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The Challenge of Postural Alignment in Water and Its Importance for Faster Swimming

Writer's picture: Jade EdmistoneJade Edmistone

Postural alignment is a critical factor in achieving speed and efficiency in swimming. However, maintaining proper alignment in the water is far more challenging than on land due to the properties of water and the demands it places on the body. Unlike standing on solid ground, where we have clear points of stability, swimming requires the body to maintain an elongated, streamlined position while navigating a fluid, unstable environment. This need for alignment in the water is essential for reducing drag, optimising body position, and creating the most efficient path through the water.


In this article, we’ll explore why postural alignment is so difficult to maintain in water, how it affects swimming performance, and how ONCORE helps swimmers master this essential skill by activating core and stabilising muscles to improve control, feel, and efficiency.

 

Why Postural Alignment is More Difficult in Water

 

On land, postural alignment is relatively easy to assess and maintain because we have the support of gravity and a solid surface under our feet. Our sensory feedback systems - proprioception, balance, and muscle coordination - rely on these fixed reference points to keep us upright and aligned. For instance, standing up straight or walking with good posture requires minimal effort for most people because our body naturally uses visual and tactile feedback from the ground.


Demonstration with Founder, Jade Edmistone
Demonstration with Founder, Jade Edmistone

In water, however, the situation changes dramatically. Maintaining postural alignment in the water is so challenging due to:

 

      1.   Unstable Environment: Water provides little to no stable reference points for balance. Unlike land, where gravity pulls us downward, water’s buoyancy pushes us upward, making it harder to feel how our body is aligned. This leads to a greater reliance on internal muscle control and balance to maintain proper positioning.


      2.   Increased Resistance: Water is 800 times denser than air, meaning every movement in the water encounters significantly more resistance. If your body is not perfectly aligned, this resistance multiplies, creating drag that slows you down.


      3.   Core Engagement: Proper postural alignment in the water requires strong core and stabilising muscle engagement. Without the constant support of gravity, swimmers must activate these muscles to keep their body in a streamlined position. This core engagement is essential for maintaining balance, reducing drag, and transferring force efficiently through each stroke.


      4.   Lack of Sensory Feedback: On land, we can easily feel when we’re out of alignment because our body interacts directly with the ground. In water, sensory feedback is less immediate. The body may not register misalignment until it results in a loss of efficiency or increased drag. Swimmers need to develop an acute awareness of their body’s position without the help of clear tactile signals from their environment.

 

The Importance of Postural Alignment in Swimming

 

Maintaining proper postural alignment in the water is not just a technical detail - it’s a fundamental aspect of fast, efficient swimming. Here’s why it matters so much:

 

      1.   Drag Reduction: The greatest enemy of speed in the water is drag. Any misalignment of the body - such as dropping the hips, improper head position, or poor shoulder rotation - creates unnecessary resistance that slows you down. By keeping the body in a straight, streamlined position, swimmers can reduce drag and glide more smoothly through the water, conserving energy and increasing speed.


      2.   Efficient Power Transfer: In swimming, the power generated by your strokes must be transferred effectively through your body to propel you forward. Misalignment disrupts this power transfer. For example, if your core isn’t engaged, your energy leaks out through inefficient movements, reducing your propulsion and wasting effort.


      3.   Better Stroke Mechanics: Proper postural alignment also improves stroke mechanics. When the body is in the correct position, it’s easier to execute smooth, powerful strokes. Misalignment forces swimmers to compensate with improper arm or leg movements, leading to less effective strokes and slower times.


      4.   Injury Prevention: Good alignment also helps prevent injury by distributing the load evenly across your muscles and joints. Poor posture can place undue stress on certain areas - such as the shoulders or lower back - leading to overuse injuries over time.


Front Plank with ONCORE under the feet and hands, finding alignment.
Front Plank with ONCORE under the feet and hands, finding alignment.

How ONCORE Helps Swimmers Achieve Postural Alignment

 

Maintaining postural alignment in water requires not only awareness but also the ability to engage the core and stabilising muscles. This is where ONCORE becomes a powerful training tool for swimmers of all levels. By providing an anchor point in the water, ONCORE helps swimmers develop the muscle engagement and body awareness necessary for maintaining proper alignment, while also giving them the tactile feedback they need to refine their technique.


Back Plank with ONCORE under the hands and held between the feet, forcing engagement through the core and adductors while finding alignment.
Back Plank with ONCORE under the hands and held between the feet, forcing engagement through the core and adductors while finding alignment.

ONCORE addresses the challenge of postural alignment by:

 

      1.   Activating Core and Stabilising Muscles: ONCORE’s unique design, with its low-density foam and textured surface, engages swimmers’ core and stabilising muscles. When swimmers apply pressure to ONCORE during drills, they are forced to activate these muscles to maintain control and alignment. This engagement builds the muscle memory required for maintaining proper body position even when swimming without the tool.


      2.   Providing Tactile Feedback: One of the biggest challenges in water is the lack of immediate sensory feedback. ONCORE provides swimmers with an anchor point in the water, giving them a physical reference to feel whether their body is aligned correctly. This tactile feedback helps swimmers become more aware of their posture and make the necessary adjustments to reduce drag and improve efficiency.


      3.   Improving Feel and Hold in the Water: ONCORE’s textured surface also enhances the swimmer’s “feel” for the water. As swimmers perform drills with ONCORE, they learn how to apply pressure and hold their position in the water with greater awareness and control. This improved feel transfers to their strokes, helping them maintain proper postural alignment during full swim sets without the tool.


      4.   Enhancing Proprioception: The use of ONCORE helps develop proprioception - your body’s ability to sense its position in space. By providing constant feedback during various drills, ONCORE sharpens the swimmer’s awareness of their body alignment and balance. This heightened proprioception allows swimmers to maintain better postural alignment even when swimming at faster speeds or under fatigue.


      5.   Core-Centric Training: ONCORE drills specifically target the muscles that are critical for postural alignment in swimming. Exercises like vertical balancing, sculling, and planking force swimmers to engage their core while maintaining a stable, streamlined body position. Over time, this training builds the strength and awareness needed to maintain alignment without extra effort.


These advanced ONCORE drills challenge even the elite athletes in maintaining alignment and control.

Final Thoughts

 

Achieving postural alignment in the water is one of the most challenging, yet essential, aspects of swimming. Without the support of a stable environment like we have on land, swimmers must rely on core strength, body awareness, and tactile feedback to maintain the streamlined position that reduces drag and enhances efficiency. This alignment is crucial for faster swimming, improved stroke mechanics, and injury prevention.

 

ONCORE addresses the difficulty of maintaining alignment by providing a tool that engages the core and stabilising muscles while offering tactile feedback that helps swimmers feel their body’s position in the water. By incorporating ONCORE into their training routine, swimmers can improve their postural alignment, reduce drag, and develop the muscle memory needed for faster, more efficient swimming. Through experiential learning with ONCORE, swimmers not only feel the difference but also transfer these improvements to their regular swimming, leading to long-term performance gains.


Check out the Build & Strengthen PDF for drills that focus on challenging alignment in the water through floating and balancing.



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