Swimming
Forward Racing Start
The forward racing start is a dive from a swimming starting block into a streamlined entry and breakout. It trains explosive leg drive and coordination from takeoff to swimming.
Higher injury risk. Read the safety notes before adding weight.
- Advanced
- Compound
- Higher injury risk
- Rest 1 min 30 sec
How to do it
- Place your feet in your approved starting stance, with your front toes curled over the block’s edge.
- Crouch over your thighs with your hands gripping the front edge of the block.
- Drive off the block toward the lane through both legs.
- Reach your arms overhead with your hands stacked before you reach the water.
- Enter fingertips first with your head between your upper arms.
- Glide along a shallow line with your body stretched into a streamline.
- Begin the underwater kick appropriate to your stroke.
- Swim to the surface beyond the landing area.
Form cues
- Push forward, not downward
- Keep your legs together
- Exhale gently underwater
Common mistakes
- Looking forward at entryKeep your eyes directed toward the pool bottom so your neck stays aligned with your torso.
- Folding at the waistLengthen through your hips so your torso and legs follow your hands through the entry.
- Holding the glide too longTransition into your underwater action before your forward speed noticeably fades.
Safety
A steep or uncontrolled entry can cause a head impact with the pool bottom and severe neck or spinal injury. Slipping on the block or entering an occupied landing area can also cause serious injury.
- Practice only under direct supervision of a qualified swimming instructor after completing the facility’s required racing-start progression.
- Use only a designated start area whose water depth meets the facility’s and governing organization’s rules for your training status.
- Check that the block is secure and the landing area is clear of swimmers, lane lines, and other obstacles.
- Surface before breathing discomfort; never hyperventilate or extend underwater travel as a breath-holding challenge.
If you cannot reliably control a headfirst entry or have neck, back, or shoulder symptoms, use an instructor-approved entry progression before attempting block starts.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Pool Lane Line (optional)
- Swimming Starting Block
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 3–5
- Target
- 1 rep
- Rest
- 1 min 30 sec
Treat each repetition as one explosive start with a full reset; prioritize entry control over distance.