Front Crawl Swimming Technique: 11 Tips to Swim Smoother
These tips are for swimmers who can already get across the pool in front crawl but feel tired, slow or out of breath. Work on one or two at a time, in the order below.
Start with body position
Most front crawl problems start with the body sinking. When your hips and legs drop, you push against far more water and every other part of the stroke gets harder. The first three tips fix that.
1. Keep your head still and look down
Look at the pool floor a little ahead of you, with the back of your head just at the surface. Lifting your head to look forward is the most common reason legs sink. If you need to see ahead, glance up briefly, then return your eyes to the bottom.
2. Lie long and flat
Imagine your body is a straight line from the top of your head to your heels. Gently press your chest down into the water; this helps your hips rise. Keep your stomach lightly engaged so your back does not sag.
3. Rotate from your hips, to both sides
Front crawl is not swum flat on your stomach. Your body rolls side to side as each arm pulls, with your hips and shoulders turning together. Rotation lets you use your back muscles, makes breathing easier and reduces strain on the shoulders. Aim for an even roll to both sides.
Kick and breathing
4. Kick from the hips with relaxed ankles
The kick is mainly for balance. Keep it small and steady, moving from the hips with only a slight bend at the knee, and let your ankles stay loose so your feet flick like fins. Big kicks from the knee create drag and tire you out quickly.
5. Breathe out underwater, all the time
Breathe out steadily through your nose and mouth while your face is in the water. If you hold your breath, you have to breathe out and in during the short moment your mouth is clear, which leaves you gasping. This one change helps more swimmers than any other.
6. Turn to breathe, do not lift
Breathe by turning your head with your body roll, so one goggle stays in the water and your mouth just clears the surface. Your head should feel like it rests on your extended arm. Return your face to the water as the recovering arm comes past. Once breathing to one side feels easy, try our bilateral breathing guide.
The arm stroke
7. Enter the water in front of your shoulder
Your hand should enter fingertips first, roughly in line with your shoulder. A common mistake is crossing the centre line in front of your head, which makes your body snake from side to side.
8. Reach forward before you pull
After entry, extend your arm forward under the surface. This lengthens your body and helps you glide. Do not pause too long, though; the reach flows straight into the catch.
9. Catch with a high elbow
To start the pull, tip your fingertips and forearm down so they face the back of the pool, while keeping your elbow near the surface. This "high elbow" position lets you push water backwards rather than downwards. Pulling with a straight arm pushes you up and down instead of forward.
10. Push all the way back to your hip
Keep pressing water backwards under your body until your hand passes your hip. Swimmers who stop the pull at the waist lose a lot of free speed.
11. Relax the recovery
Lift your arm out of the water elbow first and let the forearm and hand swing forward loosely. The recovery is a moment of rest for the arm. Tense, straight-arm recoveries waste energy and can strain the shoulder.
Drills that help
- Kick on your side. One arm forward, one by your side, face down; roll to breathe. Builds rotation and breathing.
- Catch-up. Keep one hand in front until the other arm finishes its stroke and touches it. Slows the stroke down so you can feel each phase.
- Single arm. Swim with one arm while the other stays in front. Good for fixing a weak side.
- Fingertip drag. Drag your fingertips along the surface during recovery to practise a relaxed, high-elbow recovery.
A simple practice plan
In each session, warm up with a few easy lengths, then spend 10 to 15 minutes on one or two drills linked to the tip you are working on, then swim easy lengths focusing only on that tip. Rest at the wall whenever you need to. Short, regular sessions work better than occasional long ones; read how many swimming lessons you need for planning ideas.
Getting feedback
It is hard to feel your own body position. A coach, or even a short video taken by a friend where filming is allowed, shows you instantly whether your head lifts or your hips sink. Our adult swimming course and private swimming course can focus on front crawl. If you are still learning the basics, start with our freestyle how-to guide.
More in swimming technique
- Frog-style swimming: 5 tipsMake head-up breaststroke easier on your neck, knees and lungs
- 8 types of swimming strokesThe competitive strokes plus sidestroke, elementary backstroke, trudgen and combat side stroke
- What is the fastest swimming stroke?Five strokes ranked by speed, and why
- Streamline position in swimmingA 10-step guide to the fastest shape in the water
Further reading
- World Aquatics, Swimming reference card. The official stroke, start and turn rules used in competition.
- ActiveSG Circle (Sport Singapore), SwimSafer. Singapore's National Water Safety Programme, combining swimming skills and water survival.
Want help with your front crawl?
Tell us how you swim now and what you find hard, such as breathing or tiring quickly. We will suggest a suitable course, format and pool. Lessons run at public swimming complexes, private venues and condominium pools across Singapore.