How To Swim 100m In 1:10 (Without Trying)

Summary

In this video, retired Olympic swimmer Dan Smith shares insights on efficient swimming techniques, emphasizing the importance of technical skills over fitness. He discusses the need to connect with the water, maintain proper body and head positions, and the significance of a strong kick. Smith also addresses the role of bilateral breathing, rotation, and the common issue of overreaching. He advises practicing slow, perfect strokes to develop good habits and avoid flaws, ensuring a strong catch and pull for optimal performance.

Takeaways

• 🏊‍♂️ Dan Smith emphasizes the importance of technique in swimming, regardless of the level of the swimmer.
• 📈 Swimming is a technical sport where understanding and mastering the technique is crucial for improvement.
• 💡 The first fundamental truth in swimming is to be well-tuned and primed for swimming goals on a soft surface.
• 🌊 Learning to connect with the water is essential, as it can provide feedback and help swimmers move more efficiently.
• 🧠 The mindset of befriending the water is key to efficient swimming, similar to how one treats friends.
• 📱 Utilizing technology for self-analysis of swimming strokes is encouraged for improvement.
• 🦵 Dan was a leg-dominant swimmer, but he advises a balance of 20% leg effort and 80% arm effort to conserve energy.
• 👀 Head position is critical; keeping the chin back ensures a streamlined line in the water.
• 🔄 Rotation in swimming should involve the upper body while keeping the hips flat to maintain a strong connection point.
• 🚫 Avoid overreaching in the recovery position, which can lead to dropped elbows and reduced efficiency.
• ⏰ Maintaining a good catch and pull requires setting up with a high elbow position and applying power from the back end of the stroke.

Q & A

What was the significant achievement of Dan Smith in 2019 that went viral?

Dan Smith swam 100 meters in 1 minute and 10 seconds, making it look easy and effortless, which led to a video of his performance going viral with over 1 million views.

What does Dan Smith emphasize is crucial for swimmers of all levels?

Dan Smith emphasizes the importance of understanding that swimming is a technical sport and that improving technique should come before increasing fitness through laps.

How does Dan Smith describe the relationship between a swimmer and the water?

Dan Smith describes the relationship between a swimmer and the water as one that should be friendly and cooperative. He suggests that the water provides feedback and that swimmers should 'befriend the water' to move efficiently.

What is the first fundamental truth Dan Smith mentions about swimming?

The first fundamental truth Dan Smith mentions about swimming is that it is performed on a soft surface, and thus swimmers need to ensure their body is well-tuned and primed for their swimming goals.

What simple cues does Dan Smith recommend for maintaining proper body position in the water?

Dan Smith recommends the cues 'chest down' and 'tummy tight' to maintain proper body position in the water, which helps to minimize drag and improve swimming efficiency.

How does Dan Smith suggest using technology to improve one's swimming technique?

Dan Smith suggests using technology like smartphones or GoPros to film oneself swimming and then self-analyze the stroke to identify areas for improvement.

What percentage of effort should be in the legs versus the arms when swimming, according to Dan Smith?

Dan Smith recommends that only 20% of effort should be in the legs and 80% in the arms when swimming, due to the leg muscles being larger and more prone to burning energy.

What is Dan Smith's opinion on bilateral breathing in swimming?

Dan Smith personally dislikes bilateral breathing and suggests that it should only be used to prevent stroke imbalances, not as a standard practice unless one races that way.

How does Dan Smith define 'cheap travel' in swimming?

Dan Smith defines 'cheap travel' in swimming as the ability to efficiently connect with the water and move forward with minimal effort, as opposed to 'spinning one's wheels' without making effective progress.

What advice does Dan Smith give to correct the common problem of overreaching in the stroke?

To correct overreaching, Dan Smith advises to focus on entering the water with fingertips first, followed by the elbow, using drills like the 'fingernail trail' to practice the correct hand entry.

Where should swimmers apply the most power in their stroke according to Dan Smith?

Dan Smith suggests that the most power in a stroke should come from the back end of the stroke, through the inward and outward sweep, rather than at the front of the stroke.

Outlines

00:00

🏊‍♂️ Olympian Dan Smith's Swimming Techniques

In this paragraph, Olympian Dan Smith discusses his viral swimming video from 2019 where he swam 100 meters in 1 minute and 10 seconds. He emphasizes the importance of technique in swimming, suggesting that it's a sport that requires technical mastery. Dan shares his experience as a retired Olympic swimmer and his passion for helping others improve their swimming skills. He stresses the need to understand the nature of swimming as a soft surface sport and the importance of body positioning and connection with the water. He also talks about the role of technology in providing feedback for swimmers to self-analyze their strokes.

