Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by

FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy
breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It also has a
different start from the other three competition swimming styles. The swimming style is similar to an
upside down front crawl or freestyle. Both backstroke and front crawl are long-axis strokes. In individual
medley backstroke is the second style swum; in the medley relay it is the first style swum.

The backstroke, or back crawl, uses alternating and opposite arm movements. As one arm pulls through
the water from an overhead position to the hip, the other arm recovers above the water from the hip to
the overhead position and vice versa.

The legs perform a flutter kick, similar to the one used in the front crawl.

The backstroke is, as the name suggests, the only one of the four competitive swimming strokes swum
on the back.

Backstroke Swimming Technique

Boby movement.

The backstroke is swum in a horizontal position on the back. However, the body rolls a little from side to
side, following the arm movements.

As a consequence, the shoulder of the arm that is currently pulling back in the water is lower than the
shoulder of the arm that is recovering forward above water.

While the body rolls from side to side, the head remains in a neutral position, face up. Ideally, it should
be possible to swim backstroke with a small bottle on your forehead without it falling off

Arm movement

One arm pulls backward in the water, from an extended forward position to outside the shoulder and
then to the hip, performing an S-shaped movement and providing propulsion.

The other arm recovers above water, moving from the hip to the extended forward position in the
water, performing a semi-circular movement. The arm is kept straight during the recovery.
The arms then alternate their movements, and so on. Per swimming stroke cycle, each arm pulls once in
the water and recovers once above the water

Leg movement

The backstroke uses a flutter kick. The legs perform alternating and opposite movements. While one leg
moves up, the other leg moves down, and vice versa.

The legs are moved up and down in quick succession with compact movements. The feet are stretched
while the hips and knees bend slightly.

In backstroke swimming, a six-beat kicking pattern is used almost universally, with each foot kicking
three times per stroke cycle, for a total of six kicks.

The flutter kick provides some propulsion in addition to the propulsion generated by the arms. The kick
also helps to stabilize the body in relation to the arm movements.

Butterfly

The butterfly (colloquially shortened to fly) is a swimming stroke swum on the chest, with both arms
moving symmetrically, accompanied by the butterfly kick (also known as the "dolphin kick"). While other
styles like the breaststroke, front crawl, or backstroke can be swum adequately by beginners, the
butterfly is a more difficult stroke that requires good technique as well as strong muscles. It is the
newest swimming style swum in competition, first swum in 1933 and originating out of the breaststroke.

Swim Phases

Initial Position

Let’s analyze the different phases of the butterfly stroke. We imagine that the swimmer is in the
following initial position:

1) He floats horizontally on his chest.

2) The head is in line with the torso, the face is turned downwards.
3) The arms are extended forward and shoulder-width apart. The palms are facing downwards.

4) The legs are extended and together, the knees are slightly bent.

5) The feet are pointed.

Stroke Cycle

Now the swimmer begins the stroke cycle:

1) The chest is pressed downwards, then released.

2) The arms move a little bit outwards, then bend at the elbows and the forearms and palms are brought
into a backward-facing position.

3) The chest starts to rise.

4) The hands move backward and inwards towards the chest.

5) Simultaneously, the hips drive down and the knees bend.

6) The hands arrive below the chest and change directions to move towards the hips.

7) As the hands move from below the chest towards the hips, a first dolphin kick occurs.

8) Shortly after the chest and shoulders are at their highest point and clear the water.
9) The hands exit the water close to the hips with the palms facing inwards and the recovery of the arms
start.

10) The arms hover above the water surface and return to their initial position. Simultaneously the
palms rotate so that at the end of the recovery they are turned downwards again.

11) When the arms are fully extended forward and shoulder-width apart, they enter the water.

12) A second dolphin kick occurs.

13) The next stroke cycle begins.

Swimming Technique

The following articles cover the butterfly stroke technique in more detail:

Body Movements

So let’s consider that you are in this initial position:

You are floating horizontally in the water on your chest.

Your head is in a neutral position, and your face is in the water.

Your arms are extended forward.

Your legs are extended and held together, and the feet are pointed.

Now to start the wave-like body movements, do the following:

Press your chest a few inches downwards into the water, then release it.
As you release your chest, start to press your hips downwards into the water.

Then release your hips and press your chest downwards again.

And so on…

This rhythmical application and release of pressure on your chest and hips is what drives the body
undulation.

Please note that the amount of undulation at the chest usually is higher than at the hips.

Dolphin Kick

When the wave that started in your upper body has traveled down through your torso and hips arrives
at your legs, you should execute a whipping movement simultaneously with both legs, a little bit like
kicking into a ball but with the feet pointed.

Head Movements

Your head assists the body undulation with the following movements:

When your chest moves downwards, you should tilt your head a little bit forward, just like you would do
while nodding.

Then when your chest moves upwards, you should tile your head a little bit backward, just as if you were
looking up.

To visualize this, imagine that when pushing your chest downwards you are trying to capture a bundle of
water behind your neck. Then when your chest rises you try to make this bundle of water slide down
your back.

Adding these head movements helps drive the body undulation and transform the vertical up and down
movements into propulsive movements.

However, these head movements should not be overdone to avoid straining the neck.
Another thing to take into account is that while swimming butterfly, there are breathing and non-
breathing stroke cycles.

During breathing cycles, you will tilt your head back more to clear the water and be able to breathe than
during non-breathing stroke cycles.

