Freestyle Biomechanics

Base positions

• On breast
• Flutter kick
• Water between hair line and eyes
• Shoulders and hips rotate through axis
• Heels breaking the water surface

Kick

• Alternate flutter kick
• Feet kick both up and down (& side to side!)
• Kick from hip
• Knees bend on up kick, straighten on down kick
• Lose ankles
• Kick no deeper than body depth (12-18inch)

Arms Propulsion

• Hand enters in line with shoulder
• Body rotates
• Out-sweep: slightly outside shoulder
• (good internal flexibility required)
• In-sweep: Hand accelerates and drives in under chest
• Push: Hand pushes under hips, back to thigh
• Entry: Palm flat thumb pitched slightly down
• Out-sweep: High wrist, palm faces out
• In-sweep: High wrist and elbow, palm facing inwards
• Push: Palm faces backwards & outwards, finishing close to thigh
• Don't forget the forearm (high elbow)!

Arms Recovery

• Shoulder leads recovery
• High elbow
• Thumb first recovery
• Hand close to water surface
• Elbow remains high & leads hand for as long as possible
• Arm extends and enters in line with shoulder