05:03

🦵 The Role of Kicking in Swimming

Dan Smith explains the significance of a swimmer's kick, highlighting that while he was a leg-dominant swimmer, it's crucial not to rely too much on the legs as they are bigger muscles and can lead to energy wastage. He advises a balance of 20% leg effort and 80% arm effort. Dan also discusses the importance of a straight-legged kick with relaxed ankles, leveraging the kick from the glutes and hamstrings rather than the knees. He touches on the topic of breathing patterns, expressing a preference for unilateral over bilateral breathing, and the importance of maintaining a flat hip position while rotating the upper body for an effective stroke.

10:05

🤔 Advanced Swimming Techniques and Corrections

In this section, Dan Smith delves into advanced swimming techniques, focusing on the importance of overhead hand awareness and the challenge of correcting hand entry positions. He discusses the difficulty of seeing one's own hand movements in the water and the need for deliberate and slow practice to master the correct hand entry. Dan also addresses the importance of the catch and pull phase of the stroke, emphasizing the need for a high elbow position and the connection through the back end of the stroke. He provides a simple drill for correcting hand entry and discusses the concept of 'cheap travel' in swimming, which involves efficient use of the water's resistance.

Keywords

💡Technical Sport

A technical sport is one in which performance depends significantly on the athlete's skill and technique rather than just physical strength or speed. In the context of the video, swimming is described as a technical sport because it requires precise body movements and efficient use of the water's resistance. Dan Smith emphasizes the importance of technical skills over sheer fitness levels to improve swimming performance.

💡Stroke

In swimming, a stroke refers to the specific sequence of movements used to propel oneself through the water. The script discusses various aspects of the freestyle stroke, including body position, head position, and the importance of an efficient stroke to reduce drag and increase speed. Dan Smith's viral video showcases his exceptional stroke technique.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency in swimming relates to the ability to move through the water with minimal energy expenditure. The video highlights how Dan Smith's swimming technique is not only fast but also appears effortless, indicating high efficiency. Achieving such efficiency involves mastering the technical aspects of swimming, such as body position and stroke mechanics.

💡Connection with Water

This concept refers to the swimmer's ability to effectively interact with the water to generate propulsion. Dan Smith quotes Jack Mlen and Alex Popov, emphasizing the idea that understanding and 'befriending' the water can lead to improved swimming. The script suggests that a harmonious connection with water is crucial for efficient and fast swimming.

💡Body Position

Body position in swimming is critical for maintaining balance, reducing drag, and optimizing propulsion. The script describes how Dan Smith focuses on keeping his chest down and his core tight to achieve a streamlined position in the water, which is essential for maintaining a high and efficient body position.

💡Drag Minimization

Drag is the resistance a swimmer encounters while moving through the water. The script discusses how a swimmer's body position and stroke technique can either increase or decrease drag. Dan Smith's advice on keeping a straight back and entering the water with fingertips first aims to minimize drag and improve swimming efficiency.

💡Kick

The kick in swimming refers to the movement of the legs to provide propulsion. Dan Smith clarifies that while he was a strong kicker, relying too much on the kick can lead to inefficient swimming. He suggests a balance where the kick supports but does not dominate the stroke, with a focus on using the hamstrings and glutes for a more efficient kick.

💡Breathing Pattern

Breathing pattern in swimming involves the coordination of inhaling and exhaling with the swimmer's stroke. The script mentions that Dan Smith prefers not to use bilateral breathing, which involves breathing on both sides, but instead focuses on a pattern that aligns with his racing style. The right breathing pattern can help maintain rhythm and reduce disruption to the swimmer's stroke.

💡Rotation

Rotation in swimming refers to the twisting motion of the swimmer's body to facilitate a more powerful stroke. The script explains that while some rotation is necessary, excessive rotation can lead to a loss of connection with the water. Dan Smith advises keeping the hips relatively flat while rotating the upper body to maintain a strong connection point for the stroke.

💡Overreaching

Overreaching in swimming is when a swimmer extends their arm too far in front during the recovery phase, which can lead to a dropped elbow and reduced efficiency. The script describes how Dan Smith corrects this by focusing on entering the water with fingertips first, ensuring a high elbow position to maintain a strong catch and efficient stroke.

💡Catch and Pull

The catch and pull are integral parts of the swimming stroke, where the swimmer 'catches' the water with their hand and then pulls through it to generate propulsion. The script emphasizes the importance of setting up the catch correctly with a high elbow position and ensuring that the fingertips enter the water before the elbow to avoid dropped elbows and maintain a powerful stroke.

