Reducing Drag: Drills Focused on Streamlined Freestyle Swimming

One of the most critical factors in swimming faster freestyle isn’t necessarily about pulling harder or kicking stronger — it’s about reducing drag. Drag is the resistance your body encounters as it moves through the water, and minimizing it allows you to glide farther with less effort. For swimmers of all levels, focusing on streamlining drills can dramatically improve performance, efficiency, and endurance.

In this article, we’ll break down why drag reduction matters and provide practical freestyle drills that help you swim smoother and faster.

🌊 Why Reducing Drag Is Essential in Freestyle

In swimming, drag accounts for nearly 90% of the resistance you face in the water. There are three main types:

1. Form drag – resistance caused by body shape and position.

2. Friction drag – caused by skin and swimsuit contact with water.

3. Wave drag – created when breaking the water’s surface.

By improving streamline position, body alignment, and stroke technique, you can move farther with each stroke while conserving energy.

🏊 Key Drills to Reduce Drag in Freestyle

1. Streamline Push-Offs

• Push off the wall with arms extended overhead, squeezing your biceps to your ears.

• Keep your body tight: toes pointed, core engaged, legs together.

• Focus on holding the streamline until you naturally slow down.

✅ This drill reinforces body alignment and teaches you to hold the most efficient shape.

2. Kick in Streamline

• Push off in streamline, then add flutter kicks while keeping the head neutral.

• Avoid bending knees excessively; keep kicks small and fast.

• Stay as close to the surface as possible without breaking streamline.

✅ Helps refine kicking efficiency while maintaining low drag.

3. Single Arm Freestyle with Streamline Recovery

• Swim freestyle using one arm while the other remains extended in front.

• Focus on keeping the body flat and the lead arm locked in streamline.

• Alternate arms each length.

✅ Builds awareness of body balance while reducing unnecessary side-to-side drag.

4. Head-Position Drill

• Swim freestyle with eyes looking down and slightly forward.

• Keep the waterline at the crown of your head.

• Avoid lifting your head during breathing.

✅ Improves body alignment and minimizes wave drag.

5. Fingertip Drag Drill

• Swim normal freestyle but lightly drag fingertips across the surface during recovery.

• This encourages high elbows and prevents wide, drag-inducing recovery strokes.

✅ Promotes efficient stroke mechanics while reducing wasted energy.

6. Body Balance Drill

• Float on your stomach with arms at your sides.

• Kick gently while shifting head position to find the lowest-drag alignment.

• Extend arms forward into streamline once balance is achieved.

✅ Trains swimmers to find the “sweet spot” where drag is minimized.

🧠 Additional Tips to Minimize Drag

• Wear a proper-fitting swimsuit and cap.

• Keep strokes compact — wide pulls or excessive sculling create drag.

• Focus on exhaling underwater to avoid lifting the head too high to breathe.

• Engage the core to keep hips near the surface.

🏁 Conclusion

Reducing drag in freestyle isn’t about working harder — it’s about swimming smarter. By consistently practicing streamline-focused drills, you’ll increase distance per stroke, improve speed, and conserve energy. Whether you’re training for competition or personal fitness, these techniques will help transform your freestyle into a smoother, more efficient stroke.