Are you too “dainty?” Some swimmers don’t put enough oomph into the front of the stroke. I call this drill The Boxer because we use a pair of hand paddles in our fists and punch with our core to put some drive into into the entry.
I like to use a pretty large pair of hand paddles but use whatever you have on hand. You can even just use your fists if you don't have paddles or are in the open water.
DO:
Use your core - hips, abs, shoulders
Try to make a splash - points for the most noise
Punch down slightly - hand below elbow
Make sure you are extending forward before sweeping back
Hinge at the elbow and pull with bent arm
DON’T:
Pause before entry
Put on the brakes - you may find if you’re too shallow on entry the paddle will flip up and cause a great deal of drag. Punch down ~ 6”!
Pull with a straight arm - hinge at the elbow and pull with bent arm instead
