what is the most effective way to improve the efficiency of swimming strokes?

Most effective way to improve the efficiency of swimming strokes:

Maintain your body streamline
Master the Catch & Pull
Efficient Breathing & Rotation
Powerful, Controlled Kicking
Improve each stroke (take a look at the swimming strokes article!)

Let’s talk about each of these and recommend you drills to improve the efficiency of swimming strokes:

1. Maintain your body streamline

While in the water, position yourself against the wall with your arms fully extended and locked beside your ears.

Remain still, then push off the wall firmly, glide toward the surface, and keep your body streamlined with your toes pointed.

Keep your eyes on the bottom of the swimming pool.

2. Master the Catch and Pull

Remember these points:

Bend your elbow early after hand entry and keep the forearm vertical to catch more water.
A high elbow is always recommended; practicing sculling is important.
The hand should be relaxed, but firm
Body rotation is important so that the catch and pull are effective.

Drills to Improve Catch and Pull:

Swim freestyle using only one arm while the other arm remains extended forward or at your side
Sculling Drills: Extend your bent elbows forward or slightly sideways, then make small, controlled figure-eight or side-to-side hand and forearm movements.
Swim freestyle using one arm while the other stays extended forward or by your side. Focus on a relaxed hand entry, early elbow bend for the catch, and pulling with a high elbow

3. Efficient Breathing and Rotation

You should exhale steadily underwater through your nose and your mouth at the same time, then you should rotate your body ~45°, your mouth will naturally lift to catch air, or inhaling will happen.

Efficient Breathing and Rotation Drills

The drills that will help you:

Drills	Purpose
Side-kick & shoulder roll drills	Teach breathing without lifting head
Blow-out bobs	Force quick exhale before inhale
Stroke and roll	Helps coordinate rotation and breath
Paddle-cap freestyle	Keeps head steady during breath
Snorkel swimming	Feel stroke without breathing upper-body movement

4. Powerful, Controlled Kicking

Do the kicking from the hips, not the knees. Your ankles should be relaxed. To keep your balance, do the 2-beat or 6-beat kicks.

Powerful, Controlled Kicking Drills

Do the kicking from the hips, not knees. your ankles should be relaxed. For keeping your balance, do the 2-beat or 6-beat kicks.

The drills to practice:

first:
- Hold the pool wall with both hands, face down.
- Extend your body flat and straight behind you, legs fully stretched.
- Begin flutter kicking gently
Second:
Put on swim fins and perform a set of kick repeats using a kickboard or in streamline position, and do this:
- 1st 50m: Easy pace
- 2nd 50m: Moderate pace
- 3rd 50m: Fast pace
- 4th 50m: Back to easy pace

5. Effective way to improve the efficiency of swimming strokes

Stroke	Key Efficiency Tips (from swimmers & coaches)
Freestyle	Use a high elbow with an Early Vertical Forearm Rotate body (~45°), not lift head; streamline with eyes down Small, rhythmic flutter kick from the hips Exhale every 2–3 strokes
Backstroke	Rotate via hips/shoulders Hand enters above shoulder, elbow bent underwater Flutter kick from the hips Keep your head relaxed, eyes up
Breaststroke	Streamline into glide with core engaged after pull & kick; glide 2 seconds after kick Knees stay together, feet rotate outward and whip back rapidly Use a short pull with high elbows and hands meeting at the chest
Butterfly	Correct two-beat dolphin kick: strong on entry, lighter on exit Relaxed arm recovery Just lift your chin as your arms pull, exhale underwater

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