TREADING

Head Movements

Your head assists the body undulation with the following movements:

When your chest moves downwards, you should tilt your head a little bit forward, just like you would do
while nodding.

Then when your chest moves upwards, you should tile your head a little bit backward, just as if you were
looking up.

To visualize this, imagine that when pushing your chest downwards you are trying to capture a bundle of
water behind your neck. Then when your chest rises you try to make this bundle of water slide down
your back.

Adding these head movements helps drive the body undulation and transform the vertical up and down
movements into propulsive movements.

However, these head movements should not be overdone to avoid straining the neck.

Another thing to take into account is that while swimming butterfly, there are breathing and non-
breathing stroke cycles.

During breathing cycles, you will tilt your head back more to clear the water and be able to breathe than
during non-breathing stroke cycles.

Uses
Treading water is a basic swimming technique used primarily to pause for a moment in the water, rather
than for propulsion. It is useful in many situations, for example:

While practicing a specific drill, if you get out of breath, swallow water or lose your rhythm, you can use
it to stop in the middle of the water and regain your composure.

While swimming in open water, you can stop and look around if you lose your bearings.

If your goggles fog up while swimming, you can stop, take them off, rinse them in the water, put them
back on and resume swimming.

Treading Water – Popular Style

One of the popular techniques for treading water is sculling on a horizontal plane with the arms and
fluttering on a vertical plane with the legs.

1) To scull water, raise your arms sideways to shoulder height and then move your arms forward and
back, pushing against the water with your hands.

The pressure your arms and hands exert on the water creates some buoyancy that keeps your body
afloat.

2) To perform the flutter kick, you alternately kick forward and backward with small quick movements.
Your feet point downward as you do this.

The flutter kick also provides some buoyancy, which helps keep the body afloat.

Treading Water – Personal Style

I learned how to tread water as a child, and I don’t remember if I learned this technique on my own or if
it was taught by an instructor.

In any case, my technique is less sophisticated, but it works well for me. What I do is the following:
1) I angle my arms at about 90°, with my forearms horizontal and pointing forward, my palms turned
downward, and my elbows close to the body.

2) Then, I make circles in the water with my hands. They move down and outward, then up and inward,
then down and outward again, and so on.

What I basically do is push the water down with circular movements.

3) My feet also do a circular kind of movement that is similar to the breaststroke kick. The initial position
is with my knees bent and my feet in their natural resting position.

4) Then I move my feet down and outward while they go in plantar flexion, then they move up and
inward in dorsiflexion.

So what I basically do is push down the water with the inside of my lower leg and foot.

Learning How to Tread Water – Popular Style

To learn how to tread water in the popular style, you can do the following exercises:

1) First, practice the swimming exercises given in the articles about sculling water and the flutter kick.

2) Then, take a swimming pool noodle, put it around your back and under your armpits. Make sure the
pool noodle provides enough buoyancy to keep you afloat.

3) Supported by the pool noodle, you simultaneously perform sculling movements with your arms and a
flutter kick.
4) Practice these movements until they provide enough buoyancy to keep you afloat even without a
swimming pool noodle.

5) When you eventually feel confident enough, remove the pool noodle and try treading water without
a buoyancy aid. In the beginning, do this only under the supervision of an experienced swimmer or a
lifeguard.

Underwater diving, also called underwater swimming, swimming done underwater either with a
minimum of equipment, as in skin diving (free diving), or with a scuba (abbreviation of self-contained
underwater-breathing apparatus) or an Aqua-Lung. Competitive underwater diving sports include
spearfishing and underwater hockey, sometimes called “octopush.”

tips for improving your underwater phase

Special training for the underwater phase is important because:

– it means you swim 30% less in short-course races (25 m pool). You can actually swim 30% of the race
completely underwater (if you add together all the 15 m phases after pushing off the wall)
corresponding to an enormous gain in terms of speed and performance (you only actually need to swim
70% of the race).

– it means you can swim faster. The phases immediately after the dive and turn are the fastest part of
the race. A powerful underwater phase allows you to maintain this speed longer, gaining an invaluable
amount of time in terms of seconds.

– it helps improve your leg strength. Working on the underwater phase means focusing more on your
leg strength and endurance, which will transfer over into the water.

– it teaches you how important it is to reduce drag. If you train with fins you will learn what it means to
reduce drag and, hence, increase your speed.

Having explained why an excellent underwater phase is so important, let’s see how to train this specific
skill following these three useful tips:
1. Start by swimming 15 m underwater as fast as possible. Try sets of 8 x 15 m wearing fins with 60” rest
between intervals. When you have learned how to handle 15 m underwater perfectly, increase the
distance to 25 m. Make sure your speed is right and that you are not gasping for air too much.

2. Make sure you train your “core” muscles. Having a well-trained “core” will give you a more efficient
butterfly leg kick in the water. Your leg kick will be stronger and your shoulders will be steadier, and this
will allow you to keep your body straighter during the underwater phase

3. practice vertical leg kicks. A few minutes vertical kicking every day will help you improve your
underwater phase. Vertical kicking will allow you to keep your body in the right position and also perfect
your leg kick itself. This video clip shows you how to perform this drill correctly:

vertical butterfly legs with your forearms and hands out of the water for better control of your leg kick:

vertical butterfly legs in a streamlined position to improve your position in the water (simulating how
you come out of dives and turns):

vertical butterfly legs holding a weight above your head to strengthen your “core” and legs: