FRONTCRAWL TECHNIQUE

INTRODUCTION
Front Crawl, Forward Crawl, or Freestyle 
• The front crawl, forward crawl, or freestyle is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four
front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is nearly universally used during a freestyle swimming
competition, hence the synonymously used term "freestyle".
• It is one of two long axis strokes, the other one being the BACKSTROKE. Unlike the backstroke,
the BUTTERFLY STROKE, and the BREASTSTROKE, the front crawl is not regulated by the FINA.
• This style is sometimes referred to as the Australian crawl or the American crawl, although these can refer to
more specific slight variations, classified as front crawl strokes.
• The face-down swimming position allows for a good range of motion of the arm in the water, as compared to
the backstroke, where the hands cannot be moved easily along the back of the spine.
• The above-water recovery of the stroke reduces drag, compared to the underwater recovery of breaststroke.
The alternating arms also allows some rolling movement of the body for an easier recovery compared to, for
example, butterfly. Finally, the alternating arm stroke makes for a relatively constant speed throughout the
cycle.
• Front crawl is the fastest, most efficient stroke of them all. This is largely down to the streamlined BODY
POSITION and continuous propulsion from the ARMS and LEGS.
• The alternating action of the ARMS and legs is relatively easy on the joints and the stroke as a whole
develops aerobic capacity faster than any other stroke. In competitive terms it is usually referred to as
Freestyle.
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• The ARM ACTION generates almost all of the propulsion and is the most efficient arm action of all strokes.
The LEG ACTION promotes a horizontal, streamlined BODY POSITION and balances the 
ARM ACTION but provides little propulsion.

• Freestyle BREATHING technique requires the head to be turned so that the mouth clears the water but
causes minimal upset to the balance of the body from its normal streamlined position.

• The TIMING AND COORDINATION of the arms and legs occurs most commonly with six leg kicks to
one arm cycle. However, stroke timing can vary, with a four beat cycle and even a two beat cycle, which is
most commonly used in long distance swims and endurance events. 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE STROKE

Body Position
•The first position for front crawl or Freestyle is the streamline position, that is, to stay on the stomach with both
arms stretched out to the front and both legs extended to the back. The overall body position for this swimming
stroke is streamlined and as flat as possible at the water surface, and the head in line with the body.
•

• The waterline is around the natural hairline with eyes looking forward and down.
• If the position of the head is raised it will cause the position of the hips and legs to lower which in turn will increase
frontal resistance
• If the head position is too low it will cause the legs to raise and the kick to lose its efficiency.
• Shoulders remain at the surface and roll with the arm action. Hips also roll with the stroke technique, close to the water
surface and the legs remain in line with the body
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Leg Movement
•The leg movement in freestyle is called the FLUTTER KICK. The legs move alternately, with one leg kicking
downward while the other leg moves upward. While the legs provide only a small part of the overall speed, they
are important to stabilize the body position. This lack of balance is apparent when using a PULL BUOY to
neutralize the leg action.
•The leg in the initial position bends very slightly at the knees, and then kicks the lower leg and the foot
downwards similar to kicking a football. The propulsive phase comes from the down kick.
•The downward kick begins at the hip and uses the thigh muscles to straighten the leg at the knee, ending with
the foot extended to allow the surface area to bear upon the water. As the leg moves upwards, the sole of the
foot and the back of the leg press upwards and backwards against the water.
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• The upward kick slows and stops as the leg nears and minimally breaks the water surface. Ankles are relaxed
and toes pointed to give an in-toeing effect when kicking and leg kick depth should be within the overall
depth of the body.

• The legs may be bent inward (or occasionally outward) slightly. After the kick the straight leg moves back up.
A frequent mistake of beginners is to bend the legs too much or to kick too much out of the water.