Highlights

Dan Smith, a retired Olympic swimmer, shares insights on efficient swimming techniques.

Swimming is a technical sport that requires understanding beyond just fitness.

The importance of body positioning and how it affects swimming efficiency.

The concept of 'befriending the water' to improve swimming.

Techniques to maintain an efficient body position in the water.

The role of core strength in swimming and how to engage it.

How head position impacts swimming and the correct way to align it.

The significance of chest position in achieving an optimal swimming posture.

The impact of leg dominance on swimming efficiency and energy conservation.

How to adjust kicking technique as speed increases.

The preference for unilateral over bilateral breathing in competitive swimming.

The role of body rotation in swimming and how to maintain a flat hip position.

Common mistakes in the recovery phase of the swimming stroke and how to correct them.

The importance of entering the water with fingertips first to avoid dropped elbows.

How to apply power in the stroke and the significance of the back end of the stroke.

The concept of 'cheap travel' in swimming and how to achieve it.

The catch and pull technique in swimming and how to maximize efficiency.

The importance of practicing slow swimming to perfect stroke technique.

Transcripts

this is Olympian Dan Smith in 2019 a

video of him went viral with more than 1

million people viewing this video of him

swimming 100 m in 1 minute and 10

seconds Dan made this pace look so easy

and effortless he had people wondering

what is he doing in his stroke that I'm

not how is he able to swim this fast but

make it look so easy we caught up with

Dan Smith to ask him these questions and

to find out what he's doing as he swims

that allows him to be so efficient my

name is Dan Smith and I'm a retired

Olympic swimmer I was fortunate enough

to swim for about 21 years of my life um

really high highs as you could imagine

but also really really low lows at times

so um yeah really really passionate to

see swimmers not experience some of the

stuff I did but also really increase

that technical Insight that they need in

order to take their own swimming to the

next level you always have to remember

that swimming we're in a technical based

sport um it doesn't matter whether

you're a triathlon wanting to get your

Triathlon faster it doesn't matter if

you're a competitive swimmer wanting to

get to a state or national level it

doesn't matter if you're a beginner

swimmer you have to understand that

you're in a technical sport naturally as

swimmers we think about getting fitter

before we get faster and we're spending

all this time doing these laps and I'm

truly yet to understand how much of a

purpose they actually serve our swimming

um so for me the First Fundamental truth

to understand in swimming is we're in a

soft surface so you have to make sure

that your body is so well tuned and

primed for your swimming goals and then

secondly you have to learn how to

connect with the water if you can't

connect with the water you're never

going to be able to drive and a friend

of mine recently Jack mlen he said the

water's actually trying to give you some

sort of feedback it's trying to actually

connect with you and another quote that

I really really like is Alex popof um

and you can watch him all over YouTube

he says that if you befriend the water

it will help you move and when we

befriend the water it helps us move and

it's such a true thing you think about

our friends like well I hope so but

we're not mean to our friends we don't

fight our friends if we want them to be

our friend it's the same with the water

you don't want to fight it to work for

you it's all about connection it's all

about these kind of words that help us

connect with the water so just remember

we're in a technical sport invest the

time invest your resources get upskilled

in that area and you can do laps

whenever you want you can go to any

program in the world and do laps you

could go to anywhere in the world and do

laps what we do struggle to get in

swimming is that technical feedback or

that technical awareness or that

upskilling so that's where I would

invest most my time so what things do I

think about when trying to maintain my

body position or my head position it's a

swimming is a very awkward sport like we

are in a soft surface not a hard surface

so you can't just be all bendy and

floppy and and just guess how you want

to be in the water you have to to

actually make sure that your body's

helping you not hurting you that it's

actually setting you up for success and

not hindering your success so whenever

we're thinking about body position and

this is why my physio helped me with a

lot and my um coach is what we would do

a lot is making sure that our chest um

which is up here is on our rib cage so

it's like a bit of a compressed feeling

down on our rib cage which what that

does is then straighten our back up and

once we have a straight back then we can

start to pierce through that water we

don't want to have a lumber curve in our

back and be sticking our back sides out

in the water or have any water on our

back in swimming we're trying to

minimize that as much as possible drag

minimization trying to cut through that

water the higher we sit on the water the

faster we're going to be so for me

there's a couple of really simple cues

that would fix that for myself which was

thinking about chest down which is like

getting that feeling towards your chest

and you can work on this whether you're

at work whether you're at school whether

you're you know in everyday life you can

be working on this posture stuff and

then thinking about tummy nice and tight

so our core should be nice and on I like

thinking of it as the glue it's the

thing that holds all this together and

