Top 7 Open Water Swimming Tips

Lucy Charles-Barclay, known for being the greatest swimmer in triathlon, shares her top tips & tricks for open water swimming! This can be a daunting step up from swimming in a pool, so it's always best to make sure you are as prepared as possible & make sure to swim in safe, regulated bodies of water!
Diving into the world of open water swimming, whether you're just starting out, or a seasoned competitor - follow along and learn all about how to get the most out of your training in lakes and sea water!
01:18 Acclimatisation
02:18 Sighting
03:22 Open Water Race Start
04:34 Drafting
05:32 Stroke Rate
06:21 Equipment
08:48 Hygiene
Check out where we've been swimming...
Open Water Swimming at Merchant Taylors’ School:
www.activetrainingworld.co.uk...
Open Water Swimming at Redricks:
/ 300489263370967
.................
Produced by: Holly Charles
Find us on instagram:
/ lucycharles93
/ reecebarclaytri
/ lola_the_minijack
And Twitter:
/ lucyannecharles
/ reece_barclay
www.lucycharles.com
#OpenwaterSwim #proswimmer #lakeswimming #ironmantraining

[@DaveGe77]

Lucy's got to make sure she's sighting because she's always way out front. :) You're the best, Lucy! Thank you for that. Open water swimming is so daunting for beginner triathletes.

[@hockinghillsalive3624]

Super appreciate you putting out helpful and relevant content during this lockdown.

[@annaharrington8574]

I loved just watching the ending with the swimmers just swimming & awesome tips thank you

[@kyz61]

This ist art of swimming! Thank you for that video and the tips!

[@shanedonlon7416]

That was quality!!!!! You guys are too good! Now I really have to practice!

[@ironman140.6]

Brilliant overview of what is necessary in opening water - best tips ever

[@jamesshelley6478]

enjoy these videos so much!

[@yiannis_christodoulou]

Great insight and very helpful Lucy

[@Beyondthebreakers]

Great, thanks Lucy!

[@TheBritishActingCoach]

This is so helpful haha wish I'd seen this before my first triathlon! I WAS CLUELESS!!! Thanks Lucy!

[@mcorbett01]

Really useful video, thank you. Love the post-swim doggy shower 😁👍🏻

[@GreenIdo]

Thank you 👌 great tips!

[@TommyH1078]

Thanks a lot for another great video

[@marshallalbritton9521]

Great fun. Go Lola!

[@aks8291]

Hi Guys. Great tips. Thanks for posting. Could you update on the swim buoy. Ive never used one but am interested in whether you think they are good/bad etc

[@issydaisy2261]

Hi, I'm new to swimming, but I swim in a lake quite often but this weekend I'm going to a new lake so this is very helpful, I will have a life vest on at all times though.

[@melrichardson2392]

Thank you fantastic tips video was great keep it up.

[@oliverwood7190]

Love the awesome video

[@marcosastu]

Nice tips Great video Thank you very much :)

[@tobygauntlett2046]

Awesome. 💙 Open Water Swimming ... In calm condition 😉

[@alex31721able]

The level of excitement on her face is amazing

[@bastogne315]

The level of excrement in British rivers is amazing.

[@skimckay]

Kona Queen - Can't Wait!

[@Terrilyn_Austen]

I live your ride!! Do a video on that!!

[@MrSurfing4ever]

Aqui no Sul do Brasil, Imbituba SC, esperando Lucy and Cia

[@TurneyUK]

Excellent delivery

[@benanderson9551]

The ease and speed of your swimming is #goals

[@torbjrnlund903]

Waiting for spring. 🏊

[@TheSnifmister]

Wow even your dog is an excellent swimmer ❤

[@alisontriathlonlover]

Thanks for sharing, very useful 😀👍 pretty wetsuit, nice colors

[@dubaigeek1988]

Good tips

[@justin-eu7nh]

The mouthwash is a new and great one that I never thought of. Cheers :)

[@skimckay]

Loved that

[@eonblue46]

Love the way you are using music. Thanks for the video!

[@arwo1143]

Generally not, or just because of the pandemic? If it’s a general rule, why?

[@michele73michele]

i do open water swimming regularly, well before the covid that is, but I never thought of doing water polo swim style before submerging the face. nice tip there. thanks Lucy. big fan. cheers.

[@michaeldowdy382]

Michele Tartaglia What is “Polo swim style”?

