Simple Keys to Getting Faster in IRONMAN As An Adult-Onset Swimmer

Introduction: The Path to Better Swimming

Swimming is often the most daunting part of triathlon, especially for age-group triathletes who didn’t grow up in the water. Unlike cycling or running, where gains come primarily from fitness and endurance, triathlon swimming demands technical precision, proper freestyle stroke mechanics, and open-water efficiency. Much of your speed comes from becoming a better swimmer, not simply a stronger one. If you didn’t grow up with a feel for the water, this can feel like an intimidating and challenging process to embark on – much like learning a foreign language as an adult.

Many triathletes experience race-day swim anxiety, making the triathlon swim start overwhelming. This leads them to start what should be an exciting and positive day in a rough spot mentally. At best, they aim to simply survive the swim leg, but the truth is that improving swim confidence and competence will boost overall IRONMAN performance. A more efficient, streamlined swim stroke helps conserve energy for the bike and run, making the entire triathlon experience more fun. It’s worth investing in.

The good news? You don’t need to be an elite swimmer to master IRONMAN swim training. At Purple Patch, we emphasize practical swim techniques, focusing on key fundamentals: body position, stroke efficiency, open-water swim skills, and propulsion mechanics. By optimizing these elements, you can transform your freestyle technique and swim faster with less effort.

Here’s how to turn your swim from a struggle to a strength:

Four Key Elements of Good Swimming

1. Body Position and Streamlining

A strong freestyle stroke begins with proper body alignment in the water. Think of your body as a long, taut vessel moving through a narrow tunnel. To reduce drag and increase swim efficiency, focus on these three elements:

  • Head Position: Keep your head neutral. Looking too far forward causes your hips to sink, increasing drag. Tucking your chin too much can lead to instability and unnecessary resistance.

  • Core Engagement: A stable core minimizes excessive movement, helping maintain a straight, streamlined body position.

  • Proper Rotation: Rotate smoothly around your spine without over-rotating. Your shoulders and hips should work together, maintaining a balanced stroke rhythm.

Many triathletes struggle with keeping their hips up and maintaining a balanced, streamlined freestyle stroke, so improving your body position should be a priority in IRONMAN swim training. A wetsuit can help with some of this, but poor body position will still create drag and lead you to waste energy in the water.

2. The Catch and Pull: Generating Forward Momentum

The catch and pull phase is where you generate propulsion. Many swimmers struggle with inefficient arm mechanics, leading to wasted energy and slower swim times. But you don’t need to be intimidated by terms like ‘high elbow catch’ – keep it simple (and think of our friend Alan). Here’s how to optimize your catch and pull:

  • Hand Entry: Enter the water with your fingertips first, just slightly wider than your shoulder width. Avoid overreaching or entering with a flat hand, which can cause your arm to “slip” through the water and/or put the brakes on your acceleration.

  • Catch and forearm mechanics: Rather than pushing straight down or reaching, consider pressing the shoulder forward and angling your fingertips downward to maximize water resistance. Your fingertips should point downward from touching the water and through the pull. This can help you avoid dropping your elbow, another common mistake that reduces propulsion.

  • Power Zone: Your pull should be in line with your shoulder, avoiding excessive width or crossing the centerline, which reduces efficiency.

3. Triathlon Swim Stroke Tempo and Rhythm

Your stroke should be smooth and connected, with acceleration through the pull phase.

  • Avoid the ‘Swimming Pretty’ Syndrome: Gentle, slow strokes do not generate speed. Think of swimming – especially open-water triathlon swimming – like riding uphill on a bike: if you coast, you’ll immediately lose speed and momentum. Instead, accelerate firmly through your pull.

  • Find Your Stroke Rate: A higher stroke rate typically improves efficiency and reduces “dead spots” in your stroke, but too high without good catch mechanics leads to slipping water and effort that doesn’t translate to speed.

  • Think of Driving on Ice: You want enough grip to move forward, but not so much that you’re “spinning your wheels”. Acceleration should be smooth.

Developing an optimal stroke rate that balances power and efficiency is crucial for long-distance triathlon swimming.

4. Breathing Technique

To put it bluntly, breathing messes everything up.
The key for adult-onset swimmers is to learn to integrate the movement of breathing into their stroke without disrupting their form and rhythm.

  • Simple Head Turn: Avoid lifting your head. Just rotate slightly to inhale.

  • Exhale Underwater: Holding your breath disrupts stroke flow. Exhale steadily so your inhale is quick.

  • Avoid Stabilization Errors: Many swimmers push their lead hand wide or kick awkwardly when they breathe, trying to regain balance. Proper core engagement – and minimal head movement – minimizes these disruptions.

One more protip: many swimmers will breathe every stroke on the same side, which is absolutely fine. But for triathlon, breathing equally well on either side will set you up for better success in open-water conditions, including adapting to sunlight, turns, and other environmental factors. Even if you breathe every stroke, practice doing so on the left and right sides.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Even experienced swimmers make common errors. The good news? Small fixes lead to big improvements.

1. Dropping the Elbow

Fix: Keep your elbow above your wrist during the pull. Think: “fingers below wrist below elbow below shoulder.” Experiment with a ‘closed fist’ drill – where you swim with a closed fist instead of an open palm – to engage your forearm and get a feel for keeping your whole arm in the right position through your entire stroke.

2. Overreaching or Crossing Over

Fix: Enter with your hand in line with your shoulder. Avoid reaching too far forward, which can cause elbow drop and instability. As many adult-onset swimmers don’t have the best internal sense of where their body is in the water, using a swim snorkel during practice so that you can visualize exactly where your hand enters the water can help you correct this mistake.

3. Inefficient Breathing

Fix: Turn your head slightly without lifting it, thinking about breathing by looking down through your armpit rather than over your shoulder. Intersperse breathing drills with snorkel work to get a feel for the correct head position and alignment.

4. Poor Kick Mechanics

Fix: Small, consistent kicks from the hips work best. Avoid excessive knee bending or overly wide kicks.

Conclusion: Keep It Simple and Stay Consistent

Improving your swim is not about adding complexity but refining the fundamentals. Focus on one or two key adjustments at a time, incorporate technique drills strategically, make friends with tools like swim snorkels and buoys, and keep showing up. Over time, these minor refinements will translate into faster, more efficient swimming with less effort.

Happy swimming, and see you in the water.

Additional Resources to Help You Build Triathlon Swim Speed & Confidence

Want to dive deeper into optimizing your swim? Check out these Purple Patch Podcast episodes:

And if you want personalized guidance to improve your swim stroke, check out our Virtual Swim Analysis. Here’s what our athletes are saying:

“I have dropped nearly 10 minutes from my Ironman swim, all from 2000 miles away” - Bob K.
”I thought my swim form was good, and I didn’t realize I still had so much room for improvement.” - Julie G.

At Purple Patch, we offer an in-depth virtual swim analysis that includes personalized video analysis, custom structured training, and expert guidance from our resident open-water expert coach to help you unlock your potential in the water. If you’re ready to swim faster at your next IRONMAN triathlon, check it out:

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