Freestyle

Thoughts on Basic Technique

What is your mental picture of a freestyle swimmer's technique? This is one result from a swim coach doing an exercise to quickly describe different elements of freestlye swimming technique.

• Head - In-line with spine
  
• Eyes - Looking at bottom of pool when not breathing, looking sideways, one eye directly over/above the other when breathing.
  
• Shoulders and chest - Rotate around central axis of spine in same plane as hips. High shoulder is on recovery arm side, low shoulder on pulling arm side.
  
• Arms - One arm tends to be leading at all times, other arm is pulling or recovering; more of a catch-up with hands overlapping in the area from the shoulders forward - sometimes called the front end or front quadrant. Shorter max-effort or sprint-efforts may have less front-end overlap, even no front-end overlap, but that is a function of the timing, not an effort to remove the overlap.
  
• Forearm and hand pull - Propulsive surface, line from fingertips up through wrist and elbow should be pointing at the bottom of the pool as much of the time as possible - as early a catch as can be achieved, with the maximum possible catch held until the hand passes below the waist
  
• Forearm and hand recovery - Relaxed, hanging from the elbow, swung forward rather than pushed forward, thumb leading
  
• Forearm and hand entry - Fingertip first, rotated towards thumb up, pinky first entry, then a gentle slide forward to a natural extension as the body rotates
  
• Trunk - Must maintain the connection between the shoulders and the hips
  
• Hips - Rotate around central axis of spine in same plane as shoulders.
  
  
  
• Legs - Kick is secondary to the pull, not overpowering it. It should be natural, not forced. A variety of kick rhythms are acceptable, from 2-beat through 6-beat, with cross-over variations.
  
• Feet - Faster feet = faster pull = faster swim if same kick pattern is maintained (2-beat, 6-beat, etc.). Switching form a lower beat kick to a higher beat kick will also result in faster arms and a faster swim, but possibly at a higher cost if not practiced often. Splashing is not only OK but encouraged to facilitate better follow-through on the kick.
  
• Breathing - Every two or three pulls - every 1 to 1.5 cycles. Swimmers must be equally comfortable breathing to either side. May breath less often for shorter events.

Backstroke

Thoughts on Basic Technique

What is your mental picture of a backstroke swimmer? This is one result from a mental exercise to quickly describe different elements of backstroke swimming.

• Head - In-line with spine
• Eyes - Looking straight up in longer events and slightly back towards the feet in shorter events
• Shoulders and chest - Rotate around central axis of spine in same plane as hips. High shoulder is on recovery arm side, low shoulder on pulling arm side
• Arms - Arms are always 180-degrees from each other. Arm speed is controlled by kick speed. Recovery arm is straight from wrist to shoulder and points straight up
• Forearm and hand pull - Propulsive surface, line from fingertips through wrist and elbow starts pointing towards the bottom and side of the pool, rotates more towards the side and surface of the pool, then finishes releasing the water towards the feet and under the hips; reach towards the bottom, then arm-wrestle, then throw something into your pocket.
• Forearm and hand recovery - Straight arm from shoulder through wrist
• Forearm and hand entry - Pinky first, directly above and just outside the shoulder with arm fully extended, with body rotation allowing entry hand to reach deep into the catch
• Trunk - Must maintain the connection between the shoulders and the hips

Attempt to initiate body rotation from the hips

• Legs - Kick is steady 6-beat, with faster tempo resulting in faster hands
• Feet - Faster feet = faster pull = faster swim. Boiling water at the toes is not only OK but encouraged to facilitate better follow-through on the kick
• Breathing - One breath per cycle; inhale on one pull, exhale on the next pull

Breaststroke

Thoughts on Basic Technique

What is your mental picture of a breaststroke swimmer? This is one result from a mental exercise to quickly describe different elements of breaststroke swimming.

• Head - Varies slightly, but primarily in-line with spine
• Eyes - Looking at bottom of pool when not breathing, looking down and forward when breathing
• Shoulders and chest - Tip up and down/forward about a line drawn from one hip through the other. Shoulders also lift and squeeze in towards ears as elbows come together and hands/arms move forward in recovery
• Arms - Arms are a mirror of each other. Arm speed controls foot speed, and rhythm will generally change during the course of a race, with the highest tempo occurring during the first and last portion of a race.
• Forearm and hand pull - Propulsive surface starts as hand through shoulder as the arms sweep out and up, then changes to hands through elbow as hands sweep towards each other as elbows squeeze together
• Forearm and hand recovery - Hands lead forward at or under the surface of the water, reaching forward; as the extend the upper body lowers forward and onto or under the water, but avoid a diving down action
• Forearm and hand entry - Full extension, hands touching each other at the thumb
• Trunk - Must maintain the connection between the shoulders and the hips
• Hips - Hips are driven forward and under trunk by pull and by back muscles, then become an anchor point as upper body launches forward with no pause as kick is initiated.

Hips remain relatively high in the water, acting as moving-forward pivot point

• Legs - Fast motion of ankles both up towards the hip (kick recovery) and through the kick action (back and slightly out to full extension)
• Feet - Foot rhythm controlled by pull speed; feet must always move fast - foot speed always high, in both directions; kick concludes with legs in full extension, soles of feet pressing together
• Breathing - One breath per cycle, as hands and elbows sweep in, trunk rises, breath taken from when mouth clears until trunk begins to lower.

Butterfly

Thoughts on Basic Technique

What is your mental picture of a butterfly swimmer? This is the result of a quick mental exercise, trying to describe different elements of butterfly swimming technique.

