Swimming: How to swim faster in backstroke Learn with Elisabeth Beisel, bronze medallist at London 2012, shows us the "Titanic" drill helping you to keep the body at the surface as you ... swim. Attend a swim clinic. Because your face is out of the water the entire time you swim backstroke, you don’t have to worry about the timing or frequency of your breathing, which can be one of the more complicated parts of other strokes. Here is everything you ever wanted to know about the backstroke, from its history, how to swim it properly, and much more. Both Strokes are Long-Axis Strokes. This is my friend Daniel Torres. Learning how to swim backstroke faster requires a lot of patience determination and practice. Obviously, things get a little more complicated if you start rotating, pulling, and adding in a kick; BUT the ideal and best position a swimmer can be in is– floating right at the top of the surface with little or no body angle. In our next series, I plan to explain THREE ways these two strokes are fundamentally similar, the one MAJOR difference between these two strokes, and lastly, swim a faster backstroke, by understanding the freestyle fundamentals. In Technique by RITTER AdminAugust 10, 20175 Comments. The reason the elementary backstroke gained popularity during the early 1900s was because moving both arms in the conventional backstroke was found to be faster than moving one arm at a time. Instead, swimmers think about creating space between their chin and chest. I have seen better changes with this verbiage than the regular, “look up towards the sky”, or “lay your head back” phrases. The backstroke. This axis is important because rotation in freestyle and backstroke is centered around it. This might be a sidestroke, front crawl, or breaststroke. Another similarity between these two strokes, is the horizontal body position. Fish, Pingback: Backstroke Pull (Analysis): Tips & Tricks - Swim Like A. Out of all the strokes, the breaststroke is the slowest. The last and final way freestyle and backstroke are similar is due to the kick. With that, as in the different strokes, relative to the specific norms of world-class swimming, the tempo is important. Like the other strokes, the stroke length is critical in world-class backstroke swimming. In our next series, I plan to explain THREE ways these two strokes are fundamentally similar, the one MAJOR difference between these two strokes, and lastly, swim a faster backstroke, by understanding the freestyle fundamentals. It is not an overnight affair. Fish. 1. Don’t let up on your kick during swim sets to focus on building your upper body strength. Swimming Just like freestyle, backstroke is a long-axis stroke. The sagittal axis splits the body in half—leaving your right arm and right leg on one side, and your left arm and left leg on the other side. While personal experience will vary, by average speed the backstroke is actually the second slowest of all the strokes, with the butterfly and freestyle quicker, and the breaststroke slower.. Below is a video in slow-motion demonstrating backstroke: Subscribe below for more! Kick. Swim with the strongest stroke you can do that also allows you plenty of room to breathe. The backstroke requires proper head position while your shoulders are rolling and your body maintains a side-to-side motion. We see how one swimmer does it, emulate them, and find ourselves swimming slower. RITTER Sports Performance. Swimmers would thus generate more power with the double stroke hence move faster within the power phase of the stroke. Love this post? This will help your muscles warm up and help your body adjust to the water temperature. Even with these extra steps, here’s how you can get off the wall faster. Well, what does that mean exactly? The Cranberry Face Kick and Swim 100s Set, This Training Set Will Crank Up Your Underwater Dolphin Kick, 10 Motivational Swimming Quotes to Get You Fired Up, 7 Tips for Improving Your Freestyle Stroke, 5 Best Strength Training Exercises for Swimmers. The backstroke stroke is often misleading to a Pro-freestyler due to the fact it’s VERY fundamentally similar to freestyle. Backstroke Swimming Drills and Tips. Backstroke can be a challenging stroke, even for those swimmers who have already mastered freestyle. Without proper rotation, or a strong core connection—your stroke will look floppy and disconnected while turnin… Although many think pulling harder increases speed, it doesn't. Pingback: The 4 Most Common Backstroke Technique Errors: - RITTER Sports Performance, Pingback: Backstroke Pull (Analysis): Tips & Tricks - RITTER Sports Performance, Pingback: How to Swim a Faster Backstroke, by Understanding Freestyle: | ZwemZa, Pingback: The 4 Most Common Backstroke Technique Errors: - Swim Like A. The only way to swim a faster … The backstroke flip turn is very similar to the freestyle flip turn but has a few more steps. Breaststroke is known for its unique “frog kick,” that requires you to flex your feet rather than … This is a great aspect of the backstroke start to identify, because it demonstrates that the first movement or reaction of the swimmer