Front Crawl Swimming Tips

Could you give me some front crawl swimming tips please? I am just starting to swim and I'm having trouble with my front crawl. I feel like I'm wasting a massive amount of energy for not alot of benefit. I get tired very quickly and I'm sure I'm not doing the stroke correctly. My questions are these......

1). Whats the proper way of doing front crawl?

2). How do I breath properly while doing the stroke?

and any tips you could give me would be great.

What is the proper way of doing front crawl? Now there is a million dollar question! By ‘proper way’ I assume you mean ‘easiest way’ or ‘most efficient’ way?

Good swimming stroke is all about efficiency through the water and making your body as streamlined as possible. The more streamlined your technique, the easier and more efficiently your body moves through the water. So this begs the question, how do you make your body streamlined during front crawl?

A few elements of your technique need to be in place. Firstly you must have a horizontal body position throughout the entire stroke. Next your hand entry into the water must be in-between your shoulder and nose line with a smooth finger and thumb entry. Behind you your leg kick must be with feet together. Maintaining this overall body position as your head turns to the side to breathe is essential and with all this in place you should have a streamlined and efficient front crawl swimming technique.

If only it were that simple I hear you say. You asked the question about breathing correctly and turning the head to the side to breathe I have already mentioned. It is the physical act of breathing that is important here.


There are 2 types of breathing for front crawl, trickle breathing and explosive breathing. There is no right or wrong, just your own preference from what you find easiest. Trickle breathing involves breathing out into the water during the stroke. Most people find it easier because when you turn you head to breathe you only have to inhale. Unlike explosive breathing where you hold your breath during the stroke and when the head turns to breathe you must exhale and then inhale rapidly in the short time your head it turned. This can be very tiring.

There is also the forgotten factor of fitness and stamina during front crawl. This is one of the most physically demanding strokes (with the exception of butterfly) and if you are new to swimming it will test your fitness and stamina, regardless of your fitness level in other sports. It will of course improve the more you swim.

Our eBook 'The Complete Guide to Swimming Front Crawl' contains 22 separate exercises that are not available anywhere else on our website. They are basic exercises for beginners to learn from scratch and they each have a diagram, photograph and loads of teaching tips and cover every aspect of the stroke. They are very easy to follow and I highly recommend it. Click the link below for more information.

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