Use this Technique to Make Your Backstroke Faster

In this video we go back to the "lab" to test backstroke arm pull strength. Does using a bent arm provide a stronger pulling motion than a straight arm? Although we at The Race Club feel confident a bent arm pulling motion is stronger, we asked Israeli backstroker David Gamburg to help us prove it.
After testing both David's straight and bent backstroke arm pull, we can confirm our original theory. The bent arm showed stronger results in all three of our measures when compared to the straight arm pull. David's average velocity increased by three percent and his stroke rate by eight percent. Not only that, but his average peak acceleration increased by an impressive 43 percent!
For us, it makes perfect sense. Bending the elbow early allows swimmers to push water backwards for a long period of time. Using a straight arm pulling motion cuts down the amount of time water is being pushed back dramatically. Using this type of backstroke arm pull isn't easy. It requires great shoulder rotation and most importantly, lots of practice.

[@broccolihighkicks708]

Fatigue is also an important factor. In my experience, bent arm is slightly easier during the pull so that is another benefit, but I am curious to see how it plays out over a 100 or 200 meter race.

[@theraceclub]

The longer the distance, the more drag plays a factor. That's why you see sprinters using a much deeper pull primarily in the 50.

[@Lacehairwigs]

Yeah it definitely wears me out faster

[@321ssteeeeeve]

As I approach the high side of 50’s I have decreased my insweep elbow angle of flexion for freestyle out of need. Will definitely try this in backstroke now. Thanks

[@theraceclub]

You're welcome. Glad you found it useful!

[@ryanmonaghan3733]

Love the content, great to see such high level analysis increasing the understanding of sport. I want to pose a question, is more acceleration in anything except the start or a wall a good thing? I come from the sport of rowing where more relative acceleration means there was some added inefficiency elsewhere. Since resistance is proportional to the square of velocity, a constant speed is much more efficient than one with acceleration and deceleration. If you are less hydrodynamically favorable, you’ll slow down more and your power will be more applied to accelerate you rather than to maintaining top speed. I was expecting to see a higher mean velocity with lower acceleration in order to prove out efficiency. Thoughts?

[@theraceclub]

Hi Ryan, thanks for the kind words. While acceleration is important, as it relates directly to propulsion, inertia is a force we are also very much concerned with in swimming. We want to take advantage of the law of inertia, or as you put it, be efficient. Your question is somewhat dependent on what stroke we're talking about. Butterfly and breaststroke are two strokes that don't take advantage of the law of inertia like freestyle and backstroke do. So in breaststroke, which is really a "stop and go" stroke, acceleration becomes more important.

[@hqs9585]

The results in frame 2:434 indicates that there is substantial increase in peak acceleration however not much increase in velocity (3%), this means that acceleration time (at high value) is simply very short, and of course this is why the stroke rate increased about a tenth (8%). Hence peak acceleration may not be the best parameter to observe, I would look at the average (or RMS) values of these parameter. Great video, thanks for sharing (from a physicist)

[@theraceclub]

Peak acceleration does correspond precisely with the peak propulsion forces. However, since the swimmer's resultant speed is also dependent on the drag forces, if significant drag exists (which often does) the acceleration is short lived and the resultant increase in velocity is small.

[@klopsicle77]

My coach used to call a related drill, arm wrestling drill.

[@theraceclub]

Haha that's a good name for it!

[@sabryanoomohamed7065]

I need know how to hold breathing ever 2 or 3 in backstroke & what the benefits to do this ?!

[@theraceclub]

Keep air in lungs on underwater, so you weigh less on breakout.

[@robohippy]

One thing I have been pondering while getting in my laps is shoulder/body rotation in back stroke. It seems to me that there is less rotation in back stroke than there is in freestyle. Seems like the only way I can get my shoulder out of the water as high as I do in freestyle is to fully extend it up. I would guess 30 or so degree rotation to either side in back stroke, and 45 or so in freestyle. Any comments? I do spend more time on freestyle and my over arm side stroke than back stroke.

[@theraceclub]

It is actually easier to elevate the shoulder in backstroke than in freestyle. The motion involves a hunch and elevation of the shoulder during the recovery. You should be turning at least 45-50 degrees in both strokes.

[@robohippy]

@@theraceclub Well, I have been playing with this. For a long time, I knew I wasn't getting enough shoulder rotation in freestyle, especially on the breathing side. I had tried getting more rotation on my back stroke, but it didn't feel right. After trying again, it feels a lot better. There is always some thing new to work on.... Thanks for the tip.

[@Chris-pw7ov]

Which one was his "natural " backstroke?

[@theraceclub]

Bent arms...but too many swimmers do not bend the arms early enough in the pulling motion nor far enough.

[@handongfeng]

push rather than pull? how to understand? anyone discuss this? thanks

[@theraceclub]

We think using the words "press" or "push" with athletes tends to help them think about the hand going straight back (with the palms facing back) during the pulling phase! We use this for swimmers with wide or "scooping" pulls especially.

[@kara1595]

3:03 nice shot 😍

[@theraceclub]

Thanks!!

[@mariatarazona7995]

Genial Isabella

[@theraceclub]

Thank you Maria!

