The Triathlete Blueprint Newsletter #126-Suck at Swimming? 10 Drills to Fix Your Freestyle Forever

Yan Busset
Sep 27
5 min read

Read time: 5min.

By Coach Yan Busset

Stop Fighting the Water: 10 Freestyle Drills Every Triathlete Should Know

For most triathletes, swimming is the toughest of the three disciplines. You may be fit, strong on the bike and the run, yet feel like you’re going nowhere in the water. It’s frustrating to have good overall fitness but still feel stuck, especially when you watch 10-year-old club swimmers fly past you with effortless speed. This is normal: swimming is by far the most technical discipline in triathlon. If you want to improve, you need to focus seriously on technique.

In this article, I’ll give you key tools to work on the areas that cause the most problems: feel for the water, the catch, distance per stroke, rotation, and body alignment. Before you dive into these drills, make sure you’re comfortable in the water , breathing and relaxation come first. Once that base is there, these exercises will give you a solid technical foundation to build real speed and efficiency.

How to Use Drills EffectivelyMost triathletes do their drills too fast, trying to keep up a pace or average speed, and miss the whole point. Drills are about control and awareness, not speed. Slow down, break the movement into parts, and focus fully on what you’re trying to fix. It’s fine if your average session pace drops; you’re here to build better technique, not chase stats.

After each drill, swim easy freestyle (25–50 m). This immediate switch helps you transfer the skill into normal swimming and build the brain–muscle pathways that make the change stick. You’re literally rewiring your nervous system to move differently. That takes many repetitions and patience, but it pays off in long-term efficiency.

Perform drills slowly and deliberately; precision beats rushing through meters.
Alternate drills with easy freestyle to integrate the new movement right away.
Don’t worry about average speed; focus on quality and body awareness.

Before we jump into the drills, here’s what this toolkit is designed to improve:

Feel for Water – learning to grip the water and create propulsion instead of slipping.
The Catch & Early Vertical Forearm (EVF) – setting up the pull correctly from the start.
Stroke Length / Distance per Stroke (DPS) – going farther with fewer strokes.
Rotation – using hip-led roll for power and balance.
Body Alignment & Balance – staying long, stable, and streamlined.

Front Sculling (with snorkel and/or pull buoy)

#feelForWater #catch

Arms extended forward at shoulder width. Start tiny back-and-forth figure-eight movements with the hands and forearms in the very first phase of the catch, the start of the EVF. Move slowly forward while repeating many short sculling actions. Focus on the water “firming up” under your palms and forearms. This drill also strengthens the shoulder stabilisers. A snorkel helps keep the head still; a pull buoy can free the legs to focus purely on the arms.

Underwater Dog Paddle (snorkel optional)

#feelForWater #catch #DPS

Swim fully submerged with a long forward reach, then perform the front-end catch and pull entirely under water (no arm recovery over the surface). Breathe to the side as in normal freestyle, or use a snorkel to stay head-stable. Teaches early vertical forearm control and how to feel pressure all the way through the underwater pull.

Back Splash Finish (Exaggerated Push-Out)

#catch #DPS

Swim freestyle making sure the arm does not exit too early, a common cause of dragging water. Push to a full 180° extension behind you, flick water backward as if splashing someone. Keep the palm facing straight back, not toward the body, for optimal propulsion. Coordinate hip rotation to help clear the arm at the end.

Full Front Catch-Up Drill

#DPS #feelForWater

Keep one arm fully extended forward while the other completes the entire stroke, only starting the next pull once the recovering hand taps the stationary one. Emphasise active extension and glide before each pull to increase stroke length and feel the water early in the catch.

Kick Rotation Drill

#rotation #bodyAlignment

Kick six times on one side with the lower shoulder pointing down and the upper shoulder pointing up to the ceiling. Then take one stroke to roll to the opposite side and repeat. Stay long and stable, avoid wiggling or snaking from side to side. Great for hip-led rotation while maintaining a straight body line.

Single-Arm Drill with Kickboard and Head Up

#catch #feelForWater

Hold a small kickboard with the non-working arm. Keep your head above water watching the stroking arm for self-assessment. Place the hand slowly and carefully into an EVF (fingers down, elbow high). Only once the position is correct, trigger the pull powerfully. Builds control, correct front-end mechanics and awareness.

Hand-in-Fist Drill

#feelForWater #catch

Swim 25 m with closed fists, then open hands for 25 m. The contrast heightens water feel and forces you to use the forearms for propulsion, not just the palms.

Water Polo Drill (Head-Up Freestyle)

#catch #feelForWater

Swim freestyle with your head fully out of the water, eyes forward (don’t turn the head like Tarzan). This creates drag and forces a direct, powerful catch with high elbows to stay moving. Great for reinforcing front-end strength and water feel.

Side-Kick with Pull Buoy (Downhill Alignment Focus)

#bodyAlignment #rotation

Lie completely on your side with one arm extended forward holding a pull buoy (not a kickboard). Keep the pull buoy below the surface, almost where the catch would start by leaning on it. Aim for a slightly downhill body position so the hips and feet rise toward the surface. Engage your core to stay stable. Breathe on the side that is up, keep the head aligned. Swim 25 m on one side, then switch sides for 25 m. Builds core stability, downhill alignment, and balance while staying streamlined.

YMCA Drill (snorkel; pull buoy or fins optional)

#catch #DPS #feelForWater

This drill breaks the freestyle stroke into four key phases. The goal is to pause at each stage, making sure your hand follows the correct path and stays aligned under the shoulder line instead of drifting in or out. Don’t let the arm move in one smooth motion, stop clearly at each position to feel and check your alignment before continuing.

• Y – arms fully extended forward

• M – elbows lifted high, fingers pointing down (start of EVF)

• C – elbows wide, arms bent ~90° mid-pull

• A – arms fully extended behind at the end

Pause briefly at each phase to feel forearm angle, hand trajectory, and shoulder alignment. Builds awareness of every stage of the catch and push.

This list of drills isn’t meant to cover every single problem you might face in freestyle. It’s a solid, all-round toolkit that works for most swimmers to build better technique and efficiency. Some issues need more specific exercises, but these are a great place to start.

You can use them as part of your warm-up to set good habits before your main set, or dedicate one full technique session per week to work through them. Even in long intervals, if you feel your form breaking down, it’s smart to stop for a moment, do a short drill set, and then restart with better mechanics , like hitting the reset button on your stroke.

But what about you, which drill has made the biggest difference in your freestyle so far? And is there one you think should be on this list that I didn’t include? Share it in the comments; I’d love to hear what’s worked for you.