How to Increase Stroke Rate for Faster Swimming
Olivier Poirier-Leroy
Author, swimmer. Obsessed with helping swimmers level up in the water (and life).
Looking to increase stroke rate and kick things up in the pool? Here are some proven ways to increase your stroke rate in the water.
Getting faster in the pool isn’t just about unlocking more raw power and endless zone training.
It’s about dialing in and conditioning a stroke rate that gives you efficient speed.
Whether you are a sprinter or distance swimmer, understanding and mastering stroke rate is crucial for dominating your personal best times when it matters most.
In this article, we will look at the importance of stroke rate and some proven ways swimmers can target and increase it in the water.
Why does stroke rate matter?
Stroke rate (or frequency) is one of the determinants of fast swimming.
In fact, according to a study (Helland et al., 2020) with elite swimmers, researchers found that while stroke length was important, “stroke rate was found to contribute most to reaching high swimming speeds.”
This makes intuitive sense: If you can maintain the same distance per stroke while increasing the stroke rate, you will move across the pool faster.
That simple.
Swimmers often get caught up in a slow, methodical stroke rate in training that doesn’t correspond with the more aggressive, high-paced stroke rate necessary to hit their goal times in competition.
Which underlines the importance of being intentional about mastering (and increasing) stroke rate.
How to Increase Stroke Rate
Next, we will look at some proven ways swimmers can improve their stroke rate for faster race times, including:
Swim against resistance.
Swimmers do any number of things to get faster, and at the top of the list if getting stronger in the water by swimming against resistance.
Whether using a swim parachute, resistance tubing (aka StretchCordz), or a power tower, numerous studies have shown resistance tools in the water to be effective at increasing stroke rate.
In a study with experienced, elite competitive swimmers, published in the Journal of Strength Conditioning and Research (Girold et al., 2007), an intervention of 12-weeks of resisted swimming (with resistance tubing) showed a significant increase in stroke rate and velocity versus a regular swim training control group.
This replicates findings with another group of elite competitive swimmers in Japan (Sengoku et al., 2020), whose dolphin kicking frequency and velocity increased substantially after four months of performing underwater dolphin kicks against resistance tubing 2-3x per week.
Adding resistance to your swim training should be done in short, high-quality bursts with lots of rest for optimal strength and stroke rate development.
The StretchCordz short resistance belt is my go-to resistance tool as it can be anchored to most pool ladders and starting blocks and can be transported easily in my swim bag.
Use a FINIS Tempo Trainer
The FINIS Tempo Trainer is a super simple device that is designed to assist swimmers in targeting and sticking to a specific stroke rate.
The Tempo Trainer is old school in many respects, built with a basic LCD screen and an adjustable metronome that beeps at your desired stroke rate or pace.
It’s easy to set, is clipped to your goggle straps so that you can hear it clearly and can be adjusted mid-workout.
The FINIS Tempo Trainer can even be used as a send-off clock. For example, set it to beep every 60s and do a series of pace 50s or 75s, sending off each time it beeps.
The device is excellent for helping you explore different tempos so that you can find the optimal stroke rate for your goals, and the beeping will help you stay on top your stroke rate when cruising up and down the pool.
The FINIS Tempo Trainer is a bit pricey given its simplicity, retailing for around $55, but for swimmers who want to master tempo in the pool, it’s an easy purchase.
Pull with an ankle band
A faster stroke rate can be difficult for even experienced swimmers as they struggle to time their kick properly with a more aggressive arm stroke.
Or, they lack the fitness to be able to maintain a strong kick with a higher stroke rate.
One way to progress into being able to hit those higher numbers is alternating swimming fast with an ankle with short-burst efforts of swimming.
Swimming with a band around your ankles is not easy, but it can do a lot of things for your swimming, including strengthening the hip and shoulder rotation to initiate the stroke, promote a stronger catch, and yes, crank up your stroke rate.
An example set would be something like this:
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6x25 freestyle with band fast – 30s rest after each repetition
4x25 free swim (w/o band) fast, maintaining the same stroke rate – 30s rest after each repetition
Obviously, banded freestyle swimming places a lot of added load on your shoulders, so ease into this type of training or straight-up ignore it if your shoulders are injured or not strong enough for this form of training.
My ankle band of choice is the ARENA Ankle Band Pro. Made with soft silicone that doesn’t fold or yank on your leg hair when swimming, it’s light, easy to slide on, and will stay in place as you charge towards an improved stroke rate.
Reduce the catch-up
Catch-up freestyle, also known as a hitch or gallop stroke, causes an arbitrary ceiling on stroke rate because of increased glide and coordination limitations.
Research from Potdevin et al found that when swimmers used a lower stroke rate (35-45 stroke cycles per minute), they were much more likely to use a gallop stroke.
However, when swimmers cranked up the stroke rate to 50-55 cycles/min, half the swimmers suddenly lost the catch-up stroke.
A catch-up freestyle is more efficient for distance swimming, but for swimmers looking for a little more octane in their freestyle, this means balancing out their stroke.
Using a swimmer’s snorkel, which eliminates turning the head to breathe, can teach swimmers what a better balanced, higher stroke rate freestyle feels like.
As can short-burst efforts with a drag chute, which can reduce the dead spots and hitches in a freestyle stroke, helping build superior “propulsive continuity.”. ?
Find the sweet spot.
Balancing distance per stroke (DPS) and stroke rate is a never-ending process in the water. The sweet spot is the point where a swimmer can maintain a high, fast stroke rate without crashing.
Additionally, rushing or using a frenetic stroke solely for the purpose of a higher stroke rate can lead to inefficient strokes that make swimmers feel like they are spinning out.
Swimming 25s and 50s while holding set stroke counts and set times can help you get a sense of where you swim most efficiently.
Additionally, drills like “spin drill”—where you use an exaggerated, super high stroke rate—can help coax you towards a progressively higher stroke rate without losing distance per stroke.
Sample stroke rates
Target the stroke rates that are applicable to your goals. Sprinters and distance swimmers will have very different goals when it comes to stroke rate.
Just for kicks, here are some sample stroke rates (illustrated in stroke cycles and not individual arm strokes):
Per results from the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996 and World Championships in Perth, 1998, here are some more sample stroke rates from the men’s events to illustrate the difference between distances:
Wrapping Things Up
Ultimately, the right stroke rate for you and your swimming comes down to several factors, including anthropometric features like height and wingspan, muscle composition, and events of choice.
A swimmer training to drop a 21-flat in the Olympics is going to have a significantly different stroke rate in mind compared to a 1500m or 10k swimmer.
And a swimmer who is 6’8” with a long, catch-up freestyle is going to have a vastly different stroke rate compared to a 5’10” swimmer made almost completely of short twitch muscle fibers.
Which means you should analyze and experiment with different stroke rates to see which ones check the Goldilocks rule for you.
Analyze your past races and check your stroke rates, introduce some stroke rate centric sets and tools to your training, and crank up the stroke rate and velocity in the pool.
Happy swimming!