Missing sixth gear
A stroke optimised for economy can lack the rate needed to surge, drop a rival or hold a draft.
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[ Swim Type profile · 1.4% of swimmers ]
The Smooth
Efficient, balanced, the classic model
The stroke most swimmers picture when they close their eyes. Long, balanced and economical — but even Smooths have a ceiling, usually a lack of top-end rhythm and open-water adaptability.
The Smooth is the stroke everyone pictures: long, balanced, unhurried and economical. Body position is excellent, the catch is well timed, and the whole thing looks effortless from the poolside.
Smooths are rare — around 1.4% of swimmers who take the questionnaire — which is precisely why teaching everyone to swim like one causes so much trouble. Most swimmers copying a Smooth end up as Overgliders.
Even Smooths have a ceiling. The usual limits are a lack of top-end rhythm, difficulty changing gear mid-race, and vulnerability in rough open water where a longer stroke gets interrupted by chop.
[ What a coach sees from the poolside ]
→Balanced, high body position with a light two-beat or six-beat kick
→Smooth, continuous catch with no pause out front
→Controlled 45-degree body roll
→Consistent, relaxed breathing pattern
Classic Smooth faults
Chop sensitivity
A long stroke gets interrupted in rough water — the rhythm needs to be adaptable.
Complacency
Looking good in the pool can hide the specific race skills that decide open-water swims.
The fix order
Sequence matters more than effort. Work through these in order — skipping ahead is why most stroke work fails to stick.
1 · Add rhythm on demand
Tempo work so you can shift from 60 to 75 spm without losing hold of the water.
2 · Open-water adaptation
Wetsuit swims, chop, sighting and drafting — the Smooth's biggest performance gap.
3 · Race pacing
CSS-based training so your excellent technique is backed by an equally sharp engine.
4 · Refine, don't rebuild
Small gains in the catch and timing now matter more than wholesale change.
Signature sets
CSS main set
8 × 200m at CSS pace with 20s rest. Sharpen the engine behind the stroke.
Gear-change 100s
6 × 100m alternating 50m at CSS and 50m at +5 spm.
Wetsuit chop simulation
3 × 500m in open water with pack swimming and surges.
Typical numbers
- CSS pace
- Typically 1:15–1:35 /100m
- Stroke rate
- 55–70 strokes per minute
- Distance per stroke
- Long and efficient without a dead spot
The classic distance-pool stroke — beautiful in the black line, best when race-craft is added on top.
The Smooth guide
The fully revamped Swim Smooth Smooth PDF: stroke analysis, the complete fix order, drills, sets and a training structure written specifically for this type.
Get it for $9.99[ Swim Smooth Guru ]
The whole correction process, step by step
The Guru holds the complete stroke-correction pathway for The Smooth, plus Stroke Insights — which identifies your type from your actual swimming data, not just the questionnaire.
Explore the Guru[ Where this type goes next ]
Keep the stroke, build the rhythm and the race skills. That's where a Smooth becomes genuinely fast.
