Candidates usually don’t have a clue about how to streamline – or how important it is to a fast swim time.  

Don sees many mistakes.  One is that recruits like to lift the head and look forward right after the pushoff.  

Another is that they don’t lock the hands and get their arms extended over their head.

He also sees backs that are arched…

Feet that are spread wide apart…  it’s the total superman look.  

With just a little bit of work, you can learn to do streamlined pushoffs that will save valuable seconds in the 500-yard swim.  It’s worth the effort to learn this simple skill.

For your PST, you want to do a pushoff that combines both freestyle and breaststroke.

Start with one hand on the wall and your feet at either 10 or 2.  

Take a breath, drop down, and get your head and arms into streamline for the push off.  

Keep your arms tight against your ears as you push off into a streamlined glide.  You can add a small flutter kick if you want, to keep your momentum going.

As you start to slow down, pull back by throwing both hands toward your feet.  

Sneak the hands up along your body until the arms are fully extended, then immediately pull one arm back until you are in Extended Balance – Nose Down.  

As you sneak the hands up your body, it’s OK to fit in a small flutter kick to maintain speed and keep moving forward – and then a breaststroke kick to get yourself to the surface.


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BONUS - Streamlined Push Offs