The King Drill Worth Repeating Every Session

The King of All Drills

Most swim drills come with a trade-off. You fix one problem and create two more somewhere else in the stroke. That's true of almost everything in my drill library, which is why I'm careful about how much time athletes spend on most of them and which drill I prescribe, when.

But the Balance Drill is the exception. In all my years of coaching, I still haven't found a real downside to repeating it consistently.

If you're swimming slower than 2:00/100, this drill will change how you move through the water. Honestly, it's the single best tool I use with that pace group. If you're already under 2:00, it's still worth repeating each week. I could argue that the fundamentals it reinforces actually matter more the faster you get.

Here's what mastering the Balance Drill will do for you:

A more effective kick.

Take your arms out of the equation and your legs have to do the one job that actually matters; holding your body in a straight line and stopping your legs from sinking, not generating speed.

A feel for your body line.

The more you practice it, the more you'll notice the difference between high resistance and low, head up versus head down. As you do, "streamlined" will stop being a word and starts being something you can feel.

The ability to relax in the water.

Most people float. This drill teaches you to use all the buoyancy you naturally have to hold you up instead of fighting to stay on the surface.

Better breath control.

The urge to breathe four seconds after your last one is mostly in your head, not your lungs. This is where you train it to wait longer.

More time to think mid-stroke.

Once you're not rushing for air and you're floating better, you've got the headspace to actually work on rotation, entry, extension, and your catch, which are the details that make you faster.

Arms that are free to pull.

When you stop using your arms to balance yourself, they're free to do the one thing they're best at, pulling you forward.