Struggling to get your times in for the 400m beach lifeguard timed swim?

Here are our Top 10 Tips for improving your time with the least effort!

As someone who did not come from a competitive swimming background and who had not been swimming 'properly' since lessons at school, my first attempt at the 400m timed swim for the beach lifeguard qualification came in at somewhere around 10 minutes.

In the years since, having got my own time down to around 6.30, become a swimming teacher, and having trained numerous lifeguards (from ex-competitive swimmers to 'surfer' swimmers), I thought I'd write this so prospective lifeguards can avoid some of the common pitfalls!

The following Top 10 is simple things which you can do to improve your time with very little effort.

They may help you to improve your time, but the simple fact is that it's your swimming stroke that has the biggest bearing on your speed. If you don't have a reasonable swimming stroke in the first place you can't expect to achieve the required time, so stroke improvement should always be your main focus in the first instance.

  10. Follow the line

Pools have lines along the bottom for a reason - it's the most direct route along the pool! Make sure you wear goggles and swim with your face in the water so you can follow the line and keep straight.

9. Swim slower

How many times have we seen it? The new trainee gets in the water and thrashes along the pool arms flailing round at a hundred miles an hour. Their time for the first 2 lengths is pretty good, but by length 4 they're leaning against the side of the pool doing a Darth Vader impression.

If you're trying the distance for the first time, go for the distance - not the speed. Don't even think about trying to swim fast. Slow your arms down and move through the water at a comfortable pace for YOU. Your first time may be 10 minutes, but you've completed the distance which is the first hurdle.

8. Find a friend

If you can find a friend to swim with you then this will make your swimming much more enjoyable, and you are likely to swim more regularly. If your friend is a slightly faster swimmer than you, they can be used as a pace setter. Simply seeing your friend in front of you and having something to keep up with should improve your time.

7. Feel at one with the water

If you're going to be a lifeguard you need to be at one with the water. This doesn't just mean swimming through it. Practice floating in different positions, diving down, doing handstands, rolling your body from front to back... It may seem silly, but doing these things will firstly break up your training sessions and secondly provide you with many fundamental skills which will not only be useful for other aspects of your lifeguard training, but also have a direct improvement on your swimming.

6. Practice in the pool at which you will take your test

The best idea is to practice at the pool your test will take place at, so you know the 'feel' of the pool.  It may not be the fastest pool to train at, but at least you won't get any shocks in the assessment.   If you can't train at your assessment pool then make the best of what you have got. Remember, not all pools are 25m - some are 20m, some 25 yards, some 33m. Check with the staff to see how long the pool is and alter your lengths accordingly.

Also remember other factors that will affect your performance to varying degrees:

5. Choose the right lane

If a pool has fast and slow lanes assigned then choose the lane that best matches your speed. This will not only give you other swimmers to pace yourself against, but also means you are less likely to annoy other swimmers by slowing them down.

4. Swim through the wall

Many people who are not used to swimming any sort of distance will find that about 4 lengths into their swim they 'hit the wall' and their arms and legs feel like lead. There is a complex explanation for this, but I will try to explain it simply:

Your body has 3 different systems for producing energy, which can be imagined like starting a fire.

The first energy system is like paper - it lights really easily but burns quickly. It will provide a short burst of energy for only a few seconds (which you might use during a dive start for example).

The second energy system is like the kindling - it takes a little longer to light, but burns a bit longer. It will kick in after about 20 seconds and last for around 2 minutes, but lactic acid builds up in the muscles after about 50 seconds which inhibits performance.

The third energy system is like a big log on the fire - it takes a long time to light, but when it does it will burn for a long time. This type of energy will not kick in until around 2 minutes into the swim.

This means that there is a period of time between 50 seconds and 2 minutes into the swim where lactic acid is building up in the muscles, but the third energy system isn't working yet. Many people 'hit the wall' at this point and give up after about 4 lengths. Yet, if they just continued swimming a little while longer, their third energy system would kick in. After this happens you can find your rhythm and continue swimming for long periods.

3. You can teach an old dog new tricks!

Many pools will have swimming lessons going on at the same time as public swims. If you get the chance, watch the swimming teacher and practice some of the drills the children are told to do. Just because you're an adult, it doesn't mean the fundamental skills of swimming are any different for you than they are for them!

2. Work on your turns

You don't need to be able to tumble turn to be able to achieve a good time. But you do need to be able to do an efficient turn at the end of each length. The wall at the end is your friend: you can reach out to it to pull yourself in the last metre of the length, and then you can use your legs like a coiled spring to push and glide off. Getting a good pushing and glide off against a solid surface with your most powerful muscles (your legs) is far faster than swimming and it means you arms can have a little rest while you stretch them out in front of your head! Bad turns can increase times by 1-2 seconds per length.

And at number 1 top tip .........

to improve your time without any effort is...

1. Wear swimming trunks/costumes !!!!

Swimming trunks may not be fashionable for men, but they were designed like that for a reason. Being tight means they create less drag through the water. Compared even to swimming shorts, they can save you around 2 seconds EACH AND EVERY LENGTH. That's over 30 seconds over the 400m. Wear long board shorts and the effect is even worse.

If you really can't bring yourself to strut around poolside in trunks, then why not just wear them under your shorts and take your shorts off just for the swim?

It's the same for the women - your costumes don't come with an extra pair of shorts to wear on top, so why wear them? They only slow you down...

Remember - swimming in the sea is completely different from swimming in the pool. Sea water is much colder, more buoyant and you will be swimming with your head up. You may think: 'What's the point in doing a timed swim in the pool?' Well, it's a fitness test which shows that you have got good basic swimming ability and a level of endurance.

The current time limit of 400m in under 8 minutes (under 7.30 in some areas) is achievable by most people with a little practice. You may find it sickening how the young competitive swimmer on the course can do the time in under 6 minutes, but I bet when you get into the sea the playing field will be levelled somewhat...

As I said at the start - no matter how many 'cheats' you use, you will need to have a reasonable swimming stroke in the first place to stand a chance of achieving the time.  For some tips, videos and animated graphics to help you improve your swimming, try the BBC Sport Academy.