Why Streamline Position is SO Important

Streamline position is the most important technique you need to learn if you are trying to get better at swimming. It is the foundation of the sport. The benefits of learning proper streamline are endless. Here are the four key reasons streamline position is so important:

• Streamline position produces the least amount of drag in the water
• Streamline position teaches you how to hold proper body position as you swim your full stroke 
• Streamline position teaches you how to connect your kick to your core
• Streamline position shows you where you might be lacking necessary mobility and flexibility to progress in swimming

Drag

The fastest part of your race will always be off your start and turns. You HAVE to learn how to streamline properly in order to reduce drag in the water and carry that speed through your breakout. If you don't have a strong streamline, you will end up losing all the power and speed you generated off the start and wall. Then, after you've lost the speed, you will have to fight to regenerate speed with your stroke AKA you will be wasting energy. 

Proper Body Position

Practicing proper streamline position over and over again teaches you how to properly engage your core in the water and position your body correctly. In streamline, I always cue swimmers to reach as far forward as they can and simultaneously pull their belly button to their spine to turn on their core. The more you reinforce this, the better your full swimming strokes will become. You will translate that same core engagement to your strokes, which will help you hold proper body position in the water throughout your swim sessions and races. This applies to all four strokes- free, fly, back and breast.

Connecting Kick to Core

The most common kicking mistake I see is swimmers generating power in their kick from their knees down. This completely disengages your kick from the rest of your stroke, which throws your body position out of whack and makes it feel like you are fighting the water. If you feel like this might be you, take a step back and try kicking in streamline position. As you kick, remember to reach as far forward as you can to fire up your core, then drive the kicking movement from your hips down. You should be pushing the water down with your quads and pulling back up with your hamstrings and glutes. Once you are able to plug your kick into your core, you will recruit the largest muscle groups in your legs and feel so much more in control in the water. 

Mobility and Flexibility

If you find that you can't fully tighten your arms behind your ears, it might be because you are lacking crucial mobility in your shoulders and upper back. If you can relate to this, I recommend scaling back on your swimming yardage and replacing it with shoulder opening mobility exercises. If you are training with improper technique because you don't have the mobility yet, you are opening yourself up to potential injury and you are reinforcing improper technique. Start to build up the yardage again once you feel comfortable holding proper streamline position. I guarantee you will notice a difference. 

Streamline, Streamline, Streamline. 

-KF