• Ideally, there are 6 kicks per cycle, although it is also possible to use 8 kicks, 4 kicks or even 2 kicks. 
Franziska van Almsick, for example, swam very successfully with four kicks per cycle. When one arm is
pushed down the opposite leg needs to do a downwards kick also, to fix the body orientation, because this
happens shortly after the body rotation. A breaststroke kick with front crawl arms (the Trudgen) is awkward,
because the breathing pattern for front crawl needs a rotation, yet a breaststroke kick resists this rotation.
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Arm Movement
• During front crawl the continuous alternating arm action provides the majority of the power and propulsion of the entire
swimming stroke.
• The arm movement alternates from side to side. In other words, while one arm is pulling/pushing, the other arm is
recovering. The arm strokes also provide most of the forward movement. The move can be separated into three parts: the
pull, the push, and the recovery
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Catch
• From the initial position, the arm sinks slightly lower and the palm of the hand turns 45 degrees with the thumb side
of the palm towards the bottom. This is called catching the water and prepares for the pull.
• The pull movement follows a semicircle, with the elbow higher than the hand, and the hand pointing towards the
body center and downward. The semicircle ends in front of the chest at the beginning of the ribcage.
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• The push pushes the palm backward through the water underneath the body at the beginning and at the side of the body
at the end of the push. Sometime after the beginning of the pull, the other arm begins its recovery.
• The recovery moves the elbow in a semicircle in a vertical plane in the swimming direction. The lower arm and the
hand are completely relaxed and hang down from the elbow close to the water surface and close to the swimmer's body.
The beginning of the recovery looks similar to pulling the hand out of the back pocket of a pair of pants, with the small
finger upwards
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• Further into the recovery phase, the hand movement has been compared to pulling up a center zip on a wetsuit. The
recovering hand moves forward, with the fingers trailing downward, just above the surface of the water. In the middle
of the recovery one shoulder is rotated forward into the air while the other is pointing backwards to avoid drag due to
the large frontal area which at this specific time is not covered by the arm. To rotate the shoulder, some twist their torso
while others also rotate everything down to their feet.

• Beginners often make the mistake of not relaxing the arm during the recovery and of moving the hand too high and too
far away from the body, in some cases even higher than the elbow. In these cases, drag and incidental muscle effort is
increased at the expense of speed.

• Beginners often forget to use their shoulders to let the hand enter as far forward as possible. Some say the hand should
enter the water thumb first, reducing drag through possible turbulence, others say the middle finger is first with the
hand precisely bent down, giving thrust right from the start. At the beginning of the pull, the hand acts like a wing and
is moved slower than the swimmer while at the end it acts like an oar and is moved faster than the swimmer.
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• A recreational variation of front crawl involves only one arm moving at any one time, while the other arm
rests and is stretched out at the front. This style is called a "catch up" stroke and requires more strength for
swimming. This is because the hand is beginning the pull from a stationary position rather than a dynamic
one. This style is slower than the regular front crawl and is rarely used competitively: however, it is often
used for training purposes by swimmers, as it increases the body's awareness of being streamlined in the
water.
Breathing
•Normally, the face is in the water during front crawl with eyes looking at the lower part of the wall in front of
the pool, with the waterline between the brow line and the hairline. Breaths are taken through the mouth by
turning the head to the side of a recovering arm at the beginning of the recovery, and breathing in the triangle
between the upper arm, lower arm, and the waterline.
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• The swimmer's forward movement will cause a bow wave with a trough in the water surface near the ears. After turning
the head, a breath can be taken in this trough without the need to move the mouth above the average water surface. A
thin film of water running down the head can be blown away just before the intake.
• The head is rotated back at the end of the recovery and points down and forward again when the recovered hand enters
the water. The swimmer breathes out through mouth and nose until the next breath. Breathing out through the nose may
help to prevent water from entering the nose. Swimmers with allergies exacerbated by time in the pool should not expect
exhaling through the nose to completely prevent intranasal irritation.
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• Standard swimming calls for one breath every third arm recovery or every 1.5 cycles, alternating the sides for
breathing. Some swimmers instead take a breath every cycle, i.e., every second arm recovery, breathing
always to the same side. Most competition swimmers will breathe every other stroke, or once a cycle, to a
preferred side. However some swimmers can breathe comfortably to both sides. Sprinters will often breathe a
predetermined number of times in an entire race. Elite sprinters will breathe once or even no times during a
50m race. For a 100m race sprinters will often breathe every four strokes, once every two cycles, or will start
with every four strokes and finish with every two strokes. In water polo, the head is often kept out of the
water completely for better visibility and easier breathing, at the price of a much steeper body position and
higher drag.
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Types of Breathing
•Trickle The breath is slowly exhaled through the mouth and nose into the water during the propulsive phase of the arm pull.
The exhalation is controlled to allow inhalation to take place easily as the arm recovers.
•Explosive The breath is held after inhalation during the propulsive arm phase and then released explosively, part in and part out
of the water, as the head is turned to the side.
Top 5 challenges in learning how to breathe in freestyle, along with the remedies on how to get over these:
1. Not Getting Enough Air.
There are a couple of reasons this typically happens in freestyle. First, make sure you breathe out all of your air before you
rotate to take a breath. When learning, some people try to exhale and inhale while they are rolling to the side for air. There
simply is not enough time for this! Your exhalations should only be in the water in the form of bubbles. At first the timing may
seem difficult, but eventually you will get used to it. Second, you may be sinking as you breathe. Make sure you are rolling to
the side to breathe, and not rotating your head and looking straight up. Practicing the side kicking and shark fin drills, as
discussed in The Complete Guide and in the introductory 4-session online clinic you get by signing up for the Tri Swim Coach
newsletter will also help you with this challenge
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2. Extended Arm Sinks While Taking a Breath.
This is mainly a balance issue. While you breathe to one side, your other arm should be extending. For many
swimmers, this extended arm pushes down into the water (elbow drops) and they are sinking while trying to inhale.
The side kicking and shark fin drills will also help to improve this. Another drill also discussed in the materials that
will help with this challenge is the fist drill, which forces you to not use your hands, therefore improves your
balance in the water.

