The goal of the work is to verify the effectiveness of a set of exercises aimed at increasing the efficiency of starting from the starting stand for highly qualified swimmers specializing in short and medium distances. The experiment involved 20 highly qualified swimmers with a sports rank of master of sports at the age of 18-25 years. The experiment lasted 21 days in the process of training camps aimed at preparing for the main start of the season. The studied indicators: explosive force, the starting reaction time, the swimming time of the starting segment with a length of 15 m, distance speed. In the hall, exercises of speed-power orientation were used to train the time of a simple reaction, explosive force. In water exercises were used to improve the technique of starting from the starting stand. Part of the exercises was carried out under normal conditions, the other part was performed using a special simulator (pneumatic starting stand). The peculiarity of the use of the pneumatic starting stand is that it allows to increase the effectiveness of the start training in swimming by reducing the time of the motor reaction and increasing the repulsive force. As a result of using the complex of exercises, swimmers significantly improved indicators of explosive strength, simple reaction time and starting speed in general. This set of tools can be used in the training of highly qualified swimmers for short and medium distances.