Swim Life

The Swimming Dictionary: A List of Words and Phrases Lost on the Non-Swimmer Like any sport, swimming has its own set of words. Here we have compiled a list of some of the most commonly used and commonly confusing terms and phrases swimmers use that non-swimmers may not understand. Words Heat Sheet ...

6 Reasons Why Everyone Should Learn to Swim The benefits of swimming are endless, and your child should learn to swim as early as possible. As we celebrate National Learn to Swim Day on May 21, here's why: 1. It’s essential to safety. According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, drowning is the sec...

8 Things Only Swimmers Will Understand On average, swimmers spend 12 hours per week training to be the best athlete they can be. That means countless miles following that black line, hundreds of tumble-turns, and plenty of time spent with teammates. What’s certain is that swimming is a sport that re...

15 Weird Swimmer Facts By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor Swimmers are fascinating. Not to be biased or anything, but they are. Swimmers have superhuman-like capabilities. They can make their bodies do weird things. And they have some rather strange rituals. These 15 weird facts about...

5 Grueling Swim Sets That Will Provide a Test; Tell Us a Favorite By Wayne Goldsmith Swim sets are like burgers. There's a lot of them in the world: Some are great, some are awful and some are just plain ordinary burgers. Here are 5 swim sets you have to try before you die. A great swim set has to i...

Don't Violate These 16 Unspoken Swimmer Laws By Allison Peters Once, during a meet, I had a revelation. After almost being jumped on by one of my teammates during warmup, I thought to myself, “Wow, he’s really breaking a norm right now.” Then I realized the way swim meets and swim practices run are ...

6 Reasons Why Swimmers Make the Best Students Early alarm clock rings. Morning lifting practice. Breakfast. School. Lunch. Practice. Dinner. Homework. Swimming steals a lot of your time and begs the question as to when is there ever time for school? Our education is an important part o...

6 Everyday Struggles of a Swim Parent There is a lot of pressure on swimmers. The training, the suit, the mentality all has to be perfect. However, behind every great practice, every great race, and every great swimmer is a great swim parent, even when the kids leave for a collegiate pool instead of...

9 Strange Skills Every Swimmer Acquires Over Time The other day I saw a girl in her volleyball uniform and thought, "Huh, I wonder how different life would be if I had picked a different sport." I'd have different friends, a different husband, different skill sets, a different body, and a different ...

By Katie Lively, Swimming World College Intern If at first you don’t succeed, it’s probably not worth the effort, right? That was how I felt all through elementary school, and looking back, it’s not surprising. I followed in the footsteps of many kids who find their niche at a young age: I was reall...

Why Did You Begin Swimming? The Reasons People Get Involved in the Sport By Josie Wise Most swimmers have a nostalgic, funny, terrifying, or overall unique story of who or what got them in the water as a competitive swimmer for the first time. People often talk about why they swim in the present ten...

Tricks of the Trade: 5 Swimming Hacks That Will Prove Useful In swimming, the little tricks and hacks learned over the years are an essential part of the sport. When swimmers face their first official swim practice, it may be stressful for them: Figuring out how to get a cap on, understanding circle...

The Difference Between Aerobic and Anaerobic Workouts For Swimmers The correct management of aerobic and anaerobic sets within a swimmer's training will influence performance. This balance includes sharpening cardiovascular endurance and sprint speed. For instance, sprinters are more anaerobic-orien...

Having Fun: Why Relaxing Before a Meet Can Benefit Swimmers Chasing a specific time can be exhausting. Frustrating. Saddening. Annoying. All these words can be used to describe a slower race that some swimmers will only see as "bad." When in sharp pursuit of a faster time, it can be easy to lose sig...

The 200 Freestyle: Where Distance Meets Sprint By Annika Hobson, Swimming World College Intern The 200 freestyle, where distance swimmers meet sprinters, is one of the hardest events in competitive swimming. Whether you are racing the 200 freestyle in short course yards or meters, or long course met...

5 Mental Benefits of Swimming By Suzie Ryan, Swimming World Intern For many of us, the pool is a place for us to escape the chaos of the world. It’s just you, the water and your teammates. When we dive into the water and take that first stroke, our problems instantly fade away as the water washes ov...

From the April issue of Swimming World Magazine, J.R. Rosania offers a look at five dryside training exercises that will benefit the core, always a key focal point for swimmers. Get Swimming World Magazine and Swimming World Biweekly FREE When You Become A Member of the International Swimming Hall o...

What Makes the Perfect Swimmer's Body? Although swimmers with a wide variety of body types have found success in the sport, most at the international level tend to look similar, sporting tall and muscular bodies - typically with long torsos, long arms and short legs. This begs the question: If you c...

The 7 Sins of Swimming By Chandler Brandes There is no such thing as a perfect swimmer. As swimmers, we sometimes (although rarely) make mistakes. We may DQ, forget our heat and lane, or even accidentally-on-purpose rip our cap at the exact moment a hard set is about to begin. Mistakes are inevitabl...

The Benefits of Swimming on a Club Team During College Upon graduation, student athletes will have to choose whether or not they would like to continue swimming in college. It can be a tough choice. Especially for someone who has been swimming for several years and has fallen in love with the sport....