FINIS Tip Of The Week: Assisted Streamline

Welcome to the “FINIS Tip of the Week.” Swimming World will be bringing you a topic that we’ll explore with drills and concepts for you to implement with your team on a regular basis. While certain weeks may be more appropriate for specific levels of swimming (club, high school, college, or masters), each tip is meant to be flexible for your needs and inclusive for all levels of swimming.

This week’s tip is an assisted streamline, which is a body position exercise that can help swimmers of all ages. One swimmer will be in the water attached to a bungee cord, while a coach or partner walks with the other end of the cord the length of the pool before pulling them down to the other side. While being pulled, the person in the water should be in a streamlined position as they rocket down the pool.

Being pulled by the bungee creates a heightened sense of body awareness and where resistance may be slowing us down. The speed from the bungee will make swimmers more aware of how the angle of the head, arms, fingertips, legs, and the alignment of their entire body may be slowing them down, and will also force them to use their core to stay traveling in a straight line.

Most importantly, this drill is fun. The tighter your streamline, the faster you will ultimately go, making this a great drill for younger swimmers who may need some more incentive to work on their streamlines and body position off the wall. Do this drill before some faster swims as a reminder of what it should feel like to come off the wall with as little resistance as possible.

All swimming and dryland training and instruction should be performed under the supervision of a qualified coach or instructor, and in circumstances that ensure the safety of participants.

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