Freestyle stroke or\nfront crawl technique is basically a way of swimming that mimics crawling with\nyour hands(pulling) in horizontal position facing down while kicking with your\nfeet to move forward in water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Owing to the fact that\nthere are limited movements and body coordination, it is considered as the\nfastest of all the known swimming styles. It\u2019s common at swimming events such\nas the Olympic Games and others where it has the highest number of events for\nboth men and women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This should not\nhowever be confused with freestyle swimming which refers to the swimming in\nwhich there are very few swimming rules to abide by. You are allowed to use any\nstroke though the front crawl is the most common due to its speed. As long as\nyou\u2019re moving fast, you\u2019re good to go. While the FINA (International Swimming\nFederation) has a few rules to it, its general approach is to limit the strokes\nand keep the swimmers safe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read on learn the technique,\nthe form, breathing, arm movement, flutter kicks, tips, drill workouts history and\nmore<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The technique for\nthe freestyle is arms circling alternatively while the feet perform flutter\nkicks fast. The body remains on a horizontal axis and keeps tilting to the side\nas one arm reaches ahead and the other pushes back on the water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The specific\nmovements are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The approach is for\nthe arms to alternatively stroke and recover. As one hand goes over the head\nand forwards, the other one should be paddling the water below the body. The\narms move in complete circles from the front to the hip area. At the start of\nthe move, the arms are stretched forwards to streamline the body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first phase of\nthe arm movements is when one arm is extending forwards while the other one is\npointing directly downwards while pushing the water backwards. The arm in front\nthen goes into a downsweep in which it moves down. The upper arm will move\nbackwards and inwards as the forearm goes downwards. The arm should have a high\nelbow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The forearm catches\nthe water as it\u2019s vertical and the palm is facing backwards. After that comes\nthe insweep in which the arm pulls at the water backwards and inwards for the\nupper arm. The forearm moves towards towards the area below your tummy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next phase is the upsweep in which your hand will switch the direction from going towards your belly to go towards your hip. It does this while pushing the water back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the hand nears the hip, the body tilts to the other side such that it\u2019s away from the paddling hand. Once at the hip level, the arm releases the water then starts the recovery phase which entails the arm moving forward and ahead of the body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hand will move\npast the head and into the water again for the next stroke. At this stage, the\nbody should return to the original horizontal level for proper propulsion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The arms remain in\nsync by ensuring that one arm goes into the water as the other one starts the\nstroke again. The reason this style is fast is due to the double propulsion of\nthe hands. As one hand is moving underwater to propel the body, the other one\nis already picking up the next stroke. By the time one hand completes its\nstroke, the other one would already be in the middle of its own stroke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The arm movements\nform what\u2019s known as the front-quadrant swimming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The primary leg\nmovements for the freestyle stroke is the flutter kick. Basically, your legs\nwill be moving up and down in a restricted angle allowing you to move forwards.\nThe feet will be moving faster than the hands in the flutter kick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From a starting\npoint of a streamlined body with the feet stretched backwards, move the legs up\nand down within a narrow angle. The movement should occur in the whole leg\nrather than the lower leg alone. Your knees should be flexible but shouldn\u2019t\nmove too much. Your feet should be as straight as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The motion is such that,\nas one leg moves up, the other one moves down in quick succession. The flutter\nkick goes on without giving heed to the motion of the arms. In fact, you can\nperform the flutter kick on its own and still move ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Combined with the\nfront crawl of the arms, the flutter kicks are effective both at moving you\nahead and balancing your body in the water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The freestyle stroke\nrequires you to swim horizontally while facing the bottom of the pool. As you\nmake flutter kicks and arm cycles. The body will move from one side to the\nother while turning to the side of the body with the arm in the water. This\nmakes it easy for the other arm to recover above the water where there\u2019s very\nlittle resistance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The head and the\nbody move about on an axis that\u2019s about 45 degrees from the horizontal plane on\neither side. This way, you can move the head to one side for breathing\npurposes. The body also needs to be as flat as possible to reduce the drag on\nyour movement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are various\nways to breath when doing the freestyle stroke. However, they all occur when\nyou\u2019re on your side and one arm is recovering for the next stroke. You breath\nin as soon as the head comes out of the water then breath out when it\u2019s in the\nwater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While you can breath\nwith every stroke and on every side the head turns to, you\u2019re better off taking\nbreaths fewer times for every stroke. Most swimmers choose to breath every\nsecond stroke on the same side of the body, or every third stroke. The faster\nyou move, the fewer your breathing windows should be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a start, you\u2019ll\njump into the water with your arms the first part of the body to come into\ncontact with the water. Your body should slide into the water with your feet\nbeing the last part to go in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You should dive into\nthe water then, once submerged, glide for a while with the feet doing flutter\nkicks and the hands stretched forwards to make the body as streamlined as\npossible. After that, break the water with the head and the first hand to take\nthe stroke. At this time, you should keep doing the flutter kicks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When turning in a\ncompetitive position, both of your hands should touch the wall at the same time\nand on a horizontal plane. This means that, as you near the wall, you should\nglide for a while until your hands come into contact with the wall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As your body comes\ntowards the wall, bend the elbows then turn to one side and push yourself\nagainst the wall. For the best results, let your hands leave the wall one at a\ntime. The hand leaving the wall first should start the glide by stretching out\nstraight ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the hands are\npushing against the wall, your feet should be coming under your body with\nslightly bent knees. As soon as the last hand is leaving the wall, the feet\nshould also touch the wall and push against it. As the feet come off the wall,\nglide for a while then start the strokes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a stop, both of\nyour hands should touch the wall at the same time. Again, it means that, as you\nnear the finish line, you should do a little gliding with your hands stretched\nforwards to touch the wall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While already the\nfastest swimming style, the freestyle can be made faster with the right\ntechniques. These techniques will make you faster and save on your energy as\nthey\u2019re based on years of study and research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They include the\nfollowing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Known as pressing\nthe buoy, pushing down your chest is vital in helping you keep the proper\nbalance when doing the freestyle stroke. It helps keep the body horizontal and\nkeeps the legs up thus reducing drag on your body and helping you move faster.\nThis can be maintained properly with straight legs as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While it\u2019s a\nhorizontal swimming style, moving to your sides when doing the freestyle stroke\nhelps you generate more power for the swim thus making you faster. This comes\nfrom the fact that you\u2019ll be using the arm and back muscles for the stroke\nrather than the arm muscles alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your head should act\nas the apex of your whole body. Even when the body moves from side to side, the\nhide should only be tilting on an axis. Looking forward (rather than down) may\nmake you drop your lower body and thus increase the drag on your body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When your lower body\ndrops, you\u2019ll need harder kicks to maintain the same speed. As such, your head\ndetermines the actions of the whole body with this style. Also, keeping a\nneutral head can lead to neck strain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like keeping\nyour head in a neutral position helps you keep your body horizontal, breathing\non the side helps you maintain the axis from the head to your hip region. To\nbreath, simply role to your side and take in air rather than lifting up your head\nand disrupting the strokes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The secret to speed when swimming is to relax your body and just flow in the water. That means you should avoid holding your breath at any time of the stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, after breathing in when your head comes out of the water on the side, you should continuously breath out while the head is under water. The exhaling should be continuous and only end with the inhalation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These tips will keep\nyour speed up and help you conserve energy. They apply whether you want to\ncompete or swim for fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somebody somewhere said that practice makes perfect. That was\nright! To improve your front crawl technique, you need exercises that will help\nyou balance, pull, breathe and kick. Following is a video with some of the best\ndrills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n