3 Tips for a Better Swimming Start

Starts play a vital role in swimming, especially sprint races where the start contributes up to 30% of the race. Unfortunately, many people do not perform starts correctly and are making massive errors! This article provides you with a few tips for a better start. If you continue reading, please consider adding one of these adjustments to your start at a time. If you already perform all these nuances, great work, you're doing a good job! 

1. Pull with your Arms! During the start, the hands should grip the front of the block with all fingers and thumbs. This gives the swimmer a larger surface area on the block, enabling them to generate more force. Thumbs wrapped in the front of the block, not resting on top of the block maximizes propulsion. If the athlete wraps their thumbs on top of the block, the tendency is to squeeze the block, not pull. When the block is squeezed, less force will be directed into the block and the athlete will likely jump up instead of out. The arms should remain straight and slightly tensed. Not flexed, but tensed and ready to react. Having the arms slightly tensed will allow the swimmer to react quicker to the starting gun. Anatomically flexing the joints puts the muscles in a suboptimal position by shortening the muscle, decreasing the potential for muscle activation. The elbows should face backwards, and the athlete should pull backwards on the block with these straight arms to move forward. Anyone who has taken physics has heard the law “every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction.” If the elbows are facing backwards, the reaction is backwards making the equal and opposite reaction forward with the same force applied. This position also helps the latissimus dorsi, a massive muscle involved in shoulder extension and pulling your body off the block quickly! 
2. Push off the block! Too many swimmers simply fall off the block, trying to get in the water quickly. However, a study of elite swimmers suggests that swimmers generating higher than average peak force were more likely to produce better overall start performance than those who produce forces lower than average (Slawson 2012). Therefore, it is essential to push off the block with both legs in combination of pulling with your arms (point #1) for maximizing peak force and achieving an elite start. 
3. Far Entry in a Straight Line: Entry distance is an important aspect of a good start, as the further the athlete enters, the less water resistance they'll encounter. However, a far entry doesn't help if the swimmer smacks the water. Therefore, having a straight line entry as follows is essential. As the hands enter the water, the head and arms must be stable (in my opinion, this swimmer may benefit from a biceps against ears streamilne to decrease drag of his head). After the head, the shoulders enter, the shoulders must enter in the same hole as the hands to decrease drag. Many swimmers have mobile shoulders and squeezing their head like a pea can stabilize the head and shoulder. The hips slide in the water next. Often times, swimmers will lose their rigidity of the core causing their legs to slap the water. most likely from poor core stability.The last area to enter the water is the feet. At this time the toes must be forcefully pointed down to minimize splash. This athlete could point his toes a little better to minimize drag. 

Overall, there are many ways to improve your swimming dive. Here are three common flaws during the dive. Work on one at a time and improve your swimming start drastically. 

​Reference:

1. ​Slawson SE, Conway PP, Cossor J, Chakravorti N, West AA. The categorisation of swimming start performance with reference to force generation on the main block and footrest components of the Omega OSB11 start blocks.J Sports Sci. 2013;31(5):468-78. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2012.736631. Epub 2012 Nov 7.