ARM PULL

In the backstroke, as in freestyle, you propel yourself forward by using first one arm, then the other in a continuous, rhythmic, flowing motion. As in all the strokes, it is important to remember to push against water that is not moving. To do this most efficiently, your hands must describe an elongated S-pattern (see Figure 8.1).

As the stroke begins, your arm is extended straight backward and your hand enters the water directly above your shoulder. If you think of your body as a clock, with your head pointing to twelve o’clock, your hands should enter the water at about one and eleven o’clock.

The little finger enters the water first, the thumb last, and your palm faces outward. Many beginners tend to hold their palms upward as their hands enter the water. This causes unnecessary resistance, breaks the flow of the stroke, and prevents the hand from being positioned properly for the next phase of the stroke. So make sure your palm faces outward. As your arm enters the water, its momentum will carry it about eight to twelve inches below the surface before you begin to push backward.

As in freestyle, a bent elbow and a natural body roll contribute greatly to the efficiency of the backstroke. Until the 1960s many swimmers used a straight-arm backstroke pull. However, simple mechanics, along with analyses of underwater films of world-class backstrokers, point unmistakably to the superiority of the bent-elbow technique. To demonstrate why this is so, Counsilman suggests you perform the following do-it-yourself test:

Put your feet in a tube, and float on your back with one arm at your side and the other overhead. Using the overhead arm, take several backstroke arm pulls holding your elbow straight. You will find you are pulling yourself around in a circle. Next, keeping the tube around your legs, swim a length of the pool, alternating arms but again keeping your elbows straight. You will find yourself moving in a wide zigzag pattern (much to the annoyance of the people trying to swim next to you). Now, repeat the two exercises using the bent-arm pull. You will find a tremendous reduction in your sideways motion. The bent-arm pull will propel you forward (rather than laterally) much more effectively.

To recap: your arm is extended back in a straight position directly above your shoulder; your right hand enters the water at eleven o’clock, little finger first and palm facing outward; as your arm follows your hand, it sinks a few inches before the pull begins.

Now, as you push your arm back, the bend in your elbow increases until it reaches ninety degrees at the midpoint of the stroke. From this point on, the bend gradually decreases until, at the end of the stroke, your arm is extended straight. At the very end of the S-shaped pull, your hand pushes downward. Figure 8.2 illustrates the phases of the arm pull as viewed from the side. Figure 8.3 depicts the same sequence, viewed head-on.