Cardinal Performance Swimming

Does swimming less actually make you faster? 👀🏊

Yes… and no.

Swimming less can reduce fatigue.

But simply swimming less doesn't automatically make you faster.

The real question is:

What are you doing with the swimming you are keeping?

To swim fast, you need to train fast.

And to train fast consistently, you need to manage fatigue.

The goal isn't simply to swim fewer metres.

The goal is to swim as fast as you can, as often as you can, while creating enough recovery to actually adapt.

This is where training intent becomes so important.

Imagine you can build towards 20 high-quality race-pace efforts every week.

That's 20 opportunities to practise moving at the speed you actually want to race.

20 opportunities for your nervous system to adapt.

20 opportunities to refine your technique at race velocity.

That's a huge amount of race-specific training.

And ironically… you might still be swimming a lot of metres.

This is why I prefer looking at training volume through race-pace repetitions rather than simply counting metres.

10,000m of swimming doesn't tell us how much race-specific work you've actually completed.

20 quality race-pace efforts tells us much more.

The goal isn't:

"How little can I swim?"

It's:

"How much high-quality, race-specific work can I consistently absorb?"

Train fast.

Manage fatigue.

Recover.

Repeat.

That's how you move the dial.

If you're a senior or Masters swimmer looking to swim faster, our swim + gym programmes are built around purposeful training, race-specific work and managing your total workload.

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🌍 Trusted by international swimmers around the world.

Save this if you're rethinking how you measure your swimming training. 👊

Want to swim a faster? 🏊💨

Recovery might be the biggest performance tool you're underusing.

The 50m sprint demands huge amounts of speed, power and nervous-system output. You can't consistently produce your best swimming if you're constantly carrying fatigue.

So what does better recovery actually look like?

😴 Sleep — prioritise quality and consistency. Your body adapts while you recover, not while you're training.

🥗 Nutrition — fuel your training and replace what you've used. Don't expect your body to perform at its best if you're consistently under-fuelled.

🏋️ Gym programming — your strength & conditioning programme should complement your swimming, not compete with it. The right gym work can build power without leaving you too fatigued to swim fast.

🧠 Manage stress — work, relationships, family and adulthood don't disappear because you're a swimmer. You can't eliminate every stressor, but you can manage your overall load and give yourself opportunities to switch off.

🏊 Recovery swims — recovery means recovery. Keep the intensity low and use the session to move, loosen up and prepare your body for the next quality session.

The goal isn't to train as much as possible.

It's to arrive at your important sessions with the ability to train at your best.

For 50m sprint swimmers, recovery is part of the programme.

If you're 18+ and serious about swimming faster, our swim + gym programmes are designed to work together so your training has purpose from the pool to the gym.

🌍 Trusted by international swimmers around the world.

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Save this for your next training week and send it to a swimmer who needs to hear it.

Want to swim faster? Stop treating every metre the same. 🫁🏊

Breath-hold training can be a valuable tool for competitive swimmers when it is programmed with a clear purpose.

In training, controlled breath-hold work can help you become more comfortable swimming at high intensity with limited breathing — particularly for events like the 50m freestyle and the final 25m of a 100m race.

It can also be used to challenge your tolerance to CO₂ and help you become more comfortable with the sensations that come with high-intensity swimming.

But the goal isn't simply to "hold your breath for longer."

The goal is to transfer it into faster swimming.

Think:

🏊 50m sprint breathing patterns
⚡ Underwater speed
🔥 Holding technique when fatigue hits
🎯 Staying relaxed when the race gets uncomfortable
🧠 Building confidence at race intensity

The best swimmers don't just collect metres.

They train specific skills that they can take directly into racing.

That's exactly how we approach our swim + gym programmes at Cardinal Performance Swimming.

If you're 18+ and serious about swimming faster, we provide structured swim sets and gym programmes designed around performance, not just filling your training week.

Want access to the programmes?

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Save this reel for your next sprint session and send it to a swimmer who needs to train their race skills. 👊

Soft hands = faster swimming. 🫳💨

One of the biggest mistakes we see in fast swimming is creating too much tension.

When you're trying to swim faster, the answer isn't to become more tense. It's to learn how to apply force quickly while staying relaxed and connected to the water.

Think about a boxer.

They don't stay tense while throwing a punch. They stay relaxed, then create force rapidly when they need it.

Swimming is no different.

🏊 Soft entry
🤲 Relaxed hands
⚡ Quick application of force
🎯 Intent behind every movement

The goal isn't to be floppy.

It's to be relaxed enough to move quickly and apply force exactly when you need to.

Relaxation creates speed.

So next time you're swimming fast, ask yourself:

"Can I stay soft while moving with intent?"

Save this for your next swim session and send it to a swimmer who needs to hear it. 👊

Want to swim faster with Cardinal?

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Does fast swimming actually make you faster? 👀

Yes. But only if you do it with purpose.

Swimming fast in training teaches your body what it feels like to move at race speed.

You're not just training fitness. You're training your nervous system, coordination, timing, technique and feel for the water at the speeds you actually want to race.

The goal isn't to turn every session into a race.

It's about creating opportunities where you can consistently hit race velocity with great technique.

Because when race day arrives, we don't want to be asking our body to do something it has never done before.

We want to replicate what we've practised hundreds of times.

That creates:

⚡ Greater confidence at race speed
🧠 Neurological adaptations to moving fast
🏊 Better feel for the water at high velocity
🎯 More consistent race ex*****on
🔥 The belief that you've already done it in training

Fast swimming shouldn't feel unfamiliar on race day.

It should feel normal.

So ask yourself:

Are you training at the speed you actually want to race?

Save this for your next swim session and send it to a swimmer who needs to start swimming with more intent.

Want to improve your swimming with Cardinal?

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The simplest drill might be one of the most effective. 👊🏊

Fist drill is a fantastic way to improve proprioception, develop a better feel for the water and find a stronger catch in your normal swimming.

And the best part? You can use it with any stroke.

It’s also a great way to prime the body before fast swimming — switching on that connection between your hands, forearms and the water before you start pushing the pace. ⚡

Try it in your next session and see what difference it makes to your catch.

Want to improve your swimming with Cardinal?

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📧 [email protected]
🔗 Follow the link in our bio to explore our programmes.

Save this reel and send it to a swimmer who needs to try fist drill. 👊

Day 5 of .ttswims' European Championships Camp 🇮🇪🔥

Today's focus wasn't on swimming more—it was on swimming smarter.

We spent the session refining butterfly skills, specifically looking at adding a small glide after the dive before initiating the underwater kicks. Sometimes the smallest technical changes can make the biggest difference over 50 metres.

Session: 🏊 4×50 Drill 🏊 1×25 Perfect Technique (sub-max)

We then moved into: ⚡ 6×15m FAD

The goal was to experiment with different glide distances and find the optimal point to transition into kicking, maximising speed off every start.

At this level, performance is built through constant refinement. Every session is another opportunity to move the dial.

Want to swim with Cardinal?

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