Cross-Over Entry

Crossing over the midline on entry may be one of the most common errors! How to know if you’re doing this? You’ll slow down as your hands would have to force the water outwards before driving it forward. Constantly practicing this incorrect form may even lead to a reduction in your kicking strength and injury to your rotator cuff muscles. If you find yourself guilty of this, hold on. Here’s a few ways you can fix them!

• Clock Method

In the backstroke position, visualize a clock. Now find 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock and target your pinky finger to “hit” those numbers during the recovery phase of your stroke. The aim is to practice enough till you can comfortably hit the 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock positions. At the mentioned positions, crossover will almost be eliminated.

• OK Drill

All you have to do is to make the OK sign with your hands. Now keep it there as you practice your backstroke. Doing this ensures proper hand and arm positions because it makes crossing over painful! As they (sometimes) say, you learn best through pain. The OK sign makes sure that your pinky WILL be the first to enter the water!

Improper Head Position

Weird isn’t it? Lying facing upwards while engaging in a style of swimming. Another common mistake is your head being too high. When your head is too high up, not only do your knees tend to bend, but your kick becomes weaker and you will tend to engage in poor rotation of your arms and core! The next time you practice your backstroke, get a friend to look at your form from your side. If you’re guilty of this, you’ll look like you’re sitting on a chair.

Hold your horses, this improper technique can be fixed! Firstly, relax your neck muscles so that your head can rest backwards. Then, press your upper back and shoulders into the water. Your face should then be slightly submerged in water. Once this feels comfortable, keep your head and neck in a relaxed position while tucking your chin. Ta-da! In an optimal position, a small part of your head should be out of the water and you should look like you’re standing straight.

Insufficient Body Rotation

Some swimmers, even seasoned ones, can be found guilty of not rotating their body enough during the backstroke. Proper rotation drives the tempo of your arms!

To fix this, imagine your back is a boat. As you rotate during the backstroke, you should feel the entire center of your body (torso) rotate from side to side. Since this involves a good control of your core, practicing the single arm stroke helps!

Another way to improve on your body rotation is to practice the Six-Kick, Three-Stroke Drill. As the name suggests, this means kicking six times and stroking thrice. You should be on your sides while kicking, with 1 of your shoulders out of water and the bottom arm stretched over your head.

Deep Catch

The myth going around (for quite some time, at that) has been that a deep catch results in a swimmer being able to push more water. But this is untrue! Factually, a shallow catch is better as it gives you more speed.

Ideally, you would want:

1. Your shoulder and upper back to be in line.
2. Elbows bent more than 90 degrees and
3. Your hands in the water, with your palm facing your feet.

Knees Bending

This one’s easy to call out. If your knees peek out of the water and say hi, your backstroke technique could use a little tweak! But fret not, this one may be the easiest to fix out of all five.

Step one, keep your legs as straight as you possibly can! Also, ensure they’re in line with your body and not angled downwards. Next, ensure you drive the kick using your hips instead of your knees or ankles.

Take it one step further and practice with a kicking board on top of your knees, on the surface of the water. If your knees hit the board, yes you got it, you’re doing it wrong. Use the kicking board till you “pass” the test!

Conclusion

While the butterfly stroke is the toughest stroke to LEARN, the backstroke is rumoured to be one of the toughest strokes to master! For this reason, it would probably provide the greatest sense of achievement! But remember, slow is steady. So the next time you’re at a pool, choose ONE correction you want to work on and focus solely on that. All you have to do is be 1% better than you were during your last practice session!

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Hello everyone! I'm a gym enthusiast who gets very excited at the sight of dogs. Drinking teh tarik is my form of relaxation. I hope you share my passion for anything fitness-related through my writing!