The secrets of a better swim tend to elude them. This is the first in a series of articles that will clear up some of that mystery and explain how to make swimming much less frustrating for the average adult swimmer. Most swimmers believe the way to improve is to do more laps or do them harder. It's the water that makes swimming different.
Water robs the swimmer of energy and efficiency.
With every stroke you take, the water is holding you back and slowing you down. Experts believe that the great performances of world-class swimmers are approximately 70 percent determined by the efficiency and economy of their body position and stroking movements, and only 30 percent by their power and physical conditioning. For the less experienced and less skilled swimmer, perhaps 90 percent or more of your performance is determined by how efficiently you move through the water. Less than 10 percent is determined by how fit you are. But very few people work at swimming that way.