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backstroke swimming stroke backstroke swimming stroke

broken down and explained broken down and explained

Including 2 bonus exercises Including 2 bonus exercises

Backstroke Technique Backstroke Technique

Made Easy Made Easy

Published in associaon with
backstroke


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Contents
Page

Backstroke Technique 5 ! 10
body posion 6
leg kick 6
arm acon 7
breathing 8
ming 8
Full stroke 9
The next level 10

Bonus Exercises 12

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backstroke


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backstroke swimming technique
This is the most ecient stroke swum on the back and is the third fastest of all swimming strokes.
The majority of the power is produced by the alternang arm technique and its horizontal
streamlined body posion gives it its eciency. Therefore this is the preferred stroke in compeve
races swum on the back.







The nature of oang on the back, face up (supine) can be a calming and relaxing feeling. Also the
face is clear of the water, allowing easy breathing and lile water splashes onto the face. On the
other hand it can be counter producve at rst, as it can give a feeling of disorientaon and unease,
as the person is facing upwards and therefore unaware of their surroundings. The supine body
posion is at and horizontal, with ears slightly below the water surface.
The legs kick in an alternang acon, connuously up and down to help balance the acon of the
arms. This stroke has two dierent arm acons: the which is the most ecient, and the straight arm
pull, which is the easiest to learn. Therefore the straight arm pull is best for beginners.
Breathing should be in me with recovery of each arm, breathing in with one arm recovery and out
with the other. Ideally there should be 6 leg kicks to one arm cycle. This stroke ming may vary
according to the swimmers level of coordinaon.

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body posion
The supine body posion for this stroke is at and horizontal, with ears slightly below the water
surface.
Good oaters will nd this posion relaxing and relavely easy, whereas poor oaters will nd it
dicult to achieve a comfortable head posion.




The head remains sll throughout the stroke with the eyes looking slightly down the body at a point
the swimmer is swimming away from.
The head posion is important because a raised head makes it more dicult to keep the hips raised
in the correct posion which leads to a sing type posion in the water.





The hips and shoulders remain at or near the water surface but roll with the stroke. The legs and
feet should be extended and remain together to maximise eciency, with knees remaining below
the water surface.
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legs
During this stroke the legs kick in an alternang acon, connuously up and down to help balance
the acon of the arms.
Legs should be stretched out with toes pointed (plantar exed) and ankles should be relaxed and
loose with toes poinng slightly inwards.

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The amount of propulsion generated from the kick will depend on the size of the feet, ankle
mobility and strength of the legs.
The knee should bend slightly and then straighten as the leg kicks upwards. Toes should kick to
create a small splash but not break the water surface.
During specic leg pracces the legs kick in a vercal plane. However, the arm acon causes the
body to roll making the legs kick part sideways, part vercal and partly to the other side.
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arms
There are two possible arm acons for this stroke. The bent arm pull, which is more eecve
because it is faster and has greater propulsion, and the straight arm pull used in more recreaonal
backstroke.
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straight arm pull

entry
The arm should be straight and as inline with the shoulder as possible. Hand should be turned with
palm facing outwards and lile nger entering the water rst.

propulsive phase
The arm sweeps through the water in a semi!circle, pulling with force just under the water surface,
pulling to the outside of the thigh.

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recovery
The thumb or the back of the hand should exit the water rst. The shoulders roll again with the
shoulder of the recovering arm rolling upwards. The arm rotates through 180 degrees over the
shoulder. The palm is turned outwards during recovery to ensure that the hand enters the water
lile nger rst.

bent arm pull

As the arm pulls through to compleon, the overall path should follow an S shape.

entry
The entry is the same as the straight arm pull, with the lile nger entering rst, the palm facing out
and the arm close to the shoulder line.

downward sweep
The palm should always face the direcon of travel. The shoulders roll and the elbow bends slightly
as the arm sweeps downwards and outwards.

upwards sweep
As the hand sweeps inline with the shoulder, the palm changes pitch to sweep upwards and
inwards. The elbow should then bend to 9o degrees and point to the pool oor.

second downward sweep
The arm acon then sweeps inwards towards the thigh and the palm faces downwards. The bent
arm acon is completed with the arm fully extended and the hand pushing downwards to counter
balance the shoulder roll.

recovery
The thumb or the back of the hand should exit the water rst. The shoulders roll again with the
shoulder of the recovering arm rolling upwards. The arm rotates through 180 degrees over the
shoulder. The palm is turned outwards during recovery to ensure that the hand enters the water
lile nger rst.
Breathing and Timing

Discover the best technique ps and swimming exercises for correct breathing, ming and
coordinaon by clicking the link below and downloading your copy of The Complete Guide To
Swimming Backstroke.
Click or copy and paste the link below for more details
http://www.swim-teach.com/backstroke-swimming.html


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full stroke overview
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Now put the theory into pracce..

The Complete Guide to Swimming Backstroke
Everything youve read in this book PLUS 20 of the best
exercises to ne tune your backstroke technique

The Complete Guide to Swimming Backstroke is the
perfect quick!x for anyone wanng an easy to follow,
concise and simplisc guide book. For the complete
beginner, this book helps to learn and understand the
basic stroke, and for the established swimmer to adjust
and improve. The 20 fully illustrated exercises
contained in this book cover all aspects of the stroke
and can help any beginner to learn and pracce, and
any swimmer to eliminate bad habits and ne!tune
their backstroke.


Click or copy and paste the link below for more details
http://www.swim-teach.com/backstroke-swimming.html


Also available on

Mark Young is a well established swimming instructor with over twenty years
experience of teaching thousands of adults and children to swim. He has taught
countless beginners from scratch and turned many of average ability into advanced
swimmers. This book draws on his experiences and countless successes to put together
this simplisc methodical approach to mastering backstroke swimming technique.

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Example swimming exercise
The page layout for each exercise follows the same format, keeping all relevant informaon on one page.
The aims, technical focuses and key points are all listed with a photograph and graphical diagram of the
exercise.
Stroke
The stroke being
pracced
Stroke part
The aspect of the
stroke being pracced
Aim
The basic aim of
the pracce
Descripon
A descripon and photograph of the
stroke being pracced
Technical
Focus
Keys parts of the
stroke technique
Diagram
A breakdown of
the stroke
exercise
Teaching
points
Key acons of the
exercise to focus on
Click or copy and paste the link below for the complete book of exercises
http://www.swim-teach.com/backstroke-swimming.html

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backstroke

Bonus exercises

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Click or copy and paste the link below for the complete book of exercises
http://www.swim-teach.com/backstroke-swimming.html
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BACKSTROKE: Body Position
Push and gIide hoIding a fIoat
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beginner to get accustomed to the feel of the water.
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BACKSTROKE: Legs
Static practice, sitting on the pooIside
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Click or copy and paste the link below for the complete book of exercises
http://www.swim-teach.com/backstroke-swimming.html