3. Speed is sacrificed because of a "Pause" While Breathing

A typical scenario is that you feel like you're cruising along just fine and then you take a breath and it feels like
you've just lost all your momentum. To remedy this, when you breathe, concentrate first on breathing to the side (as
in #1), then on having your mouth parallel to the water, instead of over the water. The latter will take a while to
master, but once you do, it will take care of the pause, and improve your speed overall.
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•4. Difficulty breathing while navigating in a Race.
You need to look up to see where you are going, and at the same time grab a breath. How can you do both? Start with
bilateral breathing (breathing on both sides every 3 strokes). This will help you to see about where you are without
lifting your head up as much. When you need to lift your head up to sight, try not to look straight ahead- this will
make your hips sink and throw you off balance. Instead, take a quick peek at your target, roll to the side to breath, and
bring your head right back down into position.
•5. Sucking In Water While Taking a Breath.
In practice, this will sometimes occur because of #1 and #2 above. In a race, the waves may cause the inhalation of
water instead of air (bilateral breathing will help here as well). The drills to practice to improve balance and avoid this
unpleasant occurrence are the side kicking and shark fin drills, as well as the one-arm drill. To perform the one-arm
drill, swim a full stroke with one arm while your other arm rests at your side. Breathe on the opposite side of the
stroking arm. This is a difficult drill and takes some practice, but it will pay off!
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Freestyle Breathing Rules
•Do not hold breath
If athletes are not inhaling, they are constantly exhaling slowly through both their noses and mouths. Holding one's
breath can cause water to go up the nose.
•Exhale into the water
If the athletes do not exhale, they cannot inhale. They do not have time to both exhale and inhale above water, so it
is better to exhale when their faces are in the water and inhale when their faces are above water.
• Do not lift the head when breathing
This is one of the major mistakes, as it causes the feet to sink and water to go up the nose. Keep the forehead down,
and the chin slightly tucked while turning both the head and the body to get a breath.
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•Open mouth to inhale
Do not attempt to breathe in through a small opening. This increases pressure and the chance that athletes will swallow water. If
their mouths are open wide and some water gets in, have them spit it back out after getting air. This is normal. Try not to panic.
• Inhale quickly and exhale slower. Inhale quickly when the head is turned and the arm is in the correct position. Exhale much
slower so that it continues until the next inhalation.
•Open mouth when exhaling
Do not attempt to exhale through the nose. Some air will come out of the nose anyway. Forcing all of the air out of the nose can
disturb sensitive membranes and create pain. If an athlete's nose drains or he/she gets headaches after swimming, check the way
the athlete exhales.
• Turn head to breathe with the arm pull
Timing the head turn to the arm pull is crucial to breathing correctly. Athletes cannot wait until their arms get back before
turning their heads. Swimmers must perform these motions at the same time. Attempt to get the athlete's head turned just prior to
the hand coming out of the water.
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Timing and coordination/Body movement
•The body rotates about its long axis with every arm stroke so that the shoulder of the recovering arm is higher
than the shoulder of the pushing/pulling arm. This makes the recovery much easier and reduces the need to turn
the head to breathe. As one shoulder is out of the water, it reduces drag, as one shoulder falls it aids the arm
catching the water, as one shoulder raises it aids the arm at end of the push to leave the water.
•Side-to-side movement is kept to a minimum: one of the main functions of the leg kick is to maintain the line
of the body. The timing and coordination for front crawl swimming stroke usually occurs naturally.
•Arms should provide a continuous power and propulsive alternating action whilst leg kicks also remain
