Growing up our parents put us in competitive swimming. My dad's sports background was football and although he still follows the game I guess he thought swimming was as different from football as you could get. And although I spent countless hours in pools and had permanently wrinkled fingers I'm not that strong in the pool these days. The technique has changed enough that I'd have to spend some time with a coach to learn the new way to swim. But if there's one thing I would change with my swimming technique it would be head position. And maybe it wouldn't be so much to change my head position but instead it would be to be aware of it. Below are 6 Reasons Head Position Matters for Swimming. Less Resistance - When you watch a non-swimmer swim a short distance this is usually done with the head up. The problem is that when we lift the head we increase drag resistance. And swimming is all about over coming resistance forces. If you are swimming in a pool you should be looking down at the line on the bottom not ahead of yourself towards the end wall. If you're not sure about your head position have someone shoot a video. Or time yourself for 50 m with your chin tucked, your chin up and with your head in a neutral position. Which position resulted in the fastest time? Ideally it would be best to video yourself doing these time trials.Better Gas Exchange - Distance swimming is primarily an aerobic sport and relies primarily on the availability of oxygen to fuel the activity. When oxygen supply is diminished or delayed, swimming performance suffers. As well, we remove waste products with cellular respiration. If breathing patterns are impaired we won't be as effective drawing...