What are ways to improve your speed?

Question

I'm trying to get faster, but I'm at a lost on how to do so.

Answer 1

work out with weights to get stronger which will also make you faster and run (long distance) to help with your endurance which also makes you faster.  Increase the weight you lift every week and the distance you run... you will definitely improve

Answer 2

Shave your body. and/or  Do imagining exercises where you close your eyes and imagine going faster and faster and it will happen.

Answer 3

the longer you hold your breath, the faster you go. Its a mind game in swimming. you have to train your muscles and your brain to do a certain number of laps in a certain amount of time. Close your eyes and visualize yourself swimming an event. (Ex. 100 yds. free. You wanna complete it in 1:08.78) Every stroke, every breath, till your finished and you look up at your time and its exactly 1:08.78.  

Practice is 90% physical, 10% mental

Competition is 90% mental, 10% physical

Answer 4

Relax, never swim tense you will just grab at the water, practice your start and turns and the distance off them, when you think, if you are swimming in a 25yard pool if you have a good start and turn with a good underwater kick and can cover 15yards you will only actually be swimming for the final 10yards of each length

Answer 5

A simple drill is to do your sprints with fins. This works on many levels. First it builds up your cardio endurance. By kicking with the fins you are causing your body to work harder raising your heart rate giving you a great cardio workout.

Secondly it teaches your body how to move through the water at a faster rate. To swim sprints your stroke is basically the same but you need to be able to feel your hand catching the water and moving through the water at a faster rate. By using fins while sprinting, your hands will need to catch the ater and pull faster otherwise you would feel your hand dragging.

If you don't have fins try swimming with your hands as fists. This will move your hands through the water at a faster rate (to get the feel of turning your pull faster) , and you will need to pull more efficiently by using your arms to pull the water, too (not just your hands).

These are just a couple of simple drills. If you work on keeping your body streamlined and improving your stroke, speed will come naturally.

Answer 6

assuming you are a beginner and you are talking about freestyle, work on your catch: instead or just moving your arms forward throw them forward, think of it like mountian climbing, use the force to throw yourself forward and follow it through with a strong pull.

-p.s. dont smack your hands into the water, this takes up energy insteda make a "mini dive" with your hands

Answer 7

well when im swimming in my meets i think of someone that im trying to impress, like my coach. just think of something else and ull find yourself going faster withouth feeling anything. also just practice, build muscle do some pushups.