continuous and alternating.
•However, there are a few variations.
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•Six beat cycle each leg kicks three down 
•kicks per arm cycle. The cycle is normally taught to beginners and used for sprint swims.
•Four beat cycle: each leg kicks down twice for each arm pull.
•Two-beat cycle: each leg kicks one downbeat per arm cycle. This timing cycle is normally used by long
distance swimmers, where the leg kick acts as a counter balance instead of a source of propulsion. This is not
recommended for beginners
Start
•The start is the regular start for swimming. After entering the water a brief underwater gliding phase follows,
followed by an underwater flutter kick or butterfly kick. After a maximum of 15 metres underwater the
swimmer has to surface and start swimming, in compliance with FINA regulations of competitive swimming
events.
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Turn and finish
•The front crawl swimmer uses a flip turn or tumble turn to reverse directions in minimal time. The swimmer swims
close to the wall as quickly as possible. In the swimming position with one arm forward and one arm to the back, the
swimmer does not recover one arm, but rather uses the pull/push of the other arm to initialize a somersault with the
knees straight to the body. At the end of the somersault the feet are at the wall, and the swimmer is on his or her back
with the hands over the head. The swimmer then pushes off the wall while turning sideways to lie on the breast. After a
brief gliding phase, the swimmer starts with either a flutter kick or a butterfly kick before surfacing no more than 15
metres from the wall.
•A variant of the tumble turn is to make a somersault earlier with straight legs, throwing the legs toward the wall and
gliding to the wall. This has a small risk of injury because the legs could hit another swimmer or the wall.
•For the finish the swimmer has to touch the wall with any body part, usually the hand. Most swimmers sprint the
finish as quickly as possible, which usually includes reducing their breathing rate.
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•A simple swimming technique tip
•When swimming freestyle, keep the top of your head pointing in the direction of travel. A swimmer’s Head-
point – top of the head – works like a compass. If a swimmer’s head points some place besides the destination,
things get out of line, swimming technique suffers, and the swimmer gets lost.
•Add a second point –nose point (which also is where the eyes are looking!). Keep the nose pointed at the
bottom of the pool while keeping the head point towards the destination. When it is time to breathe the nose
point turns to the side of the pool, the head point stays exactly oriented at the destination. For a backstroker, the
nose point is at the ceiling or sky.
FOUR KEY TECHNIQUE ELEMENTS FOR AN EFFECTIVE KICK IN FREESTYLE

1. Kick from the hip

• Many swimmers bend their knees too much whilst kicking - we call this kicking from the knee. This creates
large amounts of drag and is probably the number one reason for a swimmer's legs to sink low in the water.
Instead of kicking from the knee you should kick from the hip with a relatively straight leg. See the animated
clips

• Don't: Kick from the knee, it creates loads of drag.

• Do: Kick from the hip with a relatively straight leg.

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• With good kicking technique, you can bend your knee a little on the down stroke but this shouldn't be a ‘driven'
movement, it's just a slight movement from a relaxed knee. As described in the tips below it's best not to think
about bending your knee at all, instead think about kicking from the hip with a straight leg – a very slight knee
bend will happen naturally.

2. Plantar flexed feet (Pointing Your Toes)

•Plantar flexion is technical jargon for pointing your toes. When you swim you should always have your toes
pointed, this presents a much lower profile to the water. Not pointing your toes will push water forwards when you
kick, slowing you dramatically.
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• 3. Ankle Flexibility

• Many triathletes have poor ankle flexibility limiting how much they can point their toes. In an ideal world you
want to be able to flex your feet beyond straight.