then thirdly which is our head position

is making sure that that chin is back if

our Chin's back then we' got that nice

Linen in the water and then we can start

really setting ourselves up if we can

get it on land first it makes it so much

easier in the water so do I recognize

whether my body position is high enough

probably not um that's why feedback is

important yeah it is hard out there to

have that real constant feedback on your

stroke um you know as swimmers we can

have so many swimmers in the squad and

not get that feedback that we want but

we're so lucky nowadays with technology

you know we can have a simple smartphone

a simple GoPro on the bottom of the pool

and film ourselves and start to

self-analyze what's actually going on

with our stroke that's something that I

did hugely just cuz I was in in in Elite

Hub didn't mean that I had that real

personal intentional feedback that I

wanted so I had to become a master

myself I had to become my own master of

technique um so does my kick change when

I increase the speed um of course it

does now I was a very leg dominant

swimmer when we think about being a leg

dominant swimmer the problem is is our

legs are such bigger muscles than our

arm muscles so if we're sitting in our

legs too much what that means is then

we're going to burn way too much energy

for what we need to do so all the race

that we need all the energy we need to

consum ve ourselves for in the race so

we need to be I would say only 20% in

our legs and 80% in our arms cuz our

arms are much smaller muscles but also

very strong and that's where the

connection Point comes from so whenever

you're trying to increase your speed or

increase your kick the biggest thing

that we want to make sure that we're not

doing and I'm just speaking I was

actually a 290 second for a 50 m kick um

so I was a very great kicker but it's

very very hard to bring that level of

kick into your swimming because again

like I was saying before your swimming

your kick is only about 20% of your

stroke so what we want to make sure is

we don't have a nice big knee bend kick

because think about how much weaker our

knees are versus our um hamstrings and

our glutes so we want to have more of a

straight-legged kick nice relaxed ankles

and we want to start practicing kicking

from our back sides or our glutes and

using our hamstrings so we can really

leverage our kick and it should be

assisting our stroke not driving our

stroke and as we increase our speed we

narrow that kick up more and then we

start to generate the power um through

our arms and our kicks follow the stroke

not lead our stroke is there a typical

breathing pattern that I follow I

personally hate bilateral breathing if

you think about all the best swimmers in

the world how many swimmers do you see

that actually can do bilateral breathing

well there isn't too many probably more

so on the distance swimmers but there's

not 100 m 200 M even 400 m swimmer that

actually bilateral breathes well so the

I like thinking about um and the advice

that we normally give is you would only

give about 20 20% of your lap should be

bilateral breathing and that that makes

sure that you're actually swimming the

way that you want to race you don't want

to swim and bilateral breathe for the

sake of bilateral breathing if you don't

race that way or it's slower what's the

point of that so the only reason why

anyone would Breathe both sides is to

make sure that you're not creating any

sort of imbalances in your stroke and

what that does is help balance out those

neck muscles a little bit more unless

you are that certain kind of freak of

nature that can bilateral breathe at

faster speeds then I recommend Bilal

breathing but from my perspective and my

experience I have not seen too many

swimmers be able to do that so in

regards to rotation in swimming it's

it's a really really hard thing to wrap

your head around especially if you're

are more of a beginner or a triathlete

because the thing that we want to do is

we want to try and keep our hips flat

and only rotate our upper body now what

a lot of swimmers do is they rotate the

whole body so hips and shoulders at the

same time and all is that does is makes

us break down in our connection point if

we think about cross connection or

anything the connection point should

come from pretty much the tip of our

fingertips all the way down to the tip

of our toes so from our left arm all the

way through to our right leg so if we

think about it if I'm if my legs and my

hips if my upper body and my hips rotate

to the side and then that that's going

to make me break down and not have that

good connection that I want to but if I

keep my hips flatter and keep that

really good cross connection and only

rotate my upper body then I can really

set myself up to catch properly and get

that really good lever in that

connection point with the water um so

one of the most common problems with the

recovery position of the stroke is what

we call

overreaching now it's it's a bit of a

hard thing to explain because the only

thing that I've found work for the brain

is to actually tell it to swim shorter

now you don't want to be too vocal about

a queue like that but if you quickly

dissect a lot of people's Strokes or

analyze their stroke you'll often find

that their elbows are entering in before

their hands now the problem with that is

when the hand enters and you enter in

here it naturally creates a dropped

elbow through the stroke so if you have

a dropped elbow and you're swimming like

this can you truly connect with the

water 100% no so what we want to do is

make sure that our fingertips are always

entering in before our elbows now a

simple drill to correct that and you can

add this into your warmup into your

normal program or whatever whatever your

swimming goals are is just adding in a

