By Olivier Poirier-Leroy on SwimSwam
Drag chutes are one of the most versatile tools for resisted swimming.
And training with a drag chute is usually treated pretty simply:
Small chute=small resistance Big chute=big resistanceBut chute size is only part of the equation for how hard they are to pull.
The amount of drag produced by a parachute increases much faster than swimming speed. The faster you go while swimming against one, the disproportionately more resistance the chute creates.
That little nugget of info is what this set is built on.
The Set
After your regularly scheduled warm-up, grab your drag chute and a can-do attitude:
3-5 rounds:
25 at 60% effort 25 at 70% effort 25 at 80% effort 25 at 90% effort 25 at 95% effort Rest 30s per rep to keep stroke mechanics awesome. Take an additional 2-3 minutes between rounds with some easy swimming to reset.The goal is fairly simple: Progressively increase speed while keeping the chute, stroke, and distance the same.
Focus on strong body position throughout. Resistance has a way of reducing some of the wasted body movements we make when swimming, encouraging better body position. Lean into it. Maintain stroke length and tempo with each 25—this tells us that you are applying force correctly. One of the big benefits of resisted swimming is that it naturally promotes smarter force application. Reap this benefit hard. Technique first, always. If technique falls off a cliff, regress to a smaller chute size. The goal is faster swimming, not grinding slowly through technique like you have a small child riding on your back.Why This Set Works
As swim speed goes up, the drag chute gets harder and harder to pull because the drag it creates rises with the square of velocity.
So even though the chute size doesn’t magically expand as you swim faster with it on, the amount of resistance increases significantly.
You are essentially doing an ascending load-velocity progression without needing to change equipment.
A study (Coloretti et al., 2025) looked at how resistance shoots up a different velocities while wearing a drag chute. Across each chute size, drag increased with the square of velocity.
(Fun side note—active swimming causes around 15% more drag compared to being towed in a streamline position, likely because we are kicking water “into” the chute.)
Swimming speed* Relative chute drag Increase vs. 60% 60% 1.00× — 70% 1.36× +36% 80% 1.78× +78% 90% 2.25× +125% 95% 2.51× +151%* Swimming speed as a percentage of max speed, not effort. Drag values are estimates based on the relationship between speed and resistance found in Coloretti et al. (2025).
Same chute, a whole lot more resistance.
When we increase velocity from 60% to 95% of maximum, theoretically we are producing around 2.5x more drag.
No stopping to adjust the amount of water in the buckets or add another chute or swap out resistance tubing.
Just progressively faster swimming and progressively more resistance.
For more resisted swimming adventures, here are some other sets:
Sprint Set: Broken Power 50s for Tempo and Speed A Resisted Sprint Set That Builds a Faster 100 Freestyle A Set for Using Resistance to Increase Stroke Length and Sprint SpeedFor swimmers looking for more evidence-based ways to use resisted tools for increased velocity in the pool, check out The 50 Freestyle Blueprint below.
ABOUT OLIVIER POIRIER-LEROY
Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national level swimmer, 2x Olympic Trials qualifier, and author of several books for swimmers, including YourSwimBook, Conquer the Pool, The Dolphin Kick Manual, and most recently, The 50 Freestyle Blueprint.
The book is a beastly 220+ pages of evidence-based insights and practical tips for improving freestyle sprint speed.
It details everything from how to master stroke rate, technique, build a thundering freestyle kick, improve your start and underwaters, and much more.
The 50 Freestyle Blueprint also includes 20 sprint sets to get you started and a bonus guide on how to master the 100 freestyle to complete your sprint preparation.
Learn more about The 50 Freestyle Blueprint here.
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