Advanced technique courses for triathletes and open water swimmers in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa
Freestyle and stroke technique courses in Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa.
Want to make your swimming technique smoother, more efficient, and more powerful? These technique courses are designed for triathletes and open water swimmers who want to improve their freestyle, breaststroke, and backstroke – whether for competition or personal progress.
Recommended swimming ability: at least 400 meters continuously.
Who is the course for?
- Triathletes who want to improve the power and relaxation of their swim leg
- Open water swimmers looking for greater efficiency and confidence
- Adults with swimming skills who want to refine their technique with professional guidance
- Recreational swimmers who want to learn rhythmic breathing and maintain form even when tired
- Adults who can swim at least 400 meters continuously at the starting point
If you’re not yet able to swim at least 400 meters continuously, it might be best to start with our adult swimming technique lessons. You’ll have the chance to refine your technique and build confidence in the water.
Freestyle – technique from a triathlete’s perspective
Freestyle training focuses on leg position, coordinating kicks with arm pulls, refining arm mechanics, rotating the body during the stroke, and developing a smooth breathing rhythm that ensures sufficient oxygen intake even during long, high-intensity swims.
The progression starts with mastering the kick, then fine-tuning arm pull details, and finally optimizing breathing technique.
Kicks
The key to effective freestyle kicks is relaxed feet. A common mistake is tensing the toes and feet, resulting in stiff “wooden legs” that generate no propulsion.
In proper kicking, no muscles below the kneecap are active. Instead, the ankles move passively, driven by the thighs and hips. When kicking on your stomach, the heels should stay below the surface. When kicking on your back, the knees should not break the surface.
Arm pull
The arm should enter the water calmly in line with the body, fingers first. Then, the elbow is drawn close to the side (arm at about a 90-degree angle), and the pull is performed with a high elbow, keeping the wrist and palm firm and fingers nearly straight.
A common mistake is letting the wrist go limp, which wastes all propulsive force. Another typical error is pushing the hand downward at the start of the pull, creating unnecessary lift that throws off body position and slows the stroke.
Breathing
Successful breathing requires proper body rotation. The head stays fully underwater and surfaces for a breath only as a result of the rotation. The neck must always remain relaxed.
The breathing rhythm should be: full inhale above the surface, full exhale underwater. Exhaling through the mouth or both mouth and nose is fine, but make sure to complete the exhale before the face returns to the surface. If old air is still being exhaled above the surface, there’s no room for a full breath – leading quickly to fatigue.
It’s best to learn bilateral breathing from the start and to inhale only through the mouth. This helps develop a balanced stroke and ensures body rotation is even on both sides.
Breaststroke – an energy-efficient option for open water
Breaststroke – or more familiarly, the “frog style” – is commonly used, but many swimmers keep their head fully above the surface at all times. This pushes the hips and legs too low, making swimming heavy and inefficient, and can also strain the neck.
From the start, breaststroke should be practiced with the head relaxed between the arms during the glide, face underwater, eyes looking down, and the head deeper than the legs – just like in freestyle.
For many swimmers, the kick is the most challenging part of breaststroke.
Proper breaststroke follows the cycle: breath – arm pull – kick – glide.
Breathing
Breathing is done by lifting the head just enough to inhale – no more than necessary.
Arm pull
A correct arm pull begins with nearly straight arms pulling and pressing downward and outward, forming a heart-shaped motion under the chest. During the breath and the glide that follows the kick, the arms are extended forward again with palms facing up.
Kick
Learning breaststroke starts with the kick, often practiced first using a kickboard or by holding onto the pool edge. The better your kick technique, the more resistance you’ll feel against your palms. A common mistake is relaxing the ankles too early or kicking straight backward in a “mule kick” motion.
In a proper kick, the knees are closer together than the ankles at the start. A sweeping semicircular motion from the lower legs presses the flexed ankles together. In the final third of the kick, the legs straighten and the inner edges of the feet snap together.
The breaststroke kick is very powerful on its own when done correctly. It can also be used in elementary backstroke and its more advanced version, known in Finnish as the “pyykkimuija” (a style combining strong kicks and glides on the back).
Glide
After the kick, glide with your head between your arms, neck relaxed, and gaze toward the bottom. It’s important that the hips stay open and relaxed throughout the glide. Even a slight hip flex using the abs can disrupt the entire stroke.
