Common entry mistakes in backstroke

The backstroke armstroke can be divided into eight phases: the entry and stretch, the first downsweep, the catch, the first upsweep, the second downsweep, the second upsweep, the release and exit, and the recovery. Some people divide the armstroke stroke in less phases, but you'll notice (when these series is done) that it's the same description. During these phases swimmers can make mistakes that will cost them time and energy. Today, we're going to talk about the entry mistakes in backstroke and what to avoid.

Some of the most common mistakes that swimmers make when they enter the hands into the water are: overreaching, underreaching, smashing the back of the hand into the water, and placing the fingertips in the water before the arm.

• When swimmer overreach on the entry, they swing the hand behind the head toward the opposite shoulder. Reaching behind the head for the entry will pull the hips out of alignment in the opposite direction and delay the catch.
• When they underreach, swimmers put the hand in the water outside the same shoulder. Entering the arm wide reduces the length of the propulsive phases of the armstroke. To eliminate both overreaching and underreaching try to imagine that you are lying on the face of a clock with the head pointing at 12 o'clock and the feet pointing at 6 o'clock. The right hand should enter the water between 11 and 12 o'clock and the left hand should enter between 12 and 1 o'clock. 
• Smashing the back of the hand will increase pushing drag. The surface area presented to the water is considerably larger when the hand enters with the palm facing up rather than to the side. If the hand is pushed down and back forcefully as it enters, water will be pushed forward and your speed will decrease considerably. Swimmers should slide the hand into the water on its side with the palm facing outward so that the hand can slip into the water on its edge. Swimmers usually enter with the palm up because they fail to rotate the body toward the entering arm. They rotate too little or too late so that the body is still inclined in the other direction when the arm is entering in the water.
• The final mistake, usually made by novice swimmers, is entering the hand into the water before the arm. Probably a carryover from freestyle where entry with fingertips first is desirable, this mistake is not only unwanted in backstroke but also impossible to do without increasing drag and upsetting stroke rhythm. Swimmers who make this mistake usually display a hitch during each stroke cycle. That means that they exhibit a hesitation in stroke rhythm just after the arm enters the water. This hesitation is caused by the need to straighten the arm and turn the palm out to the correct position before they can begin sweeping the arm down.

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