Swimming Technique Part Two: 3 Ways To Improve Speed (Backstroke Edition)

Welcome back to Kiefer’s speed improvement series. We started last week with butterfly moving on to backstroke. Getting faster now. There is almost always something you can do today to feel and be faster in the water. For those of you after quick results here you go!

1. Transition

Much like in butterfly, accelerating into your breakout is a huge step in feeling and being faster right off the bat. However I would like to advise you to take this one step further. Yes please continue to work those underwater dolphin kicks, and yes please try to make them snappier as you get ready for your first stroke, but here’s a little something extra to think about. Transition. From your last dolphin kick to your first flutter might you perhaps pause? Is there a lag between the two? Eliminate this. Work on powering through releasing a thunderous flutter kick to rev up your arms.

2. Throw down

When you take your first cycle (in backstroke 2 strokes equals one cycle) make it your fastest. Why? When you are racing your tempo is likely to only get slower the further you get into your race. Fatigue happens. So set your standards high and let them carry through. We talked about tempo last week in butterfly. So for simplicity sake let’s say you are racing a 100 backstroke, most elite backstrokers race at 1.0 and faster. If you breakout from your underwaters and your first cycles is a leisurely 1.5 what are your chances for a successful swim? Set yourself up for success. Every time. Long term speed improvement from backstroke is fueled by a dedication to tempo training. It may be redundant, especially after last week, but this is true for all strokes.

3. Tempo train

Let’s begin with a cycle, because a backstroke cycle is not the same as a butterfly cycle. Two strokes equal one cycle. Say you begin with your right arm, when you right hand hits the water that would be a one count, when your left hand hits the water that would be your two count. We are still counting one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. Are you singing it in your sleep yet? 2.0 tempo would be your right hand hitting in one second and your left hand hitting on the two second. Voila! 2.0 tempo. Find your speed today and work it down to your goal. I hope you will join us next week for a look at breaststroke! Please let us know your thoughts and questions in the comments below. Other Articles You May Be Interested In Reading:

• Swimming Technique: 3 Ways To Improve Speed (Butterfly Edition)
• Terrific 200's Swimming Workout
• Swimming Mantra Swimming Motivation