No matter what kind of swimmer you are you will experience different types of drag solely from being in the water.

There are several different types of drag. Form drag is created by you and your body position. Streamlining will help eliminate some form drag but perfecting your technique in all four strokes is key. Swimming freestyle with a wide arm recovery, for example, would be another cause for form drag. Reduce drag by keeping your hands close to your body on the out-of-the-water recovery. Another example would be kicking from your knees. Utilizing your hips and minimizing knee bend would reduce form drag. The more streamlined your body the less drag.

Friction drag is related to the hair on your skin or the suit you wear. It could be a training tool like a parachute or a tow ball. Friction drag is useful in training and feel. Swimmers typically swim year-round with hairy bodies. Then at the big meets they shave off everything. This is a 'feel' we have all come to appreciate. The feeling of a freshly shaved body jumping into a cool pool tells your brain it's time to swim fast.

In training the use of a parachute or a tow ball can increase strength but also point out stroke flaws. I personally prefer tow balls especially for breaking down my butterfly. Training with a tow ball I can feel my hands lose catch at certain parts of my stroke. The resistance I met with the ball taught me how to correct the weaknesses.

Wave drag is inevitable. By simply being in motion in the water wave drag will be created. For example, you swim into your own wave every time you turn off a wall. The wave that followed you across the pool is now pushing you back to the wall. This is why streamlines are so important as well as pushing off the wall deeper than you approached it to avoid some of your own wave drag.

It is a drag, but you can use it to swim faster and smarter!