How to Stop Legs From Sinking in Swimming

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No matter whether you’ve just done your first few strokes or you spend more time in the pool than you do on land, sinking legs can affect all kinds of swimmers. And while it might not be the biggest problem in the world, if you’re wondering why you can’t get faster or you’re looking to pip your past race time, then paying close attention to your legs might help.  

Here is everything you need to know about sinking legs and what you can do to fix them.  

What happens when my legs sink in freestyle? 

Sinking legs are pretty common and it can feel frustrating when you’re putting in all that effort and not getting anywhere. Speed is not everything, we know. But when your legs sink in the water, you’re doing more than just affecting your pace. You’re wasting your energy. And when that happens, your swimming sessions will feel extra tough and won’t last as long as you want them to.  

In short, sinking legs create resistance which makes your swimming inefficient. But the good news is, you can make it better.  

Why do my legs sink when swimming? 

When it comes to swimming, there are lots of things to focus on but your body position is one of the biggest. And that’s likely why your legs are sinking. If you can keep yourself streamlined with the water, you’ll find it easier to propel yourself through.  

Things like fixing your head positioning, focusing on how you breathe and having a good ‘catch’ with your arm in the water will help. 

How to swim without your legs sinking  

1. Focus on your breathing 

Let’s start with your breathing. Now you might be thinking, what does this have to do with my swimming technique? And what does it have to do with my legs? The answer is buoyancy. Hold in too much air and your body will float. Exhale all your oxygen and your body will sink.  

The key is balance - that will keep your body streamlined. Aim to exhale in a similar rhythm to how you would if you weren’t in the water. That means you’ll want to exhale some of your oxygen while your face is submerged, not store it up for when you lift your face out.  

To do this, purse your lips as if you were blowing out a candle and exhale as you swim. Then, when you tilt your head out of the water, exhale the rest of the air before taking an inhale.  

Finding that sweet spot takes time to perfect and you shouldn’t expect to get it right straight away. But stick with it and watch your technique improve. 

2. Breathe to the side, rather than lifting your head up  

Speaking of breathing, another common technique fix is in how you take your inhale. Science tells us that if you lift your head out of the water, your feet and legs will sink. But you need to take a breath, right? So how do you do it? 

The key is to turn your head to the side. To do this, you’ll pull your hand and arm through the water, creating a little channel that you can turn your head into and take a breath. That’s the optimum breathing technique. But if that all sounds a little complicated, then simply focus on tipping your head to the side as much as you can rather than properly lifting your head out of the water.  

3. Build strength  

Some technique improvements can be made without actually dipping your toe in the water. Building hip flexor strength to improve the muscles that connect your lower and upper body will help you physically bring your legs higher up towards the surface of the water.  

Head to the gym or book into one of our Strength and Conditioning classes to work on lunges, mountain climbers, Bulgarian split squats and try seated leg lifts.  

4. Check out your legs and arms 

Once you’ve mastered the strength to keep your legs lifted, your next focus will be on keeping that lift. The best technique is to kick from your hips, rather than your knees. Keep your ankles loose and a slight bend in your knees.