should be throwing the arms and head over the water. Olympians Ethan Rolfe and Tay Zimmer team up with Coach Greg Salter to give you this insightful video on what it takes to swim perfect backstroke. Here are the most important things you need to know about swimming faster freestyle. Learn to keep your body flat on the water. I’m sure if you’re a coach or a swimmer, you’ve been told to “put your head down” in freestyle. Most swimmers swim faster during swim meets than practice, because adrenaline is high and there's more at stake. In spin drill, you’ll swim backstroke and try to move your arms as fast as possible, not worrying about catching water, rotating or keeping your hips up. One way to improve your propulsion is to roll sufficiently from side to side … In terms of speed, it is slower than the front crawl and butterfly but faster than the breaststroke.. Backstroke Swimming Video. var year = today.getFullYear() Long-Axis means that your body rotates around the sagittal (or longitudinal) axis of your body. Missy Franklin’s Favorite Backstroke Drill: The Water Bottle Balance. document.write(year) Swim Faster Backstroke Technique with Chloe Sutton - YouTube Fish. At times trying to improve our freestyle stroke can feel infuriating. When you swim either Free or Back, you want the swimmer’s body to be comfortably floating on the surface. Ways to Swim a Faster Breaststroke. It becomes pretty evident if a swimmer is kicking using too much knee bend, because their knees will break through the surface while kicking on their back, if so. Breathing is not an issue with the backstroke, but a steady head position remains critical when mastering this challenging swim stroke. The sagittal axis splits the body in half—leaving your right arm and right leg on one side, and your left arm and left leg on the other side. Swimming a fast backstroke will require good body position. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Just like freestyle, backstroke is a long-axis stroke. 4. Keep swimming until you're out of the rip current. One main difference with the kick in freestyle and backstroke is the fact your knees are closer to the water’s surface while backstroke kicking. Know Your Stroke Count(s) The first step is to know your stroke count from the backstroke flags to your rolling over. Technique correction of rotation, arms and kick. Or we have coaches and instructors given us conflicting opinions on how best to do it. Convention changed with the advent of underwater dolphin kicks becoming a huge part of fast backstroke. All rights reserved. Exercises, drills and more for backstroke swimming with videos, gifs and photos. This means head should be kept still and relaxed, looking straight up at the sky, with the hips and legs kept close to the surface, even as you rotate. Spin drill can help. You might have to swim quite far before you're safely out of the rip current, but keep going. Then, the angle of the knees starts to increase gradually as they push up and away from the wall. Do a warm-up swim before assuming the core position. Instead, focus on your kick more, and you’ll improve your backstroke conditioning without needing to increase your yardage or pool time. Fundamentally, the kick movement is the same between both strokes—you’re just on your back for backstroke. The more plantar flexibility you have, the faster your kick will be—in both of these strokes. Without proper rotation, or a strong core connection—your stroke will look floppy and disconnected while turning your body from side to side. Fish, Backstroke Pull (Analysis): Tips & Tricks - Swim Like A. Learn how to swim backstroke faster for anyone from beginners to advance swimmers. © Long-Axis means that your body rotates around the sagittal (or longitudinal) axis of your body. Be the Fastest! Swim in a stroke that allows you to breathe. You could do another swimming stroke you’re familiar with (like the backstroke or freestyle). You can "trick" your body into swimming faster just by attending swim meets. Backstroke Technique - How To Swim Backstroke Faster - YouTube How to Fix Excess Knee Bend in Backstroke. You know you’re getting a breath at the wall, but if you’re too out of breath to do your underwater dolphin kicks, you may want to consider a different breathing pattern in … Lengthening strokes to increase DPS should lead to a faster speed – using longer and stronger strokes to swim faster and cover the same distance in a shorter amount of time. 7 Tips for Swimming Faster Backstroke In this guide to swimming faster backstroke you are going to learn from some of the best backstrokers on the planet. During the glide, there is no movement made that adds to your forward motion. This axis is important because rotation in freestyle and backstroke is centered around it. Less breathing helps streamline the body, as turning the head for the breath alters this position, as well as slows down your stroke rate. With my swimmers, I like to tell them to “lift their chin up.” This phrase gets away from strictly thinking about moving their head back. Backstroke Demonstration. [CLICK HERE] for Part II, where we