The Effortless Swimming Podcast

There's a timing pattern that separates fast swimmers from slow swimmers—and most people never see it.

You can watch someone swim in real time and miss it completely. But slow the video down, frame by frame, and suddenly it's obvious. Every fast swimmer has this. A lot of slower swimmers don't.

And when you fix this one timing detail, it doesn't just make you smoother—it feels like someone just switched the engine on in your stroke.

In today's episode, I'm going to break down exactly what that timing pattern is, why it matters so much, and most importantly, how you can actually feel it in the water so it shows up in your own swimming.

00:52 Waiting Too Long To Begin The Catch
02:29 Begin Catch Earlier
03:22 Back Off The Power
04:10 Early Connection
05:31 How Do We Fix It?
08:09 What To Do?

I watched a swimmer fix one breathing mistake and drop 12 seconds per 100 meters—not in four months, but in four weeks.

No extra fitness.
No added training volume.
Just one specific change in how she breathed.

That single adjustment took her from 1:48 per 100 down to 1:36 per 100.

In this episode, I break down exactly what she changed, why it worked so fast, and how you can apply the same breathing fix in your very next swim—whether you're training for endurance, speed, or just want to stop feeling rushed every time you turn your head to breathe.

If your breathing feels like the limiter in your freestyle, this episode will change how you swim.

01:45 Head Lifted Forward Out Of The Water
03:49 Correction No. 1 Your Head Should Be Like An Iceberg
04:32 Correction No. 2 Exhaling Ender Water Mostly Through Your Nose
05:14 Correction No. 3: Breathing Every 2 or 3 Strokes and Learn To Breathe On Both Sides.

At 20 years old, I missed qualifying for the National Championships by three hundredths of a second in the 50 backstroke. Fast-forward 18 years, and at 38, I qualified for Nationals in the five-kilometer open-water swim—training mostly just three times a week.

In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly how I did it in my late thirties: the one thing an Olympic gold medalist taught me that helped me generate more power with less effort, why getting injured before the race actually worked in my favor, how just five minutes with one coach changed my technique in the final two months, and the single workout I repeated every week that built my endurance and helped me finish fast.

01:19 Missed Out Again
01:53 Stroke Analysis
3:41 Olympic Gold Medalist Secret
5:48 Swimming Workout
7:17 Injured
8:22 Race Day
8:48 The Best Anti-Fog Goggles
9:42 My 5km Time (Qualified)

.Today, we are talking about the 5th and final Core Principle of Fast Freestyle: find your rhythm and timing.

00:36 The Dancing Part Of Freestyle
01:13 Kick Timing
04:35 Use Different Types Of Kick
10:33 Serape Effect
13:35 Hand Speed
14:07 Split Tempo
17:54 Drills
19:22 8 Week Faster Freestyle Course

Join the 5 Day Catch Challenge
Join the Effortless Swimming Membership
Effortless Swimming Freestyle Clinic

01:40 No Need To Overpower The Catch
03:07 Teaching The Four Key Positions
04:00 Start Of The Catch
06:00 High Elbow Catch
07:35 Power Diamond Position
10:20 Exit Of The Stroke
11:36 YMCA Drill Progression
14:38 More Drills To Work On Your Catch
15:07 Setup Phase
16:35 Path Of The Hand
17:57 Hand Speed