3 Pool Skills Every Triathlete Needs to Master
/If you're serious about your performance, you've probably realized that just grinding through miles won’t cut it. You need to swim like a swimmer—not just a triathlete. I've coached hundreds of athletes from weekend warriors to Olympic triathletes, and the message is always the same: your pool skills are the foundation of your speed, efficiency, and long-term performance.
Let’s break down the 3 essential pool skills I teach every triathlete who wants to train smarter and race faster. Whether you’re aiming for a local sprint or chasing the heels of top triathletes at the elite level, these skills will reshape your training—and results.
Dad Daly Coach: 3 Pool Skills Triathletes Need
1. Streamline: Your Underwater Secret Weapon
When I first start working with triathletes, especially those new to swimming, the first thing I teach is streamlining. It's one of the most overlooked skills in the triathlon world, but in pool swimming, it’s non-negotiable.
Streamline Push Offs: How to Master Efficiency in the Water.
Why Streamlining Matters
Streamlining is more than just a pretty dive off the wall—it’s hydrodynamics 101. The better your streamline, the less drag you create, and the more efficiently you move through the water. That means more energy saved for the bike and run.
In the pool, this is your launch pad. Every wall, every push-off is a chance to gain (or lose) momentum. If you’re looking to put your technique to the test, check out these top lap swimming NYC options to find a pool that fits your training style.
How I Teach It
I use video analysis with my athletes to show them how their body position affects their speed. I’ve seen 10-15% improvement in 50m times just from fixing streamline posture. Hands tight, arms locked, biceps squeezing your ears, core braced.
Try this drill:
Push off the wall in a tight streamline and glide as far as possible without kicking.
Track your distance. The goal is consistency and symmetry.
Add dolphin kicks as you improve your posture.
This isn't just a swimming skill—it’s a technical foundation. Without it, even the best swim workouts for triathletes won’t get you race-ready.
2. Flip Turns: Train Like a Swimmer, Not a Drifter
I’ll be honest—I don’t expect all triathletes to flip turn in open water. But in training? That’s a different story.
If you're skipping turns or doing slow open turns, you're breaking the rhythm of your swim sets and missing the opportunity to develop power off the wall—a key source of swim speed.
Flip Turns: Why They’re Essential for Triathletes.
Why Flip Turns Matter for Triathletes
Flip turns aren’t about flair. They’re about:
Maintaining interval pace in group workouts.
Building core strength and hip mobility.
Practicing explosive rotation and breath control under pressure.
When I coach swim sessions for triathletes, I push hard on flip turn training. Athletes who nail this skill quickly close the gap with faster swimmers—even if they’re not as naturally gifted.
My Go-To Progression
Somersault drills at the wall to practice body control.
Flip + pause before push-off to control alignment.
Streamline exits with dolphin kicks to build coordination.
Once the turn becomes fluid, I layer it into endurance swim workouts to maintain tempo and confidence through longer sets.
3. Dive Starts and Speed Management
This is where triathletes can really surprise themselves. Most of the swim workouts for triathletes I see online focus on distance and pacing. That’s important—but speed matters too.
Why? Because racing is about gear shifts. You don’t pace the first 100 meters of an open water start—you surge. Learning to handle high speeds, and control them, is what makes good swimmers great triathletes.
A perfect swim start by Coach Dan Daly
Why Dive Starts Help Triathletes
Now I know what you're thinking—"But I don’t dive into open water!" True. But you do sprint, you do accelerate, and you need to understand how drag increases with speed.
Diving in practice teaches:
Body alignment under pressure
How to absorb and manage velocity
And when you train with gear—bands, paddles, fins—you learn to build speed strength. This is exactly where strength training for triathletes meets swimming. Dryland strength translates directly to water when you're managing starts, turns, and powerful strokes. (Explore: Different Types of Swimming Strokes)
A Speed Set I Love:
4 x 25m from a dive or sprint push-off @ 1:00
Focus on tight streamline, high tempo, and clean strokes
Add resistance gear every other round
Even just once a week, these sessions create better swimmers who are more race-ready. They also balance the aerobic grind of long swims with anaerobic power, which most triathletes ignore.
Training Smarter: How to Put It All Together
Once you master streamlines, turns, and speed work, your training becomes more efficient and more purpose-driven. Here's how I coach athletes to apply these pool skills to their broader training plan.
1. Weekly Structure (with Example)
| Day | Focus | Example Workout |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | Endurance swim workout | 3x600m aerobic with pull + tempo paddles |
| Wed | Speed + skill (starts + turns) | Dive sprints + turn drills + kick sprints |
| Fri | Technique + recovery swim session | Streamline drills + single-arm drills |
By including a mix of swim drills for triathletes, strength-driven sets, and pacing work, you’ll develop range, feel, and fitness.
And if you're still wondering how far do triathletes swim, remember:
Sprint Triathlon: ~750m
Olympic Triathlon: 1500m
Half-Ironman: 1.9km
Ironman: 3.8km
You need to train beyond the distance to race confidently within it.
Looking to level up your pool skills? Check out the Improve Your 100 Freestyle in 10 Days! program by Coach Abbie Fish and me.
Final Thoughts
Mastering the pool doesn’t require endless laps or elite swim backgrounds. But it does require intention.
These three pool skills—streamlining, flip turns, and dive/speed work—can close the gap between you and the athletes swimming ahead of you.
I’ve seen it time and time again—when triathletes commit to training like swimmers, their confidence grows, their splits drop, and their races change.
If you’re ready to level up your training, start with the fundamentals, and build from there.
You’ve got this.
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Even though open-water races don’t involve diving off blocks, practicing dives in the pool improves your technique, speed, and confidence. A strong dive helps build explosive power and better streamlining, which translates to more efficient swimming overall.
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Yes, flip turns are a game-changer in pool workouts. They let you maintain momentum and rhythm, making your training sessions more effective. Plus, they help you keep pace with faster swimmers in group training.
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Definitely. Resistance swimming, like using paddles, fins, or bands, builds strength and improves your power in the water. It’s a great way to prepare for the physical demands of open-water swimming.
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Absolutely. Learning various diving techniques, such as block starts or standing dives, helps you adapt to different training scenarios. It also boosts your ability to execute fast, efficient starts in pool-based triathlon races.
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Triathletes should focus on workouts that develop endurance, technique, and speed. Drills for streamlining, flip turns, and resistance swimming are especially effective for improving overall performance.
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Even though you won’t use flip turns in open water, they’re essential for pool training. Flip turns let you keep up with faster swimmers in group workouts and prepare you for quick turns, like those around buoys during a race.
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Start by practicing tight tucks and quick rotations. Focus on pushing off the wall in a streamlined position, and use resistance drills to strengthen your push-offs.