by
Olivier Poirier-Leroy
From training tips to practical advice on not swallowing water when using one, here is how to make the most of the swimmer’s snorkel.
The swimmer’s snorkel is one of the best tools for faster (and more efficient) swimming.
The swim snorkel, which many swimmers new to this tool don’t particularly enjoy or feel accustomed to using—after all, there is nothing natural about having your face down in the water while still breathing or getting a mouthful of water when it’s not properly expunged from the tube—helps swimmers to isolate swim technique.
We’ve previously looked at the benefits of training with a swim snorkel here.
But in this article, let’s dive into the practical ways swimmers should use a swim snorkel for faster, more efficient swimming.
We’ll discuss ways to use a swim snorkel at the pool today for improving swim performance.
Later, we will also look at the mechanics of snorkel use so that you can swim with them without sucking down pool water.
Let’s get to snorkelin’.
Here are some actionable strategies swimmers can adopt to maximize swim snorkel use:
Swimmers are often unaware of just how out-of-position their hips and shoulders can become when swimming. Turning the head to breathe masks a lot of these body position issues.
Using a swim snorkel means you can get the hips up, place the head into a neutral position, and “float” near the surface of the water in a straight, horizontal position. The swim snorkel gives swimmers this sensation, but ultimately, they need to carry that over to regular swimming, too.
Use the snorkel to experience efficient, hydrodynamic body positioning, and then take it off and try to replicate while swimming (and breathing) normally.
💡Training Tip: Put on your snorkel and practice floating in a horizontal body position close to the surface of the water. Simple body positioning drills like this remind you how horizontal alignment can greatly reduce drag when swimming.
Freestyle swimmers, particularly when swimming at sub-maximal speeds, use a galloped or hitched stroke that favors one side over the other.
This asymmetrical stroke cycle is actually very efficient and is ideal for mid to distance swimming as the longer glide at the front of the stroke keeps swimmers in a more hydrodynamic position for longer during freestyle.
However, a more balanced stroke is important for several reasons, including reducing muscle imbalances (doing 5,000m to 10,000m of freestyle breathing to the same side every day at practice is going to create some pretty serious musculature differences!), which is a leading cause of swimmer’s shoulder.
Sprinters should also be focused on building a stroke that is more commonly in “superposition” mode.
Superposition = When swimmers use a stroke that has overlapping propulsive phases in the arms. Discontinuous propulsion, when swimmers use a catch-up or hitched stroke, has more dead spots in the stroke cycle.
A swim snorkel reduces stroke imbalances because you don’t need to worry about turning your head to breathe.
A study (Barden and Barber, 2022) with a group of 18 elite competitive swimmers showed exactly this effect. The swimmers performed a series of 100m freestyle time trials at submaximal speeds (70% effort) with and without the use a swim snorkel.
Researchers found that when using a snorkel, swimmers minimized hip roll asymmetries, promoting a more balanced stroke.
This encourages a stroke where the arms are in propulsive phases more often compared to non-snorkel swimming.
💡Training Tip: Use your swimmer’s snorkel to feel the balance and rhythm of an evenly propulsive stroke cycle.
The underwater dolphin kick is crucial for developing and particularly elite swimmers.
Walls and underwaters represent over half of short course race distances (up to 66% in short course yards). Races are commonly won and lost in these phases.
Breath control on underwaters is one of the big challenges, as the hypoxic demands of extended dolphin kicking can lead to swimmers surfacing like a breaching whale, gulping down air and arresting momentum from the breakout.
By using a snorkel, swimmers use a cleaner breakout and even slightly longer underwaters as the tube surfaces slightly before the head and mouth. There is also no pressing need to twist the head in the middle of the breakout, further disrupting what is otherwise a fast breakout.
Using a snorkel to extend your underwaters and feel what a clean, breathless breakout feels like—and how much faster it can be—gives swimmers a model for their regular breakouts.
💡Training tip: When swimming with a snorkel, add one extra dolphin kick to each wall. Eventually extend this “bonus kick” to snorkel-less swimming.
