How Michelangelo can help you swim more efficiently

What if, instead of thinking about improving swimming technique as adding more power or complexity, we saw it as a process of removing all unnecessary movement?

Michelangelo believed every sculpture already existed within the stone, waiting to be uncovered. His job was to chip away the excess to reveal the beauty within.

Now, picture someone swimming with perfect technique. There are no superfluous movements. Everything is directed to moving the swimmer smoothly through the water.

Compare this to what you see in less experienced swimmers. You might see the legs swinging from side to side, the head rolling towards the sky, arms moving stiffly, perhaps pushing water forwards or down instead of backwards.

Often, when we work on swimming, we focus on what we want to add: a stronger catch, a more powerful kick, a more dynamic hip roll. But what if perfect swimming form exists within us and our task in training is to uncover it?

If you watch swimmers, you will struggle to find two with identical technique. While top swimmers have a lot in common, they all seem to have unique quirks in the way they swim. When you’re familiar with how someone swims, it’s easy to spot them in a pack of swimmers, even from a distance and when you can’t see their face.

Those differences are not necessarily imperfections. They may be adaptations the swimmer has discovered through trial and error, uncovering the most efficient swimming technique for them, based on their intuitive feel for the water.

Our task then, as people who want to improve our swimming, is to find what works for us. Rather than trying to force ourselves into a mould, let our own ideal technique reveal itself through stripping away excess.

This doesn’t happen by accident. Michelangelo is said to have had a clear vision in his head of what he wanted to emerge from the rock. You also need that clear vision of your technique – not just how it looks, but how it feels: strong, fluid and smooth. Then, work to eliminate what’s unnecessary and optimise what is.

For example, instead of kicking harder, could you reduce the movement of your legs to become more streamlined? Instead of adding power, could you take away resistance by becoming more streamlined? What’s the smallest amount you need to turn your head to breathe? Can you gently gather and direct the water rather than beating it? Instead of applying more force, can you reduce tension in your neck and shoulders? What’s the least amount of effort you can put into your stroke?

Clearly, this isn’t a total analogy. You are a moving swimmer, not a lump of marble. But a shift in perspective can sometimes help your swimming in surprising ways. Think about what you might take away rather than add.

And if this approach applies in sculpture and swimming, perhaps you can apply it in other areas of your life too.