Swimming can be done both for personal enjoyment and recreation as well as for competition and fitness. Swimming uses the entire body for propulsion and if one area is weak it is harder to swim fast. There are ways to strengthen the body for swimming faster and there are also external means to improve swimming speed.
Kicking
One of the easiest ways to improve swimming speed is to improve the kick. This can be done by simply kicking faster and by strengthening the legs. The faster the legs move, the better for speed. To strengthen the legs, kick with a kick board or while on the back. Also, wearing tennis shoes is a good way to strengthen your legs. The shoes float and hold a lot of water making them heavy; the flotation and the weight of the shoes make them harder to push down into the water and generate forward momentum requiring more force and strengthening the muscles.
Efficiency
It is very important to be efficient while swimming. When you aren't efficient you are wasting energy that could have been spent in swimming faster. The kick, arm stroke, body position and breathing need to be efficient for maximum speed. Short and fast kicks are the most effective in freestyle, back stroke and butterfly. The arm stroke needs to use all of the strength of the arms and in freestyle and butterfly the arms should pull all the way under the body using the power of the hands as well. The water should be pushed by your hands and arms.
For efficient and fast swimming, your body should be in a streamlined and straight position. The head should be in line with the rest of the body and not high, creating resistance. The hips should be near the surface of the water, if they are too low in the water you will naturally swim more slowly. To swim fast, breathing and head movement needs to be minimal. The head should turn to the side just enough for the mouth to draw a breath. Breathing tends to slow down the stroke, so the less you breathe and the more efficient it is, the faster you will swim.
Fins
Swimming with fins is a great way to practice swimming fast. Fins are illegal in competition but give swimmers the chance to swim as fast as they would in a race. Fins require the legs to kick for maximum speed and give arms the chance to pull through the water at a faster than normal tempo. Fins also strengthen the legs and are an excellent training tool for speed work. Fins help keep the hips elevated and improve body positioning. However, fins shouldn't be used excessively as the swimmer may become reliant upon them.
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