What is the correct execution of backstroke?

Learning how to do the backstroke perfectly is a simple matter of practicing your form. Learning a few related skills like how to turn and how to stay headed in a straight line can also help greatly. With a little practice, you'll be able to power down the pool with a vigorous backstroke or float along at a leisurely pace.

1. 1

   Keep your body flat like a plank. When you're doing the backstroke, you want your body to lay as flat on the surface of the water as possible. The smaller your profile in the water, the less resistance you'll feel as you swim and the easier it will be to go fast.

   • Most people have a hard time getting their hips to float on the surface of the water, so they sink down a little below the surface. This is OK but try to keep your hips as close to the surface as possible. It will be easier to keep yourself flat once you are moving.

2. 2

   Be comfortable with the water covering the sides of your head. The backstroke (like most swimming strokes) is all about making the most efficient use of your energy possible. One easy way to do this is to let your head sit semi-submerged in the water. The water should cover your ears almost completely. It may touch the corners of your face, but it shouldn't be getting into your eyes, nose, or mouth.[1] X Research source Go to source

   • If you don't like the feeling of the water covering your ears, consider investing in a swimming cap or a set of swimmer's earplugs. Trying to keep your ears out of the water will tire out your neck and spend energy that you could be using to swim.

3. 3

   Use a "flutter" kick. As soon as you're in position on your back, start kicking. Your legs should be straightened, close together, and lined up below your hips. Use short kicking motions to propel yourself forward.[2] X Expert Source

   Brad Hurvitz
   Certified Survival Swimming Instructor Expert Interview. 13 February 2020. Go to source As you raise one leg, kick the other down (and vice versa).[3] X Research source Go to source
   • For best results, keep your legs straight and kick from your hips rather than from your knees.[4] X Research source Go to source This will give you more power and prevent you from getting sore knees.

4. 4

   Use a long, fluid arm motion. As you start to kick forward, keep your arms at your sides. Reach one arm up in front of you. It should point toward the sky or ceiling. Bring it up over your head, by your ear, and down into the water — it will be pointing in the direction you're traveling.[5] X Research source Go to source

   • When your arm hits the water, bring it down and scull outward to propel yourself forward. As you do this, raise the other arm and perform the same motion. Repeat. This should feel natural. Try to keep a steady rhythm between your arms and legs because that will make your swimming faster and easier!

5. 5

   Position your hands to minimize resistance. To swim as efficiently as possible, it is important to remember that your hands should enter and exit the water with their edges first, not their palms. When you lift your arm out of the water, lead with your thumb. When it enters the water, lead with your pinky finger.[6] X Research source Go to source

6. 6

   Rotate your shoulders and hips with each stroke. Your motions in the pool shouldn't be rigid like a steamboat. Instead, keep them fluid and flexible to get through the water as efficiently as possible. See below:

   • As you raise each arm, rotate your shoulder upwards. Rotate the opposite shoulder downwards — you should be using it to pull the other hand under the water.
   • Similarly, twist your hips slightly with each kick. You should have an ever-so-slight "wiggling" motion — your right hip should go down when your right leg kicks and vice versa.

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1. 1

   Breathe once per arm cycle. A good policy is to breathe in as one arm leaves the water, then breathe out as the other leaves the water. Repeat this pattern with deep breaths to keep your breath steady.[7] X Research source Go to source

   • Deep, steady breathing is important even though the backstroke allows you to breathe whenever you want. Breathing at a regular pace allows you to keep your backstroke up (with good form) for as long as possible.[8] X Research source Go to source

2. 2

   Use flip turns to turn around quickly. As you approach a wall, turn over on to your front so you can see where you're going.

   • Make sure to get a stroke count (the number of backstroke strokes it takes you to get from the flags to the wall), as it will help greatly with your flip turn. When finding your stroke count, count from the flags all the way until you hit the wall. Try taking one stroke off of your stroke count when you do your flip turn. Experiment a little bit, and see what works and is the most comfortable for you.
   • Once you've figured your stroke count, as you take your last stroke on your back, gradually flip your body over, and simultaneously take one freestyle stroke, and use the stroke to pull yourself into the wall. This motion might feel a bit awkward at first, but keep practising it, and it will soon feel natural. Then, somersault forward underwater, then stretch your legs out to plant your feet on the wall. Kick off with your legs as you squeeze your arms to your ears and make a "point" with your hands. Stay in a tight streamline until you resurface. Keep up a streamline kick until you break the surface, then start your stroke again.
   • It can take a little practice to learn when exactly to turn over onto your front. Ideally, you want to do it when you're just a stroke or two from the edge of the pool.

