Top Tips
Pick up knowledge to improve your outdoor swimming. Learn how to plan routes, train with others, complete events, and overcome obstacles like nerves or fitness level. Get guidance on skills like bodysurfing, underwater swimming, and adapting your stroke for rivers and seas. Experts and seasoned swimmers share their top tips so you can swim safer, stronger, and with more joy.
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How to use a pull buoy
Pull buoys can help with coordination and arms-only training, and can also make for a very relaxing, even meditative swim.…
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How I’m preparing for my next 10km marathon swim
How to build a training plan for a long distance swim that fits around your life.
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How to calm first event nerves
Signed up for your first swimming event and feeling nervous? We share some top tips for overcoming those pre-event jitters.
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Want to learn more about river swimming? Try kayaking
Whether learning how to find the fastest flow of water or avoiding hazards unique to rivers, Simon Griffiths suggests trying…
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How to prepare for an English Channel relay swim
Meet your pilot and eat crisp butties – Lionel Spittle and David Rock share their top tips for preparing for…
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How do I avoid back pain in breaststroke?
Swimming coach Cassie Patten answers a reader question about how to improve their breaststroke so it relieves pressure on their…
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How to train for bodysurfing
This pool training session will put you in good stead for catching a wave in the sea.
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How to swim in the sea
Jonathan's guide to how to adapt your stroke for swimming in waves and chop in the sea.
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No training? No worries! Six ways to make the most of an event when you’re unfit
If you’re wavering about signing up for an event because of worries about your fitness, whether it’s your first mile…
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Why do an open water event?
Do I have to be a fast swimmer? Do I need to swim front crawl? Will I get pushed under…
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Training plan for your first open water mile
Take on your first open water mile with this simple 12-week training plan from Olympic open water silver medallist Keri-anne…
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Adaptive swimmer: Sophie Etheridge
Hope is such a small word, but it has huge potential and infinite possibilities, says adaptive swimmer Sophie Etheridge as…
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What to carry in a tow float bag
Tow floats or tow bags and are now widely used by outdoor swimmers, but what do people carry in them?
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How to get the most from a swimming event
You won't regret signing up to an event, says Simon Griffiths. Here's how to make the most of the experience.
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Pool skills: underwater dolphin kick
Improve your swimming with an underwater dolphin kick, says Simon Griffiths.
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Front crawl tips: don’t get caught out by the catch
There is a lot to work on before you start thinking about the underwater phase of front crawl, says Jonathan…
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Tips for swimming underwater
Relax and take it slow: Simon Griffiths shares some tips for underwater swimming.
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Marine meditation: is freediving a natural extension of outdoor swimming?
Is freediving the preserve of the super-human or a natural extension of outdoor swimming and a gateway to a new…
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Myth busting: Can a pike bite my toes?
If you have swum in freshwater, you have swum with pike. They lurk – often unseen – in rivers, ponds,…
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How to have a happy public lane swim
Jonathan Cowie shares his advice for how to make your training sessions in public pools happy and effective.
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Understanding pool training sessions
Being able to decipher the most commonly used terms and abbreviations in a pool session will take your training to…
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Adaptive Swimmer: Sophie Etheridge
“Spring is the time of plans and projects” (Leo Tolstoy). Adaptive Swimmer: Sophie Etheridge on how to plan and train…
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How do I feel less ‘heavy’ in the water?
Swimming coach Cassie Patten answers a reader question about heaviness in the water, and improving stamina for an upcoming swimming…
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Use mindfulness to help you tackle challenges
Liz Lowe is your guide to how you can use mindfulness to help you recognise the transience of uncomfortable sensations.
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7 Reasons to stop procrastinating with open water swimming event entries
It's time to stop differing and make your event choices. Entering early benefits you and event organisers.
