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As far as cross-training goes, swimming is up there with the best. Here's how to get it right

We get it: running is your first love, and nothing quite beats the rush of hitting the pavements (or trails), bagging new PBs or the thrill of that runner’s high. But let’s face it, running is a high-impact sport, so your muscles, bones and tendons can benefit from some weekly downtime in order to recover from the stress all that mileage can place them under.

Which is where swimming comes in. As far as cross-training and active recovery goes, hitting the pool is pretty much as good as it gets: a low (in fact, make that no) impact sport that gives you a full-body and cardiovascular workout to boot. If you’re looking to maintain (or even improve) your overall fitness, while giving your body a break from pavement pounding, you could do worse than include a swim session into your routine once or twice a week.

Of course, to reap the full benefits of swimming (which include improved endurance, cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength), it's important to nail that all-important technique. Here, we speak to the experts, to get the lowdown on how to improve your front crawl (or 'freestyle'), breaststroke and backstroke. We also look at how you can improve your stoke rate and swimming endurance...

If you're keen on entering a swim event or trying your hand at triathlon, front crawl is the stroke you're going to want to master. But for beginners, it's often tricky… and it can feel like a lot of hard work if your technique isn't great. We spoke to Loren Ward, co-owner and lead coach at Passion Fit Coaching, to find out how to get it right:

It might seem like a gentler stroke in comparison with front crawl, but breaststroke still offers a great all-round cardiovascular and toning workout, and is a great choice for active recovery days. As with front crawl, it's important to get the stroke right to ensure you're moving as efficiently through the water as possible.

'Often the problem people face with breaststroke is that their stroke is too wide,' reveals Chris Stanton, experienced triathlete and sport & performance master coach at Third Space. 'Try to keep the kick and the scull part of the stroke narrower, rather than wide like a frog.'

Check out these top tips to help perfect your breaststroke technique:

Working on your backstroke offers a great all-round workout, as well as helping to improve posture and opening up the chest muscles. If you're a novice swimmer training for an open-water event, switching to backstroke periodically can offer some respite if you start to tire, giving you the opportunity to get your breath back and even clear your goggles, all while still moving in the right direction!

'When it comes to backstroke, rhythm and timing are key,' says Stanton. 'Focus on improving your coordination of the arms and the rotation to maintain balance and boost propulsion.'

These extra tips will help you master your backstroke technique:

Stroke rate refers to how fast a swimmer completes a stroke. The stroke can be a single stroke (for example, one arm of front crawl or backstroke, or a single pull of breaststroke) or a stroke cycle (for example, both arms of front crawl or backstroke).

Stroke rate can be measured in a few different ways:

Swim drills are a great way of improving your technique and efficiency as you move through the water and can therefore help to improve your stroke rate.

Loren Ward recommends the following drills, all of which will help to improve your positioning and propulsion, and therefore work to increase your overall stroke rate:

If you've entered a swimming event or triathlon that's pushing you outside your comfort zone in terms of distance, it's going to be important to boost your endurance in the water.

'Focus on continuous swims, which help you build endurance,' advises Stanton. 'Although drills can make you a more efficient swimmer, when it comes to building endurance, it's important to dedicate time to steady swimming, where your focus should be on breathing and efficiency. Make sure you swim within a comfortable effort, so you don’t burn out too quickly, and adopt a pace you can maintain for a longer period of time. You can then gradually increase your distance or time to improve your endurance.'