3. 3

   If indoors, use the ceiling to keep yourself straight. When you're swimming in an indoor pool, you can use the ceiling to make sure you don't veer off-course. Look for a line or pattern in the ceiling material. As you swim, keep your eyes open and focused on the ceiling. Keep this pattern oriented the same way as you swim to keep yourself travelling in a straight line.

   • If you're swimming outside, you have fewer options. If there are clouds out, you can keep the clouds oriented the same way to travel in a straight line. If not, try keeping the sun on the same side of your body. Keeping your bearings when it's overcast is difficult since you have few visible reference points.

• Question

  How do you do the perfect backstroke swim?

• Question

  How do you perform a backstroke?

• Question

  How do I finish without hitting the wall?

  Count your strokes from the flags. This will let you know when the wall is coming up.

• Question

  How do I keep in rhythm as I swim?

  Practice makes perfect. Practice regularly to improve your sync. Alternatively, think of a song that has the rhythm you like and sing it in your head while swimming, trying to move your body to that rhythm. Also, swim four laps and see how much time that took. Then, swim sets of four laps and try to get as close to that time as you can without looking at the clock while you're swimming.

• Question

  How do I stay straight when swimming outdoors?

  Try and keep your head straight and not look in any particular direction. Keeping the strength of your strokes even on both sides should also help.

• Question

  How do you float backstroke without panicking?

  Just try to stay as calm as possible and keep breathing with every stroke. Keep your body flat on the surface of the water, your kick should help you to stay afloat. Keep your head rested but not in a laying down position, keep it above the water as if someone is standing in front of your feet and you're looking at them.

• Question

  Does the backstroke kick have to be underwater or a little above?

  The kick has to be slightly underwater. Your hips should be floating a bit, and you use your hips to move along the water. It is normal for you knees to be a bit under, just under the water enough to where you don't sink.

• Question

  Do I have to look at the ceiling?

  It's preferred by most swimmers in order to avoid swimming into the lane line.

• Question

  How do I do a backstroke start and flip turn?

  When you pass the flags that are towards the end of the pool you can turn onto your stomach and start swimming the front crawl. You'll do the traditional front crawl wall kick, when you kick off the wall you should already be on your back.

• Question

  What can I do to keep the water from going up my nose?

  Invest in a nose plug. Clip the nose plug onto your nose to keep the water out (follow the package instructions). It works like a charm to keep out the water!

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Co-authored by:

Certified Survival Swimming Instructor

This article was co-authored by Brad Hurvitz. Brad Hurvitz is a Certified Swimming Instructor for My Baby Swims, an adolescent swimming school based in La Jolla, California. Brad is trained as an Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) instructor with ISR's Self-Rescue® program. He specializes in training children aged six months to six years of age survival skills like floating on their back to breathe and swimming back to the wall, while also educating parents on how to better keep their kids safe. He has a Master of Business Administration from Oregon State University. This article has been viewed 323,785 times.

Co-authors: 54

Updated: May 13, 2021

Views: 323,785

Article Rating: 70% - 46 votes

Categories: Swimming Strokes

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• "I am a swimmer and I am the best at backstroke. I want to teach others, so I read this article. This was awesome, and I definitely recommend practicing these techniques over and over, because practice makes perfect!"

• "My daughter is 8yrs old and I'm trying to help her improve her form, technique and her endurance. This was very helpful because I'm not a swimmer, I'm her daddy. "

• "Can see how to move arms in and out of water by reading the instruction and most important looking at the video. Longer video is even better."

• "I didn't know how to swim but I tried every step and now I can swim nice, I'll keep on practicing till I become a champion of swimming. "

• "Brilliant article and the video is to the point supporting the written instructions. Going to the pool now to practice. Thank you. "

• "I've started swimming and am trying to learn good techniques about it."

• "I am learning how to swim. I read this article and it works for me."

• "It helps me a lot on how to perform a backstroke."

• "Very useful, especially for flip turn techniques."

• "Inspiring, explained in simple way."

• "It was great, it helped a lot."

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