[@favioso1]

Great video. What do you recommend eating and drinking before a 10k marathon swim? How many hours before the race should I eat and drink ? Thks

[@alisonwilks302]

Love you tcb !! Xxxxx

[@plantasuperqueques2810]

rhank you beiatiful video

[@paulhaslam1194]

Great tips, absolutely spot on. Acclimatising before you start is crucial.& something I wish I hadn't had to learn from experience. I think it's also useful to get your heart rate up to speed a bit before you begin too as that first 2 or 300m can feel quite tough otherwise. I haven't tried the higher cadence yet but it's something I'm going to have a go at. I normally swim at about 30 & it looked like you were doing about 36 in the video but not certain, just a bit of guesswork & timing.

[@michaeldowdy382]

Paul Haslam Great questions and comments... just beginning here. What you mean when you say you “swim and 30”? 3o strokes a minute or....?

[@tobygauntlett2046]

Thanks for the tips Lucy. Could a Open Water tips for Sea follow up be included. Regarding safety, waves and swell 🏊🏼‍♂️

[@steveo1413]

I'll help, be safe, watch for waves and swells. Currents suck real bad.

[@PoetWithPace]

Thank you for the tips, which as a beginner to open water i found very useful. BTW, how do you get a wetsuit off quickly without ripping it apart?

[@benw1133]

Great video. Can’t wait to swim again. I like the song at the end too. Anyone know artist/song?

[@katebushman4155]

Velvet Moon - Oak Trees

[@paulhetherington3854]

Tri'Ath' -- Three spots, for this lady! Spartaic

[@ericdesanto1831]

Thank you for great tips. I do have a question though. Many coaches have suggested swimming with a high stroke rate. But if you are going to raise your stroke rate with the same heart rate, something in your stroke must change. So I ask, how do you raise your stroke rate? You mentioned not losing the catch. Where do you compromise to raise your rate? Please consider that for a future video.

[@nadinevogt9571]

To increase your stroke rate, aim for a closer water entry (to your head), so that each stroke has less distance. It's analogous to shifting down a gear and having a higher cadence on the bike. That way you can ride/swim with the same effort but just change your "gearing". :)

[@jeromeibanez2891]

@@nadinevogt9571 Great explanation. Just to add to your answer to address Eric's question about the heart rate: As with any endurance sport, the key is to consistently be at your Z2. If your Z2 is at 40-50 strokes per minute, then your goal is to slowly increase that speed so that your body gets used to a higher stroke rate. The goal is to always increase your speed at Z2.

[@igomans]

Magnificent

[@Jinjukei]

What is the name of your watch? Would be very happy to get to know it :)

[@sameehabhayat6874]

Where are you from? These locations look good😍

[@rachaelclements5116]

Those later shots in the lakes are at Merchant Taylors' School, near Watford, not Reddicks Lakes. ;)

[@VitaliyKlivak]

Lola is the best!

[@henrichaudoir9434]

What pull bouy do you use?

[@shanedonlon7416]

What temperature was the water, what's the coldest you swam in and where was this venue. Love the trailer and your technique!

[@prebengrevstad7954]

Ogoophoooho

[@prebengrevstad7954]

Oph

[@prebengrevstad7954]

Ohohhohgohihp

[@prebengrevstad7954]

O

[@prebengrevstad7954]

Ogooooophhohhoohoohhohohohhooho

[@pablojimenez8837]

How you do the sighting if you are crossing a wide river, such as Rio De La Plata?. What gauge you choose if you don't see anything?

[@brandonparedes4110]

Primer comentario 😎😎 En mi pais el video de estrena a las 2:30 AM y en su pais a que horas se estrena ??

[@ivansrubik6426]

4:30 AM

[@klewis2048]

Love Redricks

[@triBenjamin]

im not a good swimmer but i use a sleeveless wetsuit, is there a disadvantage to this? I would have thought you're arms and shoulder being more free would be a benefit

[@lfoster7601]

Of course, when it comes to sighting, no matter how you do it, being able to actually see the buoy is a big advantage over my rubbish eyesight, even in prescription goggles :-) I've followed all sorts of weird things, including a "substantial" canoeist. Couldn't work out why I wasn't getting any closer to the buoy.

[@TheBritishActingCoach]

I wore a scuba diving wet suit after a mess up ordering a decent one...! It of course filled with water and my swim was SHOCKING! Glad it happened though, learning curve haha

[@33ak33ak]

After training in the river I clean my nose and sinuses with saline water and a neti pot. Feels cleaner afterwards.

[@JACK67571]

Whats the name of the song yhat closing the video

[@giuseppelama1735]

Lucy, I get sea sick when I swim in the cold open water in Monterey, CA, any advises before I hit the 12 degree water, surrounded by seals, sea lions and other sea animals. Thx a bunch

[@greghill6117]

Giuseppe Lama wear earplugs it will prevent water rushing in and out of your ears and greatly reduce sea sickness.