• If you have a background in cycling or running (especially running) then you're likely to have stiff ankles such that
you can't achieve a straight foot. This will be hurting your kick technique and slowing you down when you swim.
See our tips below to develop a bit more flexibility in your feet. Improving your ankle flexibility a little so you can
point your foot straight is achievable. It's very desirable because it will reduce your drag and you'll slip through the
water much faster.
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4. Timing
•The timing of the kick is something that we don't normally think about much as swimmers. We have a variety
of kicking speeds open to us as we'll describe below – 2, 4 or 6 beats. The key to good timing is that when the
hand enters the water at the front of the stroke, the opposite leg should kick. In 2 beat kick this is the only kick,
in 4 and 6 beats there are other kicks in between but the kick on opposite hand entry is the important one for
timing.
•If your timing is wrong you won't be helping your body rotation with your kick – you could even be
counteracting it.
•Most swimmers kick with the correct timing naturally, unless you know you have a problem don't be too
concerned about timing – focus instead on pointing your toes and kicking from the hip, this is much more likely
to be holding you back.
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more about kicking – 2, 4 or 6 beats?
•In 2-beat, you kick twice for every cycle (a cycle is 2 arms strokes counting both arms). This is a slow kick
speed that many distance swimmers and skilled triathletes use.
•A 6-beat kick is 6 kicks per cycle. This is a traditional flutter kick technique that most swimmers use. The power
in the kick can be varied dramatically, you can use a very light flutter to distance swim economically or increase
the power dramatically to sprint.
•The 4 beat kick is a hybrid that some swimmers employ. It tends to happen naturally for some swimmers doing
'just what feels right for them'.
•Which kick technique should you use? For novices and most intermediates we suggest you do whatever comes
naturally and not be too concerned with the kick speed. For you it's more productive to focus on kicking from the
hip and pointing your toes than worrying about timing and how many beats you are using. Don't try and change
your natural kick speed until you are sure you a kicking from the hip and pointing your toes.
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•For strong intermediates and advanced swimmers you can experiment with different timing to see what suits
you best. For distance swimming and triathlon a 2 beat kick is the most energy efficient once the frantic swim
start has died down. However, a 2 beat kick is not for everyone, many women and shorter men find it hard to
make a 2 beat kick technique work for them – it just feels too slow. If a 2 beat kick doesn't feel right for you,
don't try and change to one.

• A two beat kick is particularly suited to the Swinger Swim Type. Our Development Guide for Swingers
 includes the techniques and drills you require to develop your two beat style
Cont.…
•4 top tips to develop an effective kick technique

1. Stretch Your Ankles

•If you feel you have stiff ankles, you can perform some gentle ankle stretches to improve your flexibility. Do
not force these. Do them little and often and gradually your flexibility will increase.
•Perhaps the best way to stretch your ankles is to use fins (flippers) regularly. They force you into using a
plantar flexed (pointed toes) position and provide some stretching force to your ankles. Over a period of time
they will develop and maintain your ankle flexibility.
Cont…
2. Point your toes whilst you swim
•Simple really, focus on holding your foot gently pointed whilst you swim. This should be a gentle hold, your foot and
calf should be mostly relaxed or you risk cramp and muscle ache.

3. Kick from your hips

•A good way to think about kicking from your hips is to squeeze your bum when you kick. It's a bit crude, but imagine
you have a large coin between your butt cheeks and you're trying to hold it there whilst you swim. Keep your knees
relaxed and drive the kick from the hips.

4. Use the Kick Off The Wall Drill

•Use the kick off the wall drill to develop your kick technique.
•Use this technique to re-program your kicking action:
•Simply perform a torpedo push off from the wall but keep your arms out in front of you and your face in the water,
kicking vigorously for about 15m or until you run out of air. Then stop and swim gently back to the wall.
Cont.…
•When you are kicking off the wall you need to focus on the following things:
•1) Point your toes as in tip 2.
•2) Kick from the hip as in tip 3. Focus on your imaginary coin and keep your knees relaxed.
•3) Point your toes slightly inwards so that your big toes almost brush together.
•Perform this drill 3 or 4 times in a row, kicking vigorously off the wall focusing on those three things. Then try
a lap of steady freestyle swimming – not thinking too much about your kicking technique except just tapping
your big toes lightly together. You should find that the kicking action you've just tried sticks for a while.
Remember, you're not looking to feel extra propulsion, you're looking to feel higher in the water with less drag
– a sensation of slipping through the water with less effort. If you're used to kicking hard this will feel very easy.