[@mariatarazona7995]

@@theraceclub

[@chandrashekharmysa3692]

Clear instrctions

[@theraceclub]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@maemilev]

But for me, i get lesser stroke on straight arm.

[@theraceclub]

We advocate bending the arms significantly on backstroke pull.

[@maemilev]

@@theraceclub true, majority will work well on bend arms for back. But i see many handicapped or dislocated elbow athletes need to go straight arms for a more faster and stable stroke just to keep up on the interval training.

[@samirajlaidi]

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[@ikeezike7602]

I actually disagree with you on this and I ask kindly if you will consider my points on this one. I think a straight arm for 50 meters and short distances is faster than the bent arm for speed if you do it properly. In order for it to work, you would have to imitate the freestyle and pull with a straight arm in the vertical direction. The inaccuracy you make in testing to see which one is faster lies on the fact that for the straight arm, you used an example of a swimmer pulling with a straight arm more to the side of the swimmer and not more perpendicular to the body with a deep vertical arm pull. It would be as if pulling to the sides of the water with a straight arm during freestyle, which obviously would be slower than a traditional bent arm freestyle since you are not pulling as much water back. However a great straight arm backstroke actually reemphasizes the need to rotate in backstroke because pulling with a deeper more vertical arm would require you to rotate more to get the arm in that position, which would increase power in the pull. It would also require more flexibility, but that should not be a reason to deviate from what is theoretically faster. Just like anything like a vertical arm recovery in butterfly and a tight streamline, the swimmer must recognize that they need to work on flexibility throughout their whole body and that though it takes more effort to do these things, it would eventually result in faster times. This is what I know the race club to be about: to tell the facts of swimming speed strictly from a scientific and physics based perspective that allows the swimmer to work on whatever he needs to work on. Remember that at the end of the day the true version of a straight arm pull in backstroke mimicked exactly the straight arm motion in freestyle, which we both know is faster for shorter distances. Anyways, I will like to humbly know your thoughts on this.

[@ikeezike7602]

Pulling with the true vertical straight arm would also allow you to pull for a longer period of time just to also follow your own logic.

[@theraceclub]

There are three major problems with a straight arm pull in backstroke. First, the load is primarily on the hand generating the propulsion. Being farther away from the fulcrum, it reduces the mechanical advantage of the pulling arm (class III lever). Second, the upper arm will protrude more from the line of motion, increasing frontal drag in the earliest part of the pull. Third, the force of the hand is directed too much in an outward direction in the beginning of the pull and an inward direction at the end of the pull when if follows in a straight arm motion.

[@ikeezike7602]

@@theraceclub perhaps you didn’t understand the point I made. Yes what you are saying is true if you were to have a straight arm and pull in a more horizontal direction which would mean you pull outwards first before the hand sorta comes inwards towards the body. But that is not a proper straight arm pull in the first place. A propert straight arm pull is what works in freestyle as well, which involves pulling with a straight arm down and back, letting the arm go in a vertical direction with the fingers pointing down towards the bottom of the pull and then pulling back. You would do the same in backstroke. With that change, it actually encourages you to use more body rotation which is good because it’s even harder to get in that position. People that are lazy wild just pull with a straight arm in a horizontal direction because they lack the will to use their body to rotate. That is why the bent arm pull also works better than the horizontal straight arm pull. It is Becusse as you mentioned, there is more time to pull and you push water back more effectively. But that is just like the bent arm pull in the freestyle. However what I’m mentioning, which was not taken into account and tested in the video was using A VERTICAL straight arm pull. This is the true and proper straight arm pull which involves pulling not towards the sides but downwards and back with fingers pointing down NOT TO THE SIDE. This would actually be an even stronger pull the both options. Yes it is true this would only be used for short distances like the 50 meters Just as in a straight arm freestyle. You also pull for a longer period of time with the vertical straight arm pull. Yes it may seem like a harder option becausewrte not used to it, but in swimming we must account for what is scientifically faster especially when it comes down to the millisecond? Yes it may take some time to develop some flexibility that is required in it.l, but we cannot not deny that it will work if practiced enough, and that we’ll find that well actually NEED TO ROTATE, because of the demands of getting in that position. So overall the conclusion would be that a vertical straight arm pull would be the fastest as it encourages EVEN MORE ROTATION then a bent arm pull, would make one have a stronger pull, and allow one to train for a faster stroke rate by using the body as a mechanism to swim and the rotation of the shoulders and upper body to stimulate the kinetic energy when the arm goes down.

[@sf8400]

This is how i swim backstroke naturally. Straight arm vertical pull, scoops lots of water and gathers speed. i do feel it on my shoulders, in a way that it feels like it's a work out but not injury-causing. I was watchjng these vidoes as i was wondering if I'm meant to be doing the pull at a horizontal. So thank you for your comment saying that what I'm doing is just fine. I swim for leisure not competition, and I'm an adult improver, so trying to learn good habits and technique.

[@OneAdam12Adam]

This OLD technique is now presented like it's something new. We swam like this in the 70s and 80s.

[@theraceclub]

Sometimes old techniques reinvent themselves and re-emerge.

[@OneAdam12Adam]

​@@theraceclubThank you for replying to me. You're the BEST competitive swimming technique source around. More folks are learning from you every day.