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Question
Hello, I compete in a summer swim team. And I just had a question on how to make my backstroke faster!

When I practice the backstroke i go at a moderately good speed, but what i do that's good is i really pull through all of my pulls, but in the race i quickly throw my hands one after the other. Never having time to pull.

Could you give me advice on to slow down so i can pull, but go fast so I'll still have a good time.

Any advice about the backstroke would be very nice.

Especially the starting part of the backstroke. i can never seem to glide under water for very long. I think I rise to the surface kind of fast.
And my feet kind of slip, I don't go through the air at all!
thanks


Answer
Ashlee,
Thanks for contacting me.  Here are some suggestions for you.  You questions are very common.  I think that you have the right ideas, but you might need a little bit of mental practice to make everything come together.

First of all, it's nice to hear that some swimmer DO practice pulling all the way through in their strokes.  It's very important to pull through a LONG and COMPLETE stroke.  I liken this to running.  You don't see runners running with really small steps.  You don't walk around with small steps do you?  No.  You lengthen out your stride to go faster.  The same is true in swimming for ANY stroke.  You need to be LONG AND STRONG.  That is my catch phrase it seems.

See if you can watch a world-class runner sprinting.  He/she is moving very fast, but their legs are stretched out as far as they can go.  In other words, you can't sacrifice stroke length for speed.  There are many sprint swimmers out there who do not have a very fast turnover.  They don't get their arms moving as fast as other swimmers, but they do have a long stroke.  The key to swimming is finesse.  You need to do the stroke properly before you can do it quickly.  Work on maintaining the proper stroke while moving  your arms fast.

Now let me get more specific with your questions.  I said you may need to do some mental training earlier.  It sounds like you have the right idea in practice.  You are really trying to lengthen out your stroke and work hard.  Ask your coach if you are really "following through with your pull."  Use those words too.  That is a standard way of saying you are maximizing your pull.  Once you really know that you are following through on your pull, then think about your races.  You don't want to pull as fast as you can in order to swim faster.  You want to pull as HARD as you can in order to swim faster.  Think about your race before you swim.  Visualize yourself pulling hard and following through.  You want to be working hard and doing the stroke properly.  Just because you move your arms quickly does not mean you are going to swim faster.

Notice that I didn't mention backstroke.  That is because this advice is good for all strokes.

Now, let's talk about your backstroke starts.  You say that you are rising to the surface quickly.  This is usually because you aren't getting a good push off from the wall.  I don't know what to say about your feet slipping.  That is an issue with each individual pool.  Ask other swimmers on your team, in the pool, or in your area about what they to do overcome slipping.  As for going through the air, there is one word of advice I have.  Don't just throw your arms back.  Swing your arms around to the side when you start.  When you pull yourself up on the backstroke start swing your arms out to the side to get into the streamline position.  This will help you go OUT.  It's rather tough to describe in email.  You need to kick hard once you are in the water.  Getting a good push off and kicking hard are the keys to moving underwater on a backstroke start.  There aren't any amazing secrets I have for you on that.  Sorry.

I hope that this has helped out.  Please let me know if you need further help.  I am generally here.  I will be going on vacation tomorrow for a week though.  If you think I did a good job, fill out a comment on this site saying I did so.  It helps out.  Thanks again.

Swim hard!
Eric