Whether swimming or drilling, once you get to the wall, you need to do one of two things: (1) turn or (2) get out. Assuming that you opt for the former, there are a few considerations. What you want with any turn is a rapid change of direction in a minimum amount of time, without losing speed, and while conserving energy.
You can choose to do a flip turn—that somersault-looking thing that fast swimmers do when they swim freestyle—or you can do an open turn, the turn commonly used for breaststroke and butterfly. The open turn allows you to take a breath at the wall but the flip turn does not. For just a lap or two, this is not a big deal. But for distances of 200 yards or more, this difference adds up. Flip turns are more complex and take much longer to learn than open turns. Virtually everyone who swims laps, however, wants a high-quality flip turn as part of their swimming arsenal. Following are descriptions of lightning-fast, low-cost turns of both varieties and of what should happen following either.
To execute an open turn, as you near the end of the pool, take your last stroke aggressively into your balanced side-glide position, with one arm extended in front of you, your trailing arm just at the surface of the water, and your navel facing the sidewall.
(Throughout the turn and push-off, your navel should face the sidewall.) Continue kicking as you finish this last stroke and until your extended hand touches the wall. Allow the wall arm to bend as your momentum moves your body toward the wall (figure 5.7a). Avoid grabbing the gutter, since pulling yourself up breaks the momentum of the turn and wastes energy. Draw your legs up tightly under you and let the momentum of your body swing your hips toward the wall as you push your upper torso away from the wall with your arm (figure 5.7b). Leave your trailing arm near the surface rather than moving it with your hips. Your body will pivot around a point in your midsection.
Open Turns
To execute an open turn, as you near the end of the pool, take your last stroke aggressively into your balanced side-glide position, with one arm extended in front of you, your trailing arm just at the surface of the water, and your navel facing the sidewall.
(Throughout the turn and push-off, your navel should face the sidewall.) Continue kicking as you finish this last stroke and until your extended hand touches the wall. Allow the wall arm to bend as your momentum moves your body toward the wall (figure 5.7a). Avoid grabbing the gutter, since pulling yourself up breaks the momentum of the turn and wastes energy. Draw your legs up tightly under you and let the momentum of your body swing your hips toward the wall as you push your upper torso away from the wall with your arm (figure 5.7b). Leave your trailing arm near the surface rather than moving it with your hips. Your body will pivot around a point in your midsection.
As the wall arm pushes off the wall, your torso is straight and your legs are tucked in tight under you as you swing them toward the wall. Your wall arm swings over your head as your body continues to pivot around a point in your midsection. At this instant, no part of your body is touching the wall (figure 5.7c).
While your upper torso pivots down into the water, you want the top arm to meet the trailing arm below the surface of the water at the instant your feet—just the toes and balls, you should not be flat footed—contact the wall at shoulder’s width as you are leaping into a fully streamlined glide position (figure 5.7d).
Don’t plant your feet or crouch any more deeply before leaping off the wall. Your goal is to have your feet in contact with the wall for no longer than a bouncing golf ball would stay on the ground (figure 5.7e).
Once you have mastered the open turn, and only then, you might want to try the flip turn. Approach the wall by accelerating your last two strokes, finishing each at your thighs (figure 5.8a).
More speed going into the wall makes for an easier turn. Execute a strong, quick pike, as if doing a toe-touch sit-up (figures 5.8b and c).
Don’t let your hands or elbows move out to the sides. Keep them in close to your line of travel throughout the turn. Your upper body should be three-quarters of the way through the turn as the hips and legs continue gliding toward the wall at the surface (figure 5.8c).
Pick up your heels by quickly bending at the knees (figures 5.8d and e). This is the only large muscular movement needed to get your legs over the top of the water—momentum does the rest (figures 5.8e and f).
Trying to throw your legs over the surface just pushes the upper body deep into the water. By allowing momentum to swing your legs over, your upper body will remain parallel with the surface of the water.
As you make contact with the wall, your feet should be at shoulder width or wider and your knees should be bent almost to 90 degrees. Your feet should hit the wall as your push-off begins (figures 5.8f and g).
While your upper torso pivots down into the water, you want the top arm to meet the trailing arm below the surface of the water at the instant your feet—just the toes and balls, you should not be flat footed—contact the wall at shoulder’s width as you are leaping into a fully streamlined glide position (figure 5.7d). 
Don’t plant your feet or crouch any more deeply before leaping off the wall. Your goal is to have your feet in contact with the wall for no longer than a bouncing golf ball would stay on the ground (figure 5.7e). Flip Turns
Once you have mastered the open turn, and only then, you might want to try the flip turn. Approach the wall by accelerating your last two strokes, finishing each at your thighs (figure 5.8a). 
