Front Crawl Arms

Movements of the Hands

The position and movements of the hands while swimming front crawl (also known as freestyle) are extremely important.

Follow these steps and you will swim much faster and better as a result.

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1- Develop your kinesthetic intelligence

• Focus on one thing at a time.
• Practice until you accomplished that task and then move onto the next one.
• Imagine yourself doing this steps then practice the drills so the body creates muscle memory.

2- Sensitivity on the finger tips

With every stroke your fingers should touch the water first. Concentrate on feeling how the water moves through your fingers.

Understand the movement of your hands with the water.

3- Entry & Slide

Try to enter the water as smoothly as possible. The fingers should make contact with the surface of the water first.

Once they have entered the water, slide the hand and arm out in front of you and aim for the hand to be about 4 inches (10 cm) under the water. This should be achieved without exerting much effort.

4- Starting the pull

Aim to start the pull with your hand at an angle of 45 degrees. This will keep you up on the surface and to start creating the momentum to move you forward.

The pulling arm and hand should be in the middle of your body without crossing your hand to the other side. As you can see from the picture the hands never cross the central red line.

5- Middle of the pull

Here you have to focus on your hand pushing the water backwards to generate speed. Feel how your hand “grabs” the water.

BONUS Drill!

Swim with your fists closed for a short distance. You should feel like you cannot pull as much water with your hands. Eventually open your hands and swim normally and a result you will get a better feeling and understanding of the pull.

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6- Finishing the pull

Focus on finishing the stroke all the way until your arm reaches the surface. Many swimmers fail to do this and it is extremely important to do it, as it will help to get your hand ready for the next stroke.

This extra push will give you an advantage and you will move more with each stroke.

Remember unnecessary arm strokes will slow you down and tire you out.

7- Recovery

Keep your hand and elbow relaxed while the other hand is sliding/pulling in the water.

The synchronization of the hands varies depending on the distance your’e swimming.(we will get to this in another tutorial, be sure to subscribe)

By Raul & Mauricio Uranga Last updated Jun. 16, 2020

Now It’s Up to You!

Take a small break, breathe, think about this steps.

Use these powerful strategies into practice, You wont regret.

For better results watch our video 

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