Streamline is the long, narrow shape you hold off every push-off and start: arms stretched overhead, hands stacked, head tucked between the arms, legs together. A narrower shape has less water to push out of the way, so you keep more of the speed the wall gives you for less effort. Every stroke uses it, which makes it one of the first skills worth getting right.
Make the torpedo
Stretch both arms overhead, lock your elbows and stack one hand flat on top of the other. Put the hand that will pull first on the bottom.
reaching long, as if someone is pulling your fingertips.
Squeeze your upper arms in against your ears so there is no gap between your head and arms. Some coaches teach elbows squeezed together behind the head instead; for most swimmers the squeeze-the-ears position is the more streamlined one, so start there.
arms pressed in, ears covered.
Get narrow
Keep your head in line with your body, eyes down, tucked between your arms. Don't lift your head to look forward, and don't crush your chin into your chest.
a long neck, the back of your head flat between your arms.
Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes so your back stays flat, not arched. Press your legs together and point your toes back.
one rigid line from fingertips to toes.
Push off and hold
On the wall, let go, sink a little under the surface, bring your hands together and stretch into streamline before your feet push. A simple cue is sink, touch, push. Push off the balls of your feet with your hips and ankles at the same depth so you travel straight.
already tight before your feet leave the wall.
Hold the shape while you glide, then start small, fast kicks before you slow to swimming speed. You slow down right after the push; that is normal and it's why the kick comes in. Gliding until you nearly stop wastes the push.
carrying speed, not drifting to a stop.
Keep your head down and the shape tight into your first stroke. Let one arm start pulling while the head stays tucked; lifting your head or opening a gap between head and arm adds drag right as you break out.
the first stroke pulls you forward out of the glide, not up.
Feel it
A good streamline feels long and tight: arms squeezing your ears, hands stacked, stomach braced, legs together, toes pointed. You should travel straight off the wall, not drift down to the bottom or pop up to the surface. If you slow down fast, look for a gap: head lifted, arms apart, back arched or legs split. Change one thing at a time and test the glide again.
Fix-its
- Your head lifts to look forward Keep your eyes on the pool bottom and the back of your head between your arms. Lifting the head measurably raises drag in the glide.
- Your arms drift apart or away from your head Stack and lock your hands, then squeeze your upper arms into your ears. Practise the shape on dry land in front of a mirror first.
- Your back arches Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes to flatten your back. If reaching the arms far behind the head makes you arch, bring them in to your ears.
- You push off and then go loose Get into full streamline while you are still on the wall (sink, touch, push), not after your feet leave it.
- You dive to the bottom or spear up to the surface Push off with your hips and ankles level so you travel straight, and keep your head still between your arms.
Drill
- Safety first: only practise push-offs where the water is deep enough and the lane ahead is clear. If reaching overhead hurts your shoulders, stop and don't force the position.
- Dryland check: stand tall on your toes in streamline in front of a mirror, or have someone film you from the front, back and sides. Look for a long neck and a flat line from the back of your head to your pelvis.
- Streamline glide test: push off and glide with no kicking until you stop. Note the spot on the lane line or pool bottom. Repeat, changing one thing at a time, to see what carries you farther.
- Glide and kick: push off, hold streamline, and add a few small, fast kicks before breaking into your stroke.
- Timing test: have a friend time you to a fixed mark a few metres out (for example 5 or 10 metres). Try kicking right away, after a short glide and after a longer glide, and keep whichever is fastest for you.
Sources
- U.S. Masters Swimming (Scott Bay) — Streamlines for the Win (2020)
- U.S. Masters Swimming (Scott Bay) — 1-2-3 Streamlines (2012)
- U.S. Masters Swimming (Scott Bay) — Improving Your Underwater Game (2021)
- Cortesi & Gatta — Effect of the Swimmer's Head Position on Passive Drag, J Hum Kinet (2015)
- NISCA (Dick Hannula) — Turns: Four Strokes (2009)
- Swimming World (G. John Mullen) — Different Strokes for Different Folks: The Best Swimming Streamline (2025)
Last checked 2026-10-25.