PodLifeHead and eye position
Looking forward instead of down lifts the hips, drops the legs and burns energy for nothing. It's usually the first thing we change, and often the one that makes the biggest difference.
Habit correction
Good habits are easier to build than to unpick.
Plenty of swimmers can already get from one end to the other — but something in the stroke has settled in that costs them energy, speed or confidence. A head that lifts, a breath that's rushed, legs that sink, a stroke that's all arms. These are worth correcting early, and they can be corrected at any age.
Any age1:130 minutesQuiet hoursNo group pace
What we look at
The things that quietly cost the most
We watch a swimmer swim, tell you plainly what we can see, and then work on one thing at a time. Correcting everything at once corrects nothing.
Breathing
Holding the breath, breathing late, or lifting the head to breathe rather than turning it. Breath is where most strokes fall apart, and where most swimmers feel they're "not fit enough".
Body position
Sinking legs, a bent waist, or hips that drop the moment a swimmer stops kicking. Often a position problem rather than a strength problem.
Arm and hand entry
Crossing the centre line, entering thumb-first, or pulling wide. Small habits that shorten the stroke and put strain on a shoulder.
Kick
Kicking from the knee rather than the hip, or kicking far too hard for the distance. A steady, quiet kick usually beats a big splashy one.
Tension
Held shoulders, clenched hands, a jaw set against the water. Relaxation isn't a nice-to-have in swimming — it's most of the technique.
How a correction lesson runs
One thing at a time, then put it back together
A correction lesson is not a fitness session. It's slow, deliberate, and mostly spent on short distances with a lot of stopping to talk.
We watch you swim first, without changing anything, so we can see the habit as it actually is rather than as it looks when someone is trying. Then we pick the single change that unlocks the most, drill it in short repeats, and swim a length to see whether it holds when you stop thinking about it.
- Swim first, uncoached, so we can see the real habit.
- One change per lesson, explained and demonstrated — not a list.
- Short repeats with feedback between each one, not endless lengths.
- A length at the end to check it holds when you stop concentrating.
- Written notes, so next week starts where this week finished.
- No group pace to keep up with, so nothing gets rushed.
Questions
What swimmers ask us about correction
I can already swim. Is this still for me?
It's specifically for you. Correction lessons assume you can get across the pool and want to do it better — more easily, faster, or without the shoulder ache afterwards. Beginners are better served by our standard 1:1 lessons.
Is it ever too late to fix a stroke?
No. Habits do get more settled with time, so they take longer to change — but adults correct lifelong strokes all the time. What matters is doing it in short, deliberate repeats rather than trying to swim the whole session differently.
Do I need to be fit?
No, and "I'm not fit enough" is one of the most common things we hear. It's usually a technique problem wearing a fitness costume — breathing badly makes any distance feel like a sprint. We work on the technique first and see what's left.
Can you help with open water or triathlon swimming?
The technique work is the same, and sighting, pacing and staying calm in cold water all start with a stroke that doesn't exhaust you. Tell us what you're training for on the form and we'll aim the lessons at it.
My swimmer is a child who's just learned. Is correction appropriate?
Often yes, and it's the best time. Habits formed in the first year of swimming are much easier to shape than habits that have been in place for a decade. We'll tell you honestly whether correction or plain practice is the better use of the half hour.
How many lessons will it take?
One change is usually visible within a lesson or two; making it stick without thinking takes longer, often a term. We'll tell you what we're seeing rather than keeping you booked indefinitely.
Bring your stroke and we'll tell you what we see.
Thirty minutes, one-to-one, in a quiet hour. We'll watch you swim, tell you plainly what we'd change first, and show you the drill. Only pay if you want to stay.