A training apparatus for simulating crawl swimming movements in the dry has an endless traction member arranged above a user supporting element. The traction member is a hard elastic belt whose upper end may elastically bend in the direction of its lower end. The traction member is provided with handles positioned at a distance from each other sightly larger than the distance that separates a user's hand stretched forward in the longitudinal direction and a hand stretched backwards in the longitudinal direction. The inertia of the masses moved by the traction member and its deflecting rollers is higher than the friction and braking forces that act upon the traction member. This device allows crawl movements and force relationships to be realistically simulated.