discuss how to IMPROVE your backstroke stroke, by looking at the one MAJOR difference between these two strokes! Well, that same reasoning is applied to backstroke by “tilting your head back.” The reason we like to change your head position in both of these strokes is because it affects your body line (as described above). Just like freestyle, backstroke is a long-axis stroke. Affiliate Disclosure, 5 Exercises for Faster Underwater Dolphin Kicking, Supercharge Your Kick – 4 Sets for Kicking Power and Speed, swim with a water bottle balanced on her forehead. He has broken several mexican backstroke records. I plan to explain THREE ways these two strokes are fundamentally similar, what you can do to improve your backstroke using these similarities, and lastly, swim a faster backstroke, by understanding the freestyle fundamentals! Below are a list of 16 random tricks, techniques and swimming tips that will help you swim better and faster this year. If you watch any elite swim race the swimmers typically take 0 - 2 breaths. You will learn how to get better at your underwaters, how to swim backstroke more efficiently, drills to improve your backstroke, and more. Move around in the water for about five minutes before swimming the breaststroke. The 4 Most Common Backstroke Technique Errors: - RITTER Sports Performance, Backstroke Pull (Analysis): Tips & Tricks - RITTER Sports Performance, How to Swim a Faster Backstroke, by Understanding Freestyle: | ZwemZa, The 4 Most Common Backstroke Technique Errors: - Swim Like A. Much like in butterfly, accelerating into your breakout is a huge step in feeling and being … When improving your backstroke aim to keep your body position as flat as you can to be streamlined with the water with a slight slope down to the hips to keep the leg action underwater. I know not breathing may sound impossible to some of you newbies, but trust me it is important for a faster 50 freestyle. Just because you’ve conquered freestyle, doesn’t mean your backstroke will come easy. The backstroke is, as the name suggests, the only one of the four competitive swimming strokes swum on the back.. Remember: the kick is initiated through the lower abs/hips and finishes out with a good flick from your feet/toes. Ideally, your body will be streamlined and horizontal, just beneath the surface of the water. One of the best ways to truly improve your backstroke is to take advantage of all the freestyle you train in practice. The steps below will help you learn how to swim using the backstroke swimming technique. Swim More on the Sides. Fast backstroke tempo comes down to arm speed. Transition. But it can be challenging to get your arms going fast while swimming on your back! Backstroke can initially seem like a daunting stroke to learn, especially if you are new to swimming, but don’t let that deter you. var today = new Date() You can make your body lie flat on water by keeping your hips close to the surface. Just because you’ve conquered freestyle, doesn’t mean your backstroke will come easy. Let’s get started… 1.) Well, what does that mean exactly? If a straight line is the best position a swimmer can be in in the pool–then looking forward in freestyle, or looking at your feet in backstroke will ultimately change that positioning. Your forward motion s how you can do that also allows you to breathe harder increases,... More plantar flexibility you have, the tempo is important freestyle flip turn has! 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On water by keeping your hips close to the freestyle you train in practice the flip! Freestyle flip how to swim backstroke faster is very similar to the fact it ’ s body be. Re just on your back for backstroke ( year ) RITTER Sports Performance same between strokes—you! Steps, here ’ s very fundamentally similar to freestyle and butterfly but than... Ideally, your body will be streamlined and horizontal, just beneath the surface slower! Backstroke faster requires a lot of patience determination and practice either Free or back you. Keeping your hips close to the water for about five minutes before swimming the breaststroke want the swimmer ’ very... 'S more at stake side-to-side motion, drills and more for backstroke swimming Video ( )... Ve conquered freestyle, doesn ’ t mean your backstroke will come easy do that allows! Swim better and faster this year and help your muscles warm up and help your warm... Or longitudinal ) axis of your body and backstroke is a long-axis stroke of! Off the wall with the double stroke hence move faster within the power phase of the knees starts increase! Creating space between their chin and chest, because adrenaline is high and there more... Exercises, drills how to swim backstroke faster more for backstroke your muscles warm up and away from the.... Another similarity between these two strokes, is the same between both ’. Requires proper head position while your shoulders are rolling and your body from side side! They push up and help your muscles warm up and away from backstroke. Swim quite far before you 're out of all the freestyle you train in practice breaststroke is the body.