Backstroke drills for beginners

A few backstroke drills that will help you learn tha basics of backstroke. These drills are mainly for beginners but they will also help more experienced swimmers too.

1. Slow flutter on back

Purpose: To practice correct body position for the backstroke while adding the kicking.

Procedure: Begin with a floating position on your back and gradually add a slow fluttter kick. Kick just fast enough to keep the bottom of your rib cage at the surface.

Focus: Stay relaxed, keep your head back until your ears are submerged and the water touches your goggles and chin.

2. Streamline back flutter kick

Purpose: To introduce the streamline arm position with kicking. Maintaining a good streamline will reduce drag and help you move through the water with very little energy.

Procedure: Place one hand over the other with your fingers together. Straighten your arms overhead so that you cradle or brace your head between your arms. They should be slightly behind your ears with the elbows completely locked. Push off the wall to a floating position, but hold a streamline position. Gradually add a flutter kick. Follow the pattern float, streamline, kick.

Focus: Relax, keep your toes pointed and your ankles relaxed, keep your head back, keep your hands just under the water.

3. One-arm extended back kick

Purpose: This drill is an intermediate step to help move into the correct backstroke position.

Procedure: Begin by pushing off the wall on your back with just one arm above your head in a half streamline position. Position your extended arm with the palm facing up and the thumb in. Straighten your elbow. Extend your arm forward from the shoulder, close to but not quite touching the head. Keep your other arm down at your side. Use a flutter kick to move along the surface and keep the bottom of your rib cage up and your head steady.

Focus: Control the position of your hand above your head so that the palm faces up.  

4. Shoulder roll drill

Purpose: To isolate and emphasize the shoulder rotation action of the backstroke.

Procedure: Begin by floating on your back as in drill 1. Keep your head position steady, and slowly begin to roll one shoulder up on one side. Pause there and feel the shoulder, elbow, and side of the rib cage up at the surface on that side. Count to three and slowly begin to roll your body to the other side. You should feel your rib cage up at the surface the whole time you are rolling across to the other side. Continue repeating this motion, rolling from one side to the other and back again.

Focus: Keep your head steady, roll slowly, keep the kicking quick and constant, the rolling action shoud be generated by your abdominal and back muscles.

5. 6-kick switch backstroke

Purpose: To develop the complete back stroke action with control and coordinationof both arms.

Procedure: Start with drill 3, with one arm extended and the other arm down on your side. Hold this position until you do six kicks. Switch arms at the same time by pulling with the extended arm and recovring with the arm on your side. Hold this position for another 6 kicks and repeat the switch. Continue to repeat this cycle and be sure to keep your recovering arm extended.

Focus: Roll from one side to the other, perform the drill slowly and smoothly, keep the kicking quick and strong.

6. Continuous backstroke

Purpose: To emphasize stroke control and body roll with the coordination of using both arms.

Procedure: Perform drill 5 but without the pause. Use a smooth, continuous action, switch both arms at the same time.Let the shoulders lead the arm action. Do not pause at any point in the stroke. Continue to repeat the cycle.

Focus: Keep rolling back and forth from one side to the other. Perform the stroke smoothly and keep the kicking quick and strong.

There are certainly a great number of backstroke drills but I think that these can help you more to learn basic backstroke in just a few hours. Just try to perform these drills correctly in order to take the most out of them. Remember these three rules of thumb when you perform these drills: relax into the water, rotate from side to side using your core muscles, and stay long and sleek for as long as possible.