Q&A for How to Swim Faster

Exhale slowly as you're swimming. A lot of swimmers hold their breath when their face is in the water, but that actually takes more time because when you turn your head to breathe, you have to exhale and then inhale again. Over time, that will slow you down. Instead, try to constantly exhale air out while your head is in the water, so when you turn your head to breathe, you can just inhale.

Try to maintain a strong powerful kick, keep your head down - not moving side to side - and reach with your arms. Limit your breathing; for example, instead of breathing every stroke, try breathing every third or second stroke.

Remember, always pull your arms forward when coming off the block, giving you an extra boost. Push off hard with your legs and press them together when in the air. Make sure to keep a tight streamline off the block.

Hit the gym, and remember to consume a lot of protein after doing so. Keep swimming on your regular schedule so you don't lose your form. Squats and lunges are great ways to build leg strength because they focus on almost all areas of the leg, including the gluteus, hamstrings and quadriceps. The upper body also is very important to make your arms stronger, giving you a cleaner stroke. But don't focus on one body part more than the other.

There is no point in scaring them. In fact, they probably won't even be looking at you! The best way to "scare" them is to act sophisticated, like you know what you're doing. Act like you got this in the bag! Be confident in yourself.

Try your hardest! Don't resort to cheating or illegal methods, just swim with the best possible technique.

You may use barbells or kettle bells to make your shoulders stronger.

Make swimming fun for them. Don't force them to win everything, and praise them if they do well during a practice or at a meet. If your child really enjoys swimming, they will work hard to become better.

If you don't want to cut your hair, try putting it in a bun or a ponytail. If you have short hair with bangs, when putting your cap on, put your hair all the way back and inside the cap so it stays there, and make sure it isn't hanging out the back.

Breathing is a necessity, even for an underwater swimmer. That said, try to blow bubbles underwater with your lips, and make a car sound.

Try a pasta dinner the night before the meet. All the carbs will help you swim faster.

Yes. If your hair is in the way of a swim meet, it could slow you down because the hair will get in your face. It's also more aerodynamic.

Make sure that you always wear a cap. If your ears still get blocked, you can hop up and down on one leg while holding your ear to the side (towards the ground) so the water drips out.

Sometimes this can be because you're sore from practices or you're not working hard enough, but most of the time it is mental. If you trained hard, but you think negatively in your head, then you're not going do well. Swimming is 75% mental and 25% physical. So think positively and train well!

After you turn, bend your knees and use all your strength to push off the wall. If it's easier, put your hand on the wall as well to help you put enough power into your push.

Straighten your legs completely, think of your legs as logs. Point your feet like a ballerina - if that hurts too much, look into getting a brace.

Work on dry land exercises, focusing on your legs and stamina, to help aid you in the water. If you are able to build endurance as well as tone the muscles in your legs, you will find that your kicking will help you rather than hurt you in your races.

You don't have to have a particular strong stroke when it comes to racing. It depends on your events; for example, if you're considering racing a 200 free vs a 100 IM, you should focus on making state cut in the 200 event because freestyle is the main component of swim and you should be fairly fast in that stroke since you're thinking of state level.

Keep your legs together when kicking and move your hips to stay in rhythm with your kick. Bring both your arms forward starting from your hips to streamline and push water back toward your hips. This is the hardest stroke so don't give up if you can't do it the first time.

Float on your back and flutter kick your legs up and down. Move your arms into the water, one at a time.

Practice, don't compare yourself to others, and don't let anyone get you down. All you can do is try your best. Try some swimming drills and work to control your breathing pattern in the water. Consider taking lessons or joining a team, if you haven't already. You can get useful tips and advice from an instructor or coach.

It is most likely your arms, because most of your power comes from your arms.

You need to get into a streamlined position and try to maintain it as you jump off. When you hit the water, try to hit it hands first and maintain that streamlined position.

Yes, but it really depends on the duration of your breaks. If they're too long, you’ll be fast when you first dive into the water, but the lack of training will most likely cause you to get tired very easily. Taking a short break every now and then could be very beneficial though.

Yes, because there would be less drag.

Put your legs together and get into a stream line and move your legs up and down like a dolphin.

Try doing dry land workouts (weights, mile-runs etc) .Also, if you want to improve your upper body, try just pulling for 15 minutes after practice, and if you want to improve your leg strength, do the same with kicking.

Just keep a slow steady pace. Racing will tire you out quickly.

Squats and sit-ups help, because sit-ups strengthen your abs which helps with your dolphin kick, and squats strengthen many muscles in your legs.

Carbs and starchy foods will, of course, give you more energy while swimming, which can result in you being able to give your very best effort, but it won't always be like that. So yes and no. Your diet is only part of the journey but does have a large impact. Be sure to feed your body the right fuel so you can perform your best, which will then carve a pathway to success.