simple fingernail Trail drill just

dragging those fingertips across the

water and then dropping your hand down

and making sure that um your hand is

entering before your elbow now now the

problem with that is you're moving into

what we call Advanced skills which is

frustrating it is annoying it is really

hard to get it to work for you because

what actually happens is is then we're

moving into what we call Overhead hand

awareness now what's the problem with

overhead hand awareness is you can't

actually see what you're actually doing

and that's the hard thing so often

there's a disconnect between our brain

and our hands and if that's disconnected

how can you actually get your hands to

enter in right so when you're

progressing your stroke and you're

trying to enter your hands in properly

do it slowly do it make sure that you're

doing it um really carefully because

it's it's a very very hard thing to

master and one I struggle with with a

lot of my career so how long would I try

and keep my arm out in front of me now

that's really going to depend on how

well you're connecting through the back

end of the stroke if we think about all

the if we think about all the power that

we have all the connection all the power

all that drive forward movement comes

through what we do through the back of

the stroke so if we don't have a great

back end of the stroke and we force here

it means we force here but if we have

great push in through any of our Strokes

or great pull through the back of the

stroke that allows time to set up the

front of the stroke and then we can

connect with the water now we don't want

to be resting out on our arms and

developing all kinds of funky movement

patterns that um are kind of coping

mechanisms and and create more stroke

flaws but if we're working on our

movement pattern through the back of the

stroke that allows time up the front of

the stroke and my coach used to call

that cheap travel which means why

everyone else is spinning their wheels

you are connecting with the water and

drive forward because you're actually

connected with the water and you're

allowing time to set up through the

front of the stroke so that's really a

big thing we were trying to work on is

that cheap travel feeling in our stroke

um so how would I describe my catch and

pull again we're moving into what we

call Advanced skills body position is

always the easiest thing to correct but

if our body position isn't right in the

water and then we go start working our

movement patterns you are going to be

wasting years of your swimming like I

have personally throughout my career so

the first thing is we want to make sure

your body is sitting as well as possible

in the water it's not too hard to fix

with a few simple drills and Corrections

and the right cues but whenever we're

thinking about catching the water we're

always starting up with the setup of the

catch if we think about our catch

position and we're not setting up right

or we're not making sure that we're

entering into that nice high elbow

position then unfortunately we're not

going to be able to get the catch right

so we we have a saying that dropped

elbows drop swimmers and it's a really

really important concept to understand

dropped elbows drop swimming and you

pretty much just give away precious time

to your competitors so what we're trying

to do is make sure that when the hand's

entering and you can just do some simple

kicking drills in the catch position

making sure we got a nice high elbow

catch position and what we're doing is

starting to develop that really good

overhead hand awareness that catching

feeling in the water and what and what

that's going to do is help set up the

stroke now to finish this off the thing

that I would personally recommend and

it's a very simple thing to start

thinking about to get the catch right

wherever the fingertips go your elbow

goes so if your fingertips go in and you

shoot them forward what does that do it

creates a dropped elbow which drops

swimmers so what we want to do is make

sure that when our hands enter we're

shooting our fing fingertips down or um

get over the barrel as Brenton likes to

call it or we like to say you know even

spearing a donut if you ANS are entering

in forward and you and you want to spear

the donut and have a good Feast on a

donut make sure that your hands are

actually going down and getting into

that nice high elbow position if I go in

and my hands go up I completely miss the

dut or I can't get my hands over the

barrel as Brenton would like to say so

make sure that when you're working on

your catch and pull to make sure that

your elbows are getting in that high

elbow position and the how we do that is

making sure that wherever our fingertips

go our elbow goes so where I would apply

the most power in the stroke is probably

not what you would expect to me the

power whether you're butterfly whether

you're freestyle whatever stroke you're

doing the power always comes from the

back end of the stroke so it's the

inward sweep and the outward sweep

through the back of the stroke now if

you don't have that you're just going to

rush here and then Rush the setup of

your catch so to me what we need to do

and that's why learning to swim slow

perfectly is an art it's a skill it's a

thing that you have to learn a lot of

our laps as swimmers is done at a very

awkward Pace that doesn't actually help

our swimming um and so what we want to

do is make sure that when we're doing

our slow swimming we got not too much

pressure on the stroke we've got nice

downhill swimming and we're really

working on the good movement patterns

and we're starting to create those good

habits in our swimming and we work on

that at slow speeds first and then start

progressing it and that's what we were

able to do really really well um in

swimming