Top Tips For Open Water Swimmers!

1. Nail your sighting!

Sighting (identifying your surroundings to maintain your swim direction.) is an important skill to master when swimming in open water. It is very easy to veer off into the horizon if you keep your head down for too long. By sighting, you are able to stay on track and swim to your destination by the most direct route. Aim to sight every 10 strokes. You can experiment with this number to suit you, for example, if you find you are zig zagging try every 6 strokes.

You should aim to sight just before you turn your head to the side to breathe, creating one swift movement. You should also only lift your head slightly, just enough for your eyes to break the surface of the water. The higher you lift your head, the lower your legs will sink and therefore the more drag you will create.

Now I am going to state the obvious…DO NOT sight a moving object, such as a boat - your swim is likely to never end and who knows where you will end up! It is best to use large/obvious landmarks-that are guaranteed to stay put! Such as lighthouses, hotels or the peak of a mountain.

2. Use your legs!

It is commonly known that minimal kicking is taught as a way to conserve energy in open water swimming. However, some have used this as excuse not to kick at all, which actually does more harm than good. Even if you just aim for a 2-beat kick (2 kicks per arm cycle), this will make a significant difference to your stroke. Kicking aids your stability, improves propulsion as well as keeping your legs high in the water, which limits drag.

Still not convinced?

Just imagine running with your arms glued to your side…it is not practical and you would probably look rather odd! It is the same concept in swimming.

3. Do not touch your goggles!

There is nothing worse than spending your whole session emptying your goggles, but this is made worse in open water - especially salt water, as it can sting your eyes! I have learnt that if you put your googles on when you are dry, before getting in the water and then leave them be…they are much less likely to leak! When you touch your goggles in the water, it makes the seal around your eyes less effective and they are much more likely to let water in.

Top tip: To avoid your goggles steaming up-wash them in diluted baby shampoo and then dry them shorty before your swim. (I always keep a premixed solution in a tiny spray bottle in my swimming bag)

4. Master breathing bilaterally!

This is the ability to comfortably breathe to both your left and right side. This is particularly important in open water, because you need to be aware of your surrounding at all times. Additionally, it can often come in useful for many other reasons. For example there might be large waves hitting one side of your face and instead of inhaling oxygen, you get a mouth full of water every time you breathe. If you are able to breathe to both sides, you can simply avoid this problem by breathing to the opposite side.

5. Relax and enjoy it!

Take in your surroundings! You are likely to see something much more exciting out in open water than the occasional hair bobble on the bottom of the swimming pool floor!