Common mistakes during the recovery and entry in freestyle

As you already know the armstroke in freestyle is divided into seven parts: the entry and stretch, the downsweep, the catch, the insweep, the upsweep, the release and the recovery. Today we're going to discuss a few common mistakes that swimmers do during  the recovery and the entry. Making these adjustments is important to improve your technique. 

The most common mistakes that swimmers make during the arm recovery are to use too much effort, to swimg the arm over the water low and wide, to overreach, and to underreach. The most common mistake they make during the entry is to push water forward.

1. Maintaining a relaxed recovery is not easy for swimmers to do when they want to swim fast. Their natural reaction is to recover the arms over the water quickly when they want to increase speed. Doing so, the recovering arm will reach the entry position too early if its speed is accelerated and this will upset body rotation and stroking rhythm. In addition, thrusting the arm forward may pull the hips out of lateral alignment, particularly if the recovery is made with a wide swing to the side. Another problem with a fast recovery is that swimmers may shorten the upsweep of the stroking arm in order to begin the downsweep with the other arm. Swimmers should allow the momentum from the upsweep to carry the arm forward into recovery, and they should use the minimum effort necessary to keep the arm moving through the entry.

2. When swimmers recover the arms over the water low and wide, they usually pull the hips out of alignment in the opposite direction. These side to side movements cause the swimmer to take up much more space in the water. In addition, these side to side movements will also cause the swimmer to push water forward with the hips and legs. All of these actions will increase drag and will reduce the swimming speed. Swimmers should keep the arm flexed and the elbow higher than the hand throughout the recovery, and they should recover the arm forward with as little outward swinging as possible.

3. The mistake of overreaching occurs when swimmers extend the arm too much before entering it into the water. As a result of this action, the broad underside of the swimmer's arm drops onto the water, pressing a large segment of water down and forward and decelerating his/her speed. In order to avoid this mistake, swimmers should not begin to extend  the arm forward for the entry until after it has passed the head, and the hand should enter the water before the arm is completely extended.

4. Underreaching is the opposite mistake, making the entry too close to the head and immediately drive the arm forward and down to the catch. When this happens, there is a tendency to push the upper side of the forearm and the back side of the hand forward underwater, which will increase drag and decrease speed.

5. Drag may also be increased if the palm of the hand is not in line with the forearm as it enters the water. Some swimmers make the entry with the hand flexed at the wrist, causing the to push water forward with the back of the hand as they stretch it forward underwater. The best advice for the entry is to slide the hand into the water with the palm turned out and with little or no flexion at the wrist. Those who prefer to enter with the palm flat should slide the fingertips into the water first and then enter with the hand through the hole made by the fingertips. 

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