• Head - Varies slightly, but primarily in-line with spine
• Eyes - Looking at bottom of pool when not breathing, looking down and forward when breathing
• Shoulders and chest - Tip up and down/forward about a line drawn from one hip through the other. The chest lays forward and presses down as the hands enter
• Arms - Arms are a mirror of each other. Arm speed controls rhythm, with generally steady to decreasing/slowing rhythm through the course of a race unless well-conditioned
• Forearm and hand pull - Arms remain shoulder width apart, flex at elbows with line from fingertips through elbow moving towards pointing down an slightly inward, then sweep inwards to outwards they press on the water, with the fingertip through elbow line moving from pointing inwards and down to slightly outwards and down
• Forearm and hand recovery - Straight arms, relaxed hands, with a wide and low arm swing, thumb down, pinky up, back of the hand towards thumb lead
• Forearm and hand entry - Straight arms, extended, thumb to fingertip first, shoulder width apart
• Trunk - Must maintain the connection between the shoulders and the hips
• Hips - Maintain hips relatively high in the water, acting as moving-forward pivot point
• Legs - Generally two kicks per cycle, but one per cycle is also acceptable.

Kick timing is based on arm timing, with kick balancing arm and trunk motion. There is generally a kick as the pull begins and a second kick just prior to hand exit. The kick action and the chest position must work together or swimmer will be moving body up and down instead of forward. If swimmer attempts to kick with too much effort they will tend to tire sooner than if they allow the kick to work with the arms and body

• Feet - Feet must remain in the same plane through the entire kick. They may be in slightly different planes, but that difference must not change. Feet are extended, relaxed ankle on the down-beat, flexed on the upbeat. Kick amplitude should not be exaggerated
• Breathing - Keeping body as low and flat/forward as possible, head tips up enough for face top clear water, inhale, head lays down prior to arm-recovery reaching a "T" from the shoulders out to the fingertips

The Dolphin Kick
 
There are many swimmers who believe the greatest oxymoron of all time is the term "effortless butterfly".  Perhaps swimming butterfly without any sign of a grimace is only a David Copperfield illusion! How do some Masters swimmers incorporate grace and power into a stroke that is difficult for so many others?

Timing the Two Kicks
Each butterfly arm cycle should be accompanied by two kicks, which serve different but important functions.  The downbeat of the first kick begins just as the hands are about to enter the water.  This leg action helps to bring the hips back to a higher position on the surface and provides propulsion until the hands reach the "catch" phase.  The upbeat of the kick helps to streamline the body and reduce drag as the hands enter their propulsive phase.  The first kick is longer in duration than the second kick.  The second kick is executed as the arms are completing their propulsive phase and beginning a slightly upward movement toward the recovery.  Compared to the first kick, the second kick is more concentrated from the knees down.  The second kick generates propulsion that helps to drive the shoulders forward and upward over the water to assist in the arm recovery.

Unlike freestyle and backstroke, which use rotation or shoulder roll, butterfly relies on this propulsion to lift the shoulders out of the water.  Also, proper timing of the second kick helps support the hips, keeping them from being pulled underwater.

Many beginning butterflyers make the mistake of completing both kicks before the start of the arm cycle what I call a "kick-kick-pull" butterfly.  Here the swimmer extends the arms forward after the entry until the finish of the second kick, then uses the end of the second kick as a trigger to begin underwater arm movements.  As a result, when the pull is completed there is no thrust generated from the legs to elevate the shoulders and to help raise the head for a breath.  Consequently, the swimmer must arch the back and lift the head and feet at the same time.  In addition, this timing results in a lack of forward propulsion during the arm recovery.

Rhythm and Roll
The butterfly body motion is one of rhythm and continuous roll.  When swimming any stroke, the body will always want to follow the direction of the head.  During freestyle and backstroke, the goal is to keep the head still as the rest of the body rotates on its axis.  This minimizes lateral and vertical movements that would inevitably reduce speed.  In butterfly, a nod of the chin initiates the undulation that triggers the incorporation of the hips that continues all the way down to the snap of the ankles.  This undulatory movement means that the hips can begin the next kick as the ankles and feet complete the push of the previous kick.

A common fault in butterfly is to avoid using the hips and to kick solely from the knees down.  This results in a tendency to exaggerate the bend in the knee and to draw the feet up too high, that is, toward the suit.  Consequently, the hips remain flat and the kick is directed straight back.  Although this may sound like an acceptable stroke technique, the body needs to travel in a somewhat upward direction during the second kick, as mentioned earlier.

Competence Levels
When learning the butterfly, it is important to concentrate on the timing of the two kicks in relation to the arm cycle rather than to emphasize the relative strength of the two kicks.  "Feeling" the involvement of the hips and "rolling" the kicks together will help one obtain a sense of stroke rhythm.

"Survival flyers" are those swimmers who have a difficult time with butterfly, regardless of other stroke successes.  Some survivalists attempt to simply finish a 200-yard butterfly while others struggle to complete the first length of a 100 IM.  For these swimmers, emphasis should be placed on the first kick since it is longer and will help maintain proper body position.

For more experienced butterflyers, swimming from a 50 fly in a 200 IM to a 200 butterfly, the emphasis should be on allowing the hips to initiate the first kick without over kicking from the knees down.  Generate as much propulsion as possible from the second kick.

Sprint flyers with strong legs may drive both kicks (including upbeats) with about the same intensity.  Just remember: strength is wasted without rhythm and roll.