Backstroke Swim Stroke:

Warm-Up: Arms & Shoulders Stretching

It’s pretty clear why competitive swimmers have strong, broad shoulders. No matter what
stroke you swim, you can’t avoid using your arms and shoulders. That’s why it is so important to
focus on them while stretching.

1. Elbow Pull for Your Arm Pit- Place your right hand behind your head, and point your
elbow straight up. And then, take your left hand and place it on your right elbow. Next
is, pull your right elbow inward with your left hand. Hold this position. Then switch arms,
and repeat. Do this for two (2) minutes.

2. Wall Press for Your Front Shoulder- The front of your shoulder is always a hard place
to stretch. The wall press is a great way to access those hard to reach muscles. Follow
these steps for a good wall press: Place your right hand on a wall at shoulder height.
Then, place your palm on the wall so your thumb is facing upward. Next is, slightly bend
your right elbow. Lastly, twist your body to your left — away from the wall. Do this for
two (2) minutes.
Legs & Buttocks Stretching

Since the kick propels you through the water, you will likely rely on your legs and buttocks
muscles extensively. Make sure you spend some time stretching out these muscles.

3. Wall Lean for Your Calves- This stretch is great after long kicking sets. After you feel
that burning sensation in your calves, wall leans are a great way to loosen them up.
Here’s how to do a wall lean. Place your hands on a wall at about shoulder-height, keep
your hands shoulder-width apart and then, lean against the wall while facing toward it.
Second, scoot your right foot back as far as it can reach without straining it. Then, place
your right heel on the ground. Keep your right leg straight and hold this position. Then
switch legs and repeat. Do this for one (1) minute.

4. Butterfly Stretch for Your Inner Thighs & Groin- There is a fair amount of groin
injuries that occur in swimming, especially in breaststroke. To help prevent inner thigh
and groin injuries, make sure you stretch them out really well. First, sit up tall on the
floor. Then bend your knees and relax your calves against the floor and then, press the
soles of your feet together.. Hold your feet so that they remain touching and for a deeper
stretch, press down on your knees. Do this for one (1) minute.
5. Child’s Pose for Your Lower Back & Hips- Your lower back can feel increasingly sore after
practice. This stretch does a great job of accessing those lower back and hip muscles. Follow
these steps for a good child’s pose; kneel down so that your whole shin is touching the floor and
touch your legs together. Then, rest your thighs on your calves and then, lean over your thighs
so your belly touches your legs. And lay your forehead on the ground. Lastly, stretch your arms
out in front of you with your palms facing downward. Do this for one (1) minute.

Workout Proper for Backstroke

Backstroke is one of four recognized swim strokes. It’s the second fastest (after freestyle), and
the only one that involves being on your back. To that end, it’s essentially freestyle on your
back, as it involves the same flutter kick and also a long axis stroke, meaning you rotate your
body along the long axis of your spine. (This is the opposite of the short axis strokes, butterfly,
and breaststroke, which rotate along the short axis of your hips.)

Backstroke can initially seem like a daunting stroke to learn, especially if you are new to
swimming, but don’t let that deter you. 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. This means you can perform regular,
relaxed breathing, which lets you focus solely on the stroke. The same principles that apply to
freestyle swimming apply to backstroke (and, in fact, all strokes): reduce drag by improving your
body position and increase power.

1. A. Body Position- A great first step in learning how to do backstroke is to just learn to
float on your back to get comfortable with the body position. If you find it hard to remain
buoyant enough to float easily on your back then use a light kick to help stabilize you.
The key for most people when swimming backstroke is to maintain proper body position,
which essentially means keeping your core taut and your hips and feet high.
 B. Body Roll- To maximize your power in the backstroke, you should slightly roll your
body from side to side. But only rotate from the shoulders down. You should keep your
head perfectly still and steady while your shoulders and hips rotate
C. Arms- The backstroke arm cycle involves the following: hand entry, pull, release, and
recovery. Let’s look at these in closer detail below:

2. Hand entry- Your hand enters the water in line with your shoulder, pinky finger in first, and
your arm straight. Rotate your body slightly to maximize your reach.

2. Pull- Pull your arm down and under the water, slightly bending your elbow. Sweep your
arm down and through the water toward your outer thigh, pushing the water with your
hand.

3. Release- As your arm nears your body, begin to straighten it, lifting it out of the water with
your thumb leading.
4. Recovery- Move your arm in an arc to begin the stroke again with your pinky entering the
water first.

Your arms should be moving continually in an alternating fashion — when one is sweeping up
out of the water, the other arm is pulling underneath the water. This will create a smooth and
continual movement forward across the water.

Kick

The backstroke uses the flutter kick, just like in freestyle. Here are some tips to master the
flutter kick:

1. Keep your legs close together.

2. Generate power from your hips, not your knees. Your whole leg should be moving with each
kick, not just your lower leg.

3. Your legs should be relaxed and bent slightly. Think of your legs as battle ropes, moving
fluidly up and down.

4. Focus on smooth, consistent kicks at first. As you get more comfortable, you can start picking
up the speed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Lidbury, E. (2019). How To Do The Backstroke. Retrieved from Openfit.com:

(https://www.openfit.com/how-to-do-backstroke).

Swimoutlet. (2020). Stretches for Swimming. Retrieved from Swimoutlet.com:

(https://www.swimoutlet.com/guides/stretches-for-swimming).