I’ll never abandon my big, chipped, green tombstone kickboard. I’ve logged so many meters and yards with it over the years that it’s become as second-nature to my swim workouts as the smell of chlorine and unrelenting hunger after a big swim.
BUT, kicking with a board has some limitations, most noticeably the fixed hip position that doesn’t mimic the hip roll of the kick when swimming. A swimmer’s snorkel can and 100% should be used for kick work!
By combining that excellent body position we talked about earlier with the hip roll typical of regular freestyle and isolating the kick, swimmers build an unbeatable and incredibly SPECIFIC way of conditioning the legs.
Use your swim snorkel for some (maybe not all 😉) kick work in the pool to condition a swim-specific kick.
💡Training Tip: Pair snorkel kick and snorkel swim within a lap for increased transfer. For example, do a 25 where 10m is kick fast with one arm out in front (with hips slightly rolled) and then explode into 15m swim fast to the wall.
Okay okay, you get the point—using a snorkel is great for improving in the pool and you get how to use it to swim faster.
But what about the mechanics of actually using the snorkel so that you don’t errantly swallow a bunch of water or get a bunch of chlorinated pool flushing up your nose when performing a flip turn?
The tube on the snorkel should be placed in the center of your face. If it lists to either side, the tube will twist and pull the mouthpiece out of your mouth. Not fun.
Tighten the head strap so that the tube remains firmly in place. The center mount is designed to be hydrodynamic but also provides a useful reminder if your head position isn’t straight when swimming.
Swimmers typically don’t swim with a clenched jaw. (Unless they are really, really peeved about the main set or stubbing a finger on the lane rope.) But that changes with the snorkel.
Bite down on the mouthpiece (gently) to maintain suction of your lips and keep water out of your mouth. Going from 0 to 100 in swim snorkel use likely also means some jaw fatigue towards the end of the swim workout.
Focus on steady, controlled breathing. One of the fun things about swim snorkels is that you can breathe as much as you want and you aren’t encumbered by things like coach-ordered breathing patterns. Breathe steadily and normally and focus strong exhalations.
Snorkels typically come with a release valve at the bottom of the tube that allows for one-way removal of water.
If water gets into water from the top of the tube (like during breakouts when you are fully submerged), gave it a forceful blast when you surface to clear the release valve and tube.
First-timers should habituate to the altogether unnatural sensation of breathing while facing the bottom of the pool with snorkel floats.
What are these?
Literally putting the swim snorkel on your face and dunking it under the surface of the water. Start by standing (or hanging off the side of the wall) and then progress to some gentle push-offs.
My biggest challenge with late onset snorkel training (I never used one until my late 30s) was the problem of water flooding my nose (and sinuses, leading to some unpleasant earaches) during flip turns.
With some trial and error, and a lot of ear drops, I realized that I needed to maintain steady pressure in the nose with a breath hold during the rotation of the flip turn.
As your head begins the downward rotation into the tuck, suck in that last breath and hold it, maintaining pressure until you’ve pushed off, the tube is facing up, and you can begin the slow exhale.
Swim snorkels are fairly uniform in function but vary in specific performance features.
The best snorkel for swimming includes offerings from FINIS—the O.G. in swim snorkels—Speedo, Arena, TYR, Sporti, and others. You can check out our exhaustive breakdown of the top swim snorkels here.
Podium finishers include:
The classic FINIS Original Swimmer’s Snorkel was the first kid on the block back when FINIS pioneered this form of swim gear in the 1990s and still holds its own. FINIS offers it in a Junior version and several different colors.
The FINIS Stability Snorkel is my favorite, with a slightly more rounded tube, twistable mouthpiece for easier breathing (panting) between sets, and multiple head straps for a more secure fit when sprinting.
The swimmer’s snorkel is another tool of many—along with paddles, pull buoy, swim watch, smart swim goggles, kickboards—that can help you swim better.
By understanding how a snorkel can be applied to your swim training in practical terms, you can take the next steps in swimming like a certified, five-star champion.
Happy swimming!
Olivier Poirier-Leroy Olivier Poirier-Leroy is the founder of YourSwimLog.com. He is an author, former national level swimmer, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, and swim coach.
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