Nothing compares to the energy and chaos of a triathlon start, but swimming three or four abreast in your lane will help prepare you for the flying elbows and close encounters.

Line up alongside each other, then push off at the same time and swim freestyle to the other end.

Take a short break to regroup and rotate positions, then push off and try again.

Have some fun with this.  Get a little aggressive, and don’t be afraid to bump shoulders with the swimmer next to you.

If someone starts to pull ahead, you can turn this into a drafting drill.  The next person simply falls in at the hip or at the knee of the leader and the swimmers go into a drafting formation.

Here’s a different drafting formation that you can practice.

And still another formation.  All great ways to help you feel comfortable with swimmers at your side and at your feet.


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Side-by-Side Swimming