Backstroke Technique: Getting the Pull Right
World Record holder and Olympic Gold medal backstroker, Aaron Piersall, once described his pulling motion as Grip it and Rip it. He did that well (he still holds the World Record in the 200 m backstroke). The problem is that most backstrokers do not grip it nor do they rip it very well.
At The Race Club, we make more changes on the backstroke pulling motion than any other part of the stroke. When it comes to the backstroke pull, most swimmers get it wrong.
The problem with the backstroke pull often starts with body rotation. Most swimmers don’t rotate enough. Consequently, they tend to pull with nearly a straight arm to avoid having their pulling hand break the surface. A straight arm pull will lead to more time pressing out and in, and less time pressing backward.
This swimmer highlights four common problems seen in backstroke: Head too high, hips too low, overbending knee on the kick, and pulling with nearly a straight arm. The latter stems from not rotating his shoulders enough. His maximum body rotation is 25 degrees (blue curve at white line), when he should be rotating 30-40 degrees in each direction.
Another common problem we see with the backstroke pull is the double down pull. The swimmer will press downward at the beginning of the pull and at the end of the pull, often leading to a very deep finish. A deep finish can result in delaying the release of the hand and missing the coupling opportunity at arm entry.
This swimmer finishes her pull with her right hand way too deep, after pressing down at the end of her pull. She won’t be able to release her right hand fast enough to time her coupling motion with her left pull. She also bends her knees way too much on the kick.
Another common problem seen in the backstroke pull is simply allowing the hand to slip. The swimmer let’s go of their grip on the water and loses propulsion.
This swimmer allows her hand to slide upwards during the pull, losing propulsion. The propulsion (dashed red curve above at white line) suddenly drops when her hand slides upward.
Finally, we often see the scooping pulling motion. With this technique, the swimmer drops the hand deeply toward the end of the pull and scoops the hand backward, inward and upward with a straight arm pull. I have never seen an elite backstroker use this technique.
This swimmer finishes her backstroke pull by pressing down, then scooping the hand backward. Instead of reaching her peak propulsion at her shoulder, she reaches the highest level at the very end of her pull (red dashed curve at white line). The peak propulsion is not only late, it also is not as high (93 Newtons) as it could be with a good pulling motion.
At The Race Club, we believe teaching the correct pulling motion is best accomplished by starting with the swimmer on deck, standing up. There, with five steps, we teach the swimmer how to rotate properly, bend the elbow early and press with the hand in mostly a straight line backwards. Then we teach the same techniques with them in the water.
Yours in Swimming,
Gary Sr.