[@jamesrobert680]

Did you keep your necklace on Lucy, and which costume did you wear?

[@P.Gillett]

I only just started swimming in the ocean, which is pretty choppy. I need to lift my head quite high to see where I'm going. I find that this is causing quite a pain in my neck. After swimming for a while my neck gets tight and sore. Any suggestions? Am I doing something wrong? Thanks!

[@youtubename7819]

Maybe switch to a breaststroke when you need to spot? Sacrifice speed for comfort while your neck gets stronger.

[@michaelmcginley7930]

What's the song at the end

[@elisabeththaller1307]

Hi Lucy, I started swimming a few months ago and truly enjoy it. Now, here's a girl question: How do you protect your hair from the chlorine in the pool? I have noticed that my hair is suffering from swimming at least 3 times per week for an hour in the pool. Any help is appreciated!

[@anoukhi9771]

Hey, I was a competition swimmer for about 8 years. My hair is quite thick so chlorine wasn’t a big problem. But alot of my friends put some conditioner on the ends of their hair put it in a bun and then a swim cap. If you worry about the swimcap shifting around you can always try one swimcap first than your swimming goggles and another swimming cap. But I only did that during races so I don’t know if its too tight after a while.

[@elisabeththaller1307]

@@anoukhi9771 Thank you! I'll try it!

[@orionvalle]

I made some kind of a routine, before swimming I put some conditioner to protect my hair from the chlorine and friction with the swim cap. After the shower I pass some hair oil and at least once a month I moisturize my hair

[@rahulbera310]

Love swimming🏊.. But we are not allowed to swim in lakes... Missing 😭 swimming 🥺

[@jamesrobert680]

You look great Lucy.

[@johncoroniti9382]

Great tips.. as I am not the strongest open water swimmer, I liked the idea of having a boy around my waist. Can you recommend one?

[@weronikawodiczko2849]

In the movie you can see Zone3 buoy

[@dr80ali]

01:32 What is the name of that orange balloon? Probably it is a must for an adventurer.

[@sbardellajulio3114]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@andys2397]

Lucy & drafting?? Haha, no way! ;)

[@deanb61]

I was about to say the same thing :)

[@ethicworld9552]

Shit...That swimming level... 💪🏻😩

[@TheHutch000]

🥶

[@muratdogan4632]

👏🏊👏🏊👏🏊👏🏊👏🏊👏🏊👏

[@jimwaldron302]

What’s the Hawai time Mahalo

[@randybarnett2308]

Charles Barkley is a Triathlete now?

[@juanjuan8870]

Linda

[@ellielundy8712]

first

[@MMichiganSalveRegina]

Watching these tips 3 years after the video was published and can't help but laugh at how silly these 'social distancing recommendations' were... no drafting? no mass starts? no swimming with other people? lol.

[@marcopoloplanner8843]

I wish I had her broad shoulders. I'd add that for those who get ear infections quite often, a few drops of water and vinegar before and after a swim can help a lot.

[@MatthewSpurr]

Doubt Lucy needs to worry too much about drafting lol :-)

[@winner1338]

I'm scare of big fish or crocodile in open water.

[@Kwildcat13]

It’s rare that a croc while come near you anywhere . I know it seems crazy

[@bastogne315]

How u get sewage out of lungs after swim.

[@AaaAaa-ry4ji]

Drafting??? Kkk sure

[@michaeldowdy382]

Equipment. Info on: That big watch... And....that orange thing strapped on to her.... (suggestion: ditch the rose colored interior of the...van...)

[@timetrialist]

Don't share all your top tricks Lucy, always want to see you first out of the swims!

[@hanssjostrand6265]

I like too swim open water , anyware ...ewerywhare ...

[@dr80ali]

3:30 So annoying background music :(

[@maciekogrodnik7]

6:33 🤤

[@ericbergstrom1]

Plastic bags? Lmaoo.

[@ericbergstrom1]

I thought you were gonna say ..you probably know this .but this is sponsoring by Riku lol

[@ericbergstrom1]

Haha coca cola is so acidic that it kills germs. I kinda like that one

[@chuauzikpuia4658]

Look at them broad shoulders.

[@xrayfish2020]

Brush your teeth and using mouthwash should be the preferred method for both pool and open water swimming

[@bastogne315]

In combat u not wear wetsuit!

[@markwalsh6714]

Great tips. I’d add to beware of unpredictable swans 🦢 never trust a swan lol 😂

[@kartalbaba981]

👍👍👍