More speed going into the wall makes for an easier turn. Execute a strong, quick pike, as if doing a toe-touch sit-up (figures 5.8b and c).
Don’t let your hands or elbows move out to the sides. Keep them in close to your line of travel throughout the turn. Your upper body should be three-quarters of the way through the turn as the hips and legs continue gliding toward the wall at the surface (figure 5.8c).
Pick up your heels by quickly bending at the knees (figures 5.8d and e). This is the only large muscular movement needed to get your legs over the top of the water—momentum does the rest (figures 5.8e and f). 
Trying to throw your legs over the surface just pushes the upper body deep into the water. By allowing momentum to swing your legs over, your upper body will remain parallel with the surface of the water.
As you make contact with the wall, your feet should be at shoulder width or wider and your knees should be bent almost to 90 degrees. Your feet should hit the wall as your push-off begins (figures 5.8f and g).
Do not plant your feet or, worse, crouch deeper before your push-off. Your feet should hit the wall because you are leaping away from it, not before you leap. Think flip-push instead of flip-plant-push.
Note from the diagrams that you should enter the turn on your belly and leave on your back (figure 5.8h). Twisting onto your side or twisting back to your belly before pushing off slows the turn. Leap off the wall on your back under the water’s surface, then twist your body slightly so that you corkscrew through the water and end up on your side, gliding away from the wall.
Note from the diagrams that you should enter the turn on your belly and leave on your back (figure 5.8h). Twisting onto your side or twisting back to your belly before pushing off slows the turn. Leap off the wall on your back under the water’s surface, then twist your body slightly so that you corkscrew through the water and end up on your side, gliding away from the wall.After the Turn
Regardless of which turn you use, when you leave the wall, you will be traveling underwater faster than you can swim on the surface. Because there is less resistance below the surface than at the surface, this first 5 to 9 yards (4.6 to 8.2 meters) of each length (20 to 30 percent of a short-course swimming pool) becomes an opportunity to capitalize on faster-than-swimming glide speed with little or no energy expense—free speed.
During your push-off, snap into a fully streamlined position—tight-line posture, hand on top of hand, top thumb locked around the edge of the other hand, one wrist directly on top of the other wrist, ears squeezed firmly between your upper arms, legs together, and toes pointed. Think javelin. As your toes leave the wall, you should already be in javelin position (except that your legs will come together just after the toes leave the wall). An extra fraction of a second to get there will squander a large percentage of your faster-than-swimming glide speed. The push-off should happen 12 to 18 inches (about 30 to 45 cm) below the surface in order to avoid gliding through the waves and surface turbulence that have followed you to the wall.
Pushing off too hard can result in overshooting a streamlined javelin position, arching the back at full extension instead. Start with slow push-offs and focus on hitting a tight-line posture and a streamlined position as your feet leave the wall. As you hone your ability to snap into the javelin position, gradually increase your push-off oomph for more speed and distance.
During your glide, buoyancy should bring you to the surface. Trying to steer yourself to the surface will cause you to lose momentum quickly. Kicking or climbing to the surface costs muscle energy. Allowing buoyancy to lift you to the surface is free. Depending on personal buoyancy, your push-off may need to be either horizontal or angled slightly downward. Adjusting the amount of air in your lungs will alter your ascent rate (less air = slower rise toward the surface). You want to reach the surface just as the first stroking arm breaks the surface as recovery begins. The goal is to begin your first stroke just as your faster-than-swimming glide slows to swimming speed. Taking your first stroke too soon will slow you prematurely. Glide too long and your first strokes will have to accelerate you back to swimming speed.
Begin a compact, rapid kick before you take your first stroke. How early in your streamlined glide you begin that kick depends on the quality of your kick. If you have a fast, compact kick that adds substantially to the distance you travel at faster-than-swimming speed, then it may be useful to start it as soon as your feet leave the wall (realizing that there is a tradeoff here, because even an excellent kick costs a lot of energy). If your kick is weak, it may actually slow you down. Simply gliding with your toes pointed until just before your first stroke may be your best choice. Experiment with both options.
As you learn to stay under the water longer, your body will cry out for air, urging you to cut short your faster-than-swimming glide. You may tend to lift your head or otherwise contort yourself out of streamline to get that first breath of air. Breathing every other stroke (instead of every third or fourth stroke) while swimming will allow you to hold your breath on turns long enough to capitalize on your faster-than-swimming glide. Practicing long glides consistently will help you resist the urge to surface early yet still allow you to get an adequate first breath as you begin to swim.
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