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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Lucky Number 7
Seven repeats and playing with rest will challenge without overwhelming you
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Tune-up time – session 3
Get back to the pool for a refresh, reset and tune-up.
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Season’s Beastings
Add some fun and challenge to your Christmas break
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2.5 hour 8.5km Training Session
To complete this as written you should be capable of swimming 100m freestyle repeats of 90 seconds.
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Will Protein Make Me A Better Swimmer?
Recent studies reveal protein could play a bigger role in a swimmer's training, nutrition and recovery than first thought
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Three sets for short, medium and long distance swimmers
Whatever your distance, try one of these training sets from Swim Smooth certified coach Fiona Ford
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How to swim further
Swimming longer distances requires patience and a plan
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The Tech Endurance Session
A technical session to help with a return to pool swim fitness
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Three steps to better recovery
Swim faster in open water by learning a symmetrical recovery
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Sport pyschology – the feel good factor
Swim yourself happy
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How do I swim faster over 1.5k-10k?
Our resident Olympian answers your swimming questions
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Home-made Energy Bars
Real food for real athletes
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How to choose to right wetsuit for you
Some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about buying and wearing wetsuits for open water swimming
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Back to the open water: training session from South West Swim
An adaptable session that will focus on some key areas of your swimming technique (breathing, kick, catch and pull) without…
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Nutrition: is cake the perfect fuel for outdoor swimmers?
Forget energy gels, isotonic drinks, chia seeds and coconut oil, for many swimmers their fuel of choice is cake. Delicious…
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What are the best drills to practise bi-lateral breathing?
Our resident Olympian answers your swimming questions
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Lemon and Parsley Haddock with Chilli Beans
Real Food for Real Athletes
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How to master breathing when swimming
Keri-anne Payne explains the importance of breathing for front crawl
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Nutrition planning for a 5km swim
Completing a 5km open water swim makes heavy demands on your body. Make sure you eat and drink properly to…
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Paddle to perfection
Fine tune your catch using paddles
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7 hacks to trick yourself into doing your training
Just looking at the end result isn’t always motivation enough to do the training. It helps to have a few…
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Five ways to protect your back in open water
Modern life means that many of us sit for more than 12 hours a day, either in front of the…
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Six post-swim stretches
Why, when and what should you stretch? In our busy lives it’s easy to forget to stretch and it is…
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6km Swim Training Session (1.5-2 hours)
To complete this as written, you should be capable of swimming repeatedly 100m off 90secs. Times and distances should be…
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Do you really know if you’re starting your swim too fast? Plus two sets to improve your pacing.
Pacing is a skill you need to practise just as much as technique
