A swim trainer comprising: a base; an upright member extending from the base; two arms each carried by the upright member and terminating with an end pulley; two pull cords each having one end connected to a hand pull, extending from the hand pull over the end pulley, a second pulley positioned adjacent to the upright member, and then along the upright member; a rotatable shaft positioned adjacent to the base; a loading mechanism, connected to the shaft, to resist rotation and unwinding of the cord around the shaft; a clutch assembly positioned on the shaft arranged to rotate the shaft when the handle is pulled down and otherwise spin freely; a rewind bias means to rewind the cord around the shaft; and, a tipping and/or rotating balance platform assembly, seated on the base, for the swimmer to stand on, when pulling the hand pull.