.

Choosing the right events for your strengths

Picking your events isn’t just about swimming what you enjoy. Smart competitors consider their physical attributes and technical strengths when selecting races. Your coach will typically look at several key factors: your recent performances, how you’re handling training sets, any physical limitations you might have, and your long-term development path.

Most successful swimmers start with events where they naturally excel. But don’t get trapped in your comfort zone! I’ve seen countless swimmers discover hidden talents when pushed to try unfamiliar strokes or distances. These unexpected challenges often improve your overall versatility in the water.

That’s why many of us coaches push swimmers to race a variety of events throughout the season. This approach uncovers surprising strengths while building a more complete skill set. Remember—the stroke you dominate at age 10-12 rarely stays your specialty throughout your career. As your body grows and changes, your swimming strengths often shift too.

Meet preparation strategies

Great meet performances start well before race day. Beyond just physical training, competitive swimmers need solid mental toughness to perform when it counts. The best competitors develop consistent pre-meet routines that include visualization work and careful nutrition planning.

The night before your race, make sure you:

• Pack your swim bag completely (two suits, multiple goggles, several caps)
• Find relaxing activities that calm your nerves
• Get those critical 8-9 hours of sleep
• Skip the endless “what-if” scenarios that only feed anxiety

On competition day, I tell my swimmers to arrive at least 15-20 minutes before warm-up. Follow what I call the FILO approach—First In, Last Out—to make the most of warm-up time in crowded pools. Between your races, find that sweet spot of staying focused without stressing too much about upcoming events.

Racing tactics used by professional swimmers

Watch the pros race and you’ll notice distinct strategies based on their strengths and events. Three tactics stand out:

The “Build” approach splits your race into chunks, swimming progressively faster through each segment. This prevents you from burning out early while ensuring you finish strong when others fade.

“Top and Tail” racing features fast starts and finishes with controlled middle sections. You’ll break away early, manage your energy through the middle, then unleash a finishing kick that leaves competitors wondering what happened.

The “Fly and Die” method—mostly for sprint events—means going out hard and holding on for dear life. Sure, it’s risky, but when executed correctly, you’ll demoralize competitors and swim in clean water ahead of the pack.

I always have swimmers test these approaches during practice sets. You’ll quickly discover which style suits your swimming best. No matter which tactic you choose, treat every race as a learning experience. Analyze what worked, what didn’t, and refine your approach for next time.

 

Conclusion

Competitive swimming isn’t for the faint-hearted. It demands total dedication, technical excellence, and strategic training approaches. The best swimmers grasp a fundamental truth – greatness in the pool comes from mastering those basic strokes, nailing your breathing patterns, and sticking to structured training plans. They know pool time alone won’t cut it – smart dryland work and proper recovery make all the difference between good and great.

Seeing yourself swim changes everything. SwimMirror gives you that crucial visual feedback that verbal coaching simply can’t match. Watch yourself in real-time, make instant corrections, and feel the difference in your speed. Pair this immediate feedback with video analysis and quality coaching, and you’ve got the perfect system to identify weaknesses and track your improvements session after session.

Race day success doesn’t happen by accident. You need to select events that showcase your strengths, prepare thoroughly for competitions, and execute smart racing tactics when it counts. The swimmers who commit to these principles while maintaining consistent training habits are the ones standing on podiums. Swimming fast isn’t magic – it’s about dedicated technique work, smart training choices, and the drive to improve every single day you hit the water.

 

FAQs

Q1. How often should competitive swimmers train?

Elite swimmers typically train 5-11 times per week, with sessions lasting 1.5-3 hours each. The frequency and intensity of workouts vary based on specialization and competition goals.

 

Q2. What are the four main competitive swimming strokes?

The four primary competitive swimming strokes are freestyle (front crawl), backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. Each stroke requires distinct techniques and skills.

 

Q3. How important is breathing technique in competitive swimming?

Proper breathing is crucial for competitive swimming. Efficient breathing helps maintain technique, conserve energy, and optimize performance. Swimmers should exhale underwater and inhale quickly when their mouth breaks the surface.

 

Q4. What role does visual feedback play in improving swimming technique?

Visual feedback is critical for perfecting swimming technique. Tools like SwimMirror provide real-time visual feedback during practice, allowing swimmers to make immediate adjustments to their body position, stroke symmetry, and movement quality.

 

Q5. How should swimmers prepare for competitions?

Effective meet preparation includes establishing pre-meet routines, using visualization techniques, ensuring proper nutrition, and getting adequate sleep. On competition day, swimmers should arrive early, follow a proper warm-up routine, and employ specific racing tactics based on their strengths and event demands.