Backstroke (back crawl)
In backstroke, the body position must remain horizontal at the surface, but the head should be tilted far enough back so that only the nose and mouth stay above water. This helps lift the hips and legs into a streamlined position.
Kick
The ankles must stay completely relaxed, just like in freestyle. The kick is similar to a freestyle kick, but slightly more lateral due to stronger body rotation and arm movement.
The kick originates from the hip muscles, adding power. The motion should be as sharp and whip-like as in freestyle, with the leg fully extended at the end of each kick. The knees should stay below the surface at all times.
Arm pull
The arm pull generates up to 90% of propulsion in backstroke. To be effective, the body must rotate thoroughly along its longitudinal axis, again similar to freestyle. Lifting the head disrupts this rotation, forcing the body into an upright position – a common mistake made to avoid water splashing into the face or nose.
The arm recovers relaxed, at shoulder width, with the pinky finger entering the water first. The pulling arm sinks passively to a depth of 40–50 cm as the body continues rotating toward that side. Backstroke arm coordination follows the “windmill principle” – the arms always move in opposition: for example, when the right arm begins the pull, the left arm is already recovering above water.
Breathing
The head is kept just high enough to allow continuous breathing; only forceful arm entries might splash water onto the face. Breathing is rhythmically timed: inhale during one arm pull, exhale during the other. All breathing is done through a fully open mouth, using the mouth only.
Butterfly
Butterfly is traditionally seen as a difficult and demanding stroke. However, the challenge isn’t so much the arm pull or the kick, but rather coordinating the arm pull, kick, and breathing in the correct rhythm. Just like in freestyle, incorrect breathing can ruin the technique. Getting the timing right between kicks and arm pulls is also often difficult at first.
It’s common for swimmers to lift the head too high due to poor technique, which prevents the arms from recovering fully forward. The resulting lack of momentum often brings the swim to a quick stop.
Kick
The kick is a dolphin kick, driven by the entire body, with relaxed ankles like in freestyle.
There should be two kicks per arm pull. The first kick happens as the arms return to the surface after the previous pull. The second kick occurs simultaneously with the next arm pull. Using fins can be helpful in the beginning.
Arm pull
The most critical phase is the water entry. If the arms hit the water forcefully and press straight down, the upper body rises too high, breaking the flow and ruining the technique.
The movement should start wide and narrow toward the end. The arms should move outside the shoulder line to get a strong catch. As in freestyle, the wrists and hands must remain firm, the elbows high, and the pull should go backward – not downward. The pull finishes fully alongside the thighs.
Breathing
Breathing in butterfly is largely similar to breaststroke, but it must follow a faster rhythm. Like in freestyle, poor breathing technique can bring butterfly to a halt quickly. After the breath, the head must go back underwater forehead first before the arms – otherwise, the head stays too high, the legs drop, and momentum is lost.
Elementary backstroke (“pyykkimuija” or English backstroke)
Elementary backstroke – sometimes humorously referred to in Finnish as “pyykkimuija” or historically known as “English backstroke” – is a highly effective swimming style when executed with good technique. In this stroke, the kick is a breaststroke kick. The arm pull begins with both arms extended straight overhead above the water.
From there, the pull starts by moving the arms down toward the thighs with straight elbows and firm wrists and palms (like paddles, with open palms facing backward). The movement ends when the hands touch the sides of the thighs.
This technique is powerful if the kick is strong. The head can even remain entirely underwater, with the face surfacing only for breathing. The technique requires practice – if one arm pulls harder than the other, the swimming direction can shift.
Learn advanced swimming techniques with private coaching
Technique courses are offered flexibly as private lessons or small group sessions in Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa. The content and duration of the course are tailored to your goals and current skill level. The sessions are ideal for individual training or as part of triathlon preparation.
Take a step toward more efficient swimming
Whether you’re training for a triathlon or simply want to swim longer and better, a technique course is the best investment in your swimming hobby. Good technique saves energy and builds confidence with every stroke.
Book your technique session
Good swimming technique saves energy, boosts performance, and builds confidence in the water. Take a step toward more efficient swimming.
Prices from €25 / person / hour.