Body Position
- Flat, horizontal and streamlined. However swimmers using the high lift stroke will need a more inclined position at the front of the body during the lifting part of the stroke. (Generally swimmers who use this technique have excellent lower back flexibility and can keep the hips and legs in a streamlined position during the lifting movement.
- Head should be in the water streamlined.
Leg Action
Narrow, backwards, around and downwards kick (whip). Recovery of the legs is streamlined, whilst at the same time being able to place them in a good position to start the kick (propulsive) phase.
Leg Recovery
- Recovery movement starts from the glide position and is initiated by the lowering of the hips. (which corresponds with the finish of the insweep of the arm stroke). At this point the upper body is lifting as the swimmer breaths. Hips go down at the same time.
- Upper legs are brought forwards and slightly outwards.
- Feet should be facing backwards and plantarflexed and in-toed (reduced drag)
- As the feet approach the buttocks they should be dorsiflexed and evert (up and out).
Propulsion phase
Feet move in an outwards, backwards and eventually downwards direction. This gives the feet the best opportunity to ‘fix’ on the water in a sweeping driving action.
- At the end of recovery phase the kick starts with the feet are dorsiflexed and move in an outwards, backwards and eventually downwards direction in a sweeping movement. (no propulsion is occurs during the first few centimetres).
- Feet start the kick slowly through ‘catch’ and propulsion phase starts.
- Knees and hips continue to extend as force is applied during the sweeping movements of the feet. (a progressive acceleration through the rest of the kick)
- Towards the end of the kick the hip extension the path of the kick changes to backwards sweep, inwards and downward sweep (whip like action)
- Once feet are together legs are relaxed and fully extended, feet plantarflexed once more.
Arm Action
General Impression – The purpose of the arm action is to create as much propulsion as possible by using the hands in a sweeping path of outwards, downwards and inwards; after this movement the arms stretch forward into the recovery action.
Outsweep – catch – downsweep
- After recovery arms should be in a relaxed, fully extended position
- Thumbs should be touching, fingers pointing forwards and inside of the elbows close together.
- Pitch hands downwards and outwards.
- Hands sweep outwards with very little pressure to ‘feel’ the water.
- Action progresses and pressure and speed of the movement increases.
- The outsweep continues until ‘catch’ is reached and the hands fix on the water. (catch takes place when hands are approximately shoulder width apart. Hand are also moving diagonally downwards
- At catch hands change pictch so they are pressing outwards, downwards and backwards. Arms start to bend and shoulders rotate. (high elbow).
Insweep.
- Hands change from sweeping downwards to sweeping inwards as they approach their deepest point.
- Hands sweep inwards upwards and slightly backwards.
- The action accelerates throughout the propulsion phase.
- Elbow should follow the line of the hands but are generally brought inwards to the chest wall.
Recovery
- The completion of the insweep brings the hands together under the chin.
- The arms and the hands are generally stretched forwards in most streamline fashion as possible
- The pitch of the hand is altered once more so the palms face downwards by the time the action is complete.
- At the end of the action the arms should be in a relaxed and fully extended position.
Breathing
- Head is clear of the water at the time the hands finish the insweep and are directly under the chin. Chin is pushed forwards and remains in the water
- Breathe in at this point.
- As the arms recover the head is lowered into the water.
- During the underwater sweeping action of the arms, aim to gradually exhale, so the final exhalation of air is made as the mouth breaks the surface.
Timing (pull, breath, kick & glide)
- When the legs are kicking back, the front of the body is as streamline as possible.
- When the arms are providing propulsion, the back end of the body is as streamlined as possible.
Some swimmers have a glide in their stroke whilst other have a stroke with a much faster tempo. The difference being the amount of time they keep their bodies in the streamlined position. Beginners and young swimmers usually start by learning the glide of timing, as they become more experienced, they can develop their own tempo based on trial end error.
