should "feel the water with your hand and arm and apply pressure to the water. This pressure should increase as you pull and then push the arm through to the end of the stroke at the hip."7. Steve Cox, Head Coach at Middlesbrough Swimming Club, suggests

Q. I've tried to perfect bilateral breathing but I've discovered I seem to swim faster when I breathe only on my weaker side (left). Why?A. This may seem initially puzzling but it can be explained by the fact that on your preferred breathing side

distances It improves your profile in the water, thereby reducing dragYou should ensure the roll is powered from the hips and not the shoulders.Drill: While swimming in a streamlined position, aim for an exaggerated body roll of up to 70° from the horizontal

longer distancesIt improves your profile in the water, thereby reducing dragYou should ensure the roll is powered from the hips and not the shoulders.Drill: While swimming in a streamlined position, aim for an exaggerated body roll of up to 70° from

- and sometimes even in the pool when you're training. However, he's right: making friends with water could be the difference between loving every minute of a triathlon and metaphorically holding your breath until you exit the water.Triathletes from a non-swimming

, that's progress.At least now I can clearly understand that trying to breathe while swimming with my head mostly out of the water is counterproductive. It forces my hips down and my chest up; much of the effort of my arms and legs is then focused

It would never previously have occurred to me to seek out external help to improve my swimming or even to have a sense of introspection about it. But now, on the cusp of my first serious triathlon season, the obvious limitations of my swimming have become

will have built up your swimming fitness in the pool and you should now be working to overcome the technical and mental challenges of open-water swimming.Specialist swim skillsBill Black coached the GB men's triathlon team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000