Learning how to swim backstroke opens up a new dimension in your swimming journey. Unlike other strokes, backstroke swimming allows continuous breathing while building exceptional core strength and shoulder mobility. Whether you’re a beginner struggling with body position or an experienced swimmer refining your backstroke swimming technique, this comprehensive guide will transform your performance in the pool.
What Makes Backstroke Unique
Backstroke stands alone as the only competitive stroke performed entirely on your back. Your arms alternate in a windmill motion—straight during recovery above water, bent during the powerful underwater pull. Your body rotates 35-40 degrees from side to side, while your legs maintain a tight flutter kick originating from the hips, not the knees.
The stroke evolved dramatically since its Olympic debut in 1900. Early swimmers used breaststroke kicks and straight-arm pulls. Modern backstroke incorporates the Early Vertical Forearm (EVF) technique, introduced by Australian swimmers in the 1930s, which revolutionized efficiency and speed.
Essential Body Position for Efficient Swimming
Your body position determines everything when you learn how to swim backstroke. Maintain a streamlined horizontal alignment with your hips near the surface. Think about keeping your “belly button dry”—while impossible, this mental cue prevents the common mistake of sinking hips.
Head Position: Keep your head neutral with ears in the water, eyes looking straight up at the ceiling or sky. Avoid tucking your chin toward your chest or lifting your head to see your toes. When your head position shifts, your hips drop, creating massive drag that slows you down instantly.
Core Engagement: Activate your core muscles throughout each stroke. This connection between your upper and lower body maintains proper alignment and prevents your legs from acting as dead weight. Strong core engagement is what separates smooth backstrokers from those who struggle.
Mastering the Backstroke Pull Technique
The backstroke pull generates most of your propulsion. Execute it correctly by following this sequence:
Exit: Your arm exits thumb-first as your shoulder rotates upward. The shoulder movement lifts the arm—not vice versa.
Recovery: Keep your arm completely straight during the overhead recovery. Rotate your hand gradually so your pinky leads as you approach entry.
Entry: Enter the water pinky-first with your arm straight, positioned between your shoulder line and head centerline. Your hand should pass by your ear before entering, hitting the water at roughly the 11 o’clock or 1 o’clock position.
Catch: Don’t pull immediately after entry. Instead, turn your palm toward the pool bottom and scull outward and downward until your hand reaches upper chest level with your elbow bent.
Pull: Rotate your palm toward your feet and push powerfully through the water until your arm fully extends at your thigh. This creates the propulsion that moves you forward.
Avoid the two extremes: pulling with completely straight arms (reducing power) or excessively bent arms (decreasing surface area for pushing water).
How to Do Backstroke Kick Correctly
Your flutter kick provides stability, balance, and secondary propulsion when you learn how to do backstroke properly. Kick from your hips with minimal knee bend—about 12-18 inches maximum width. Larger kicks create unnecessary drag and fatigue.
Technique Details:
- Point your toes and keep ankles relaxed, using feet like flippers
- Maintain a quick, continuous rhythm—typically six kicks per arm cycle
- Your toes should just break the water surface
- Never let your knees emerge from the water
The biggest mistake swimmers make is kicking from their knees rather than hips. This “bicycle kick” creates resistance and wastes energy. Focus on hip-driven movement with slight knee flexion.
Body Rotation: The Key to Power
Rotate your body 35-40 degrees to each side—slightly more than freestyle. This rotation serves multiple purposes: it increases your arm’s range of motion, reduces shoulder strain, and minimizes drag.
Rotate away from your pulling arm and toward your recovering arm. Your head remains perfectly still while your shoulders and hips rotate together. Under-rotation results in “flat backstroke,” limiting your arm recovery and power generation. Over-rotation beyond 40 degrees slows you down.
Breathing Strategy During Backstroke
Backstroke offers the luxury of continuous breathing access. Establish a consistent pattern: breathe in as one arm passes your ear, exhale as the other arm passes. This rhythm maintains stroke consistency and prevents breath-holding, which causes tension and reduces performance.
Keep your face relaxed and breathing natural. Advanced swimmers coordinate breathing with body rotation, but beginners should focus on steady, rhythmic breathing without rushing or gasping.
Five Common Backstroke Mistakes to Avoid
1. Lifting Your Head: Looking toward your toes to see where you’re going sinks your hips and creates drag. Use lane lines and ceiling tiles for navigation instead.
2. Crossing the Midline: Entering your hand across your body’s centerline forces you to push water outward before catching it effectively. Keep entries at shoulder width or slightly wider.
3. Inadequate Body Rotation: Failing to rotate 35-40 degrees prevents efficient arm recovery and limits your pull power. Practice single-arm drills to develop proper rotation.
4. Inconsistent Kicking: Stopping your kick between strokes turns your legs into anchors. Maintain continuous flutter kick for stability and propulsion.
5. Poor Pull Depth: Going too deep during your pull wastes energy and creates excessive drag. Keep your pull efficient by maintaining proper elbow bend and hand positioning.
Developing Speed and Endurance in Backstroke Swimming
For Speed: Practice swimming fast with short distances (25-50 meters), taking ample rest between repetitions. Focus on high-quality repetitions rather than swimming hard while fatigued. Fast swimming is a skill requiring fresh practice.
For Endurance: Progressively increase backstroke volume in your training. Replace some freestyle sets with backstroke, gradually building duration while maintaining consistent pace. Finish sets as fast or faster than you started—avoid practicing slowdown.
Essential Training Drills
Single Arm Backstroke: Swim using only one arm while the other rests at your side. This isolates rotation and helps identify imbalances between sides.
Spin Drill: Move your arms as quickly as possible without worrying about catch or body position. This develops arm speed essential for racing.
Cup Drill: Balance a water-filled cup on your forehead while swimming. This forces proper head position and stability.
Backstroke Kick with Rotation: Focus purely on kick while emphasizing body rotation to build muscle memory for proper movement patterns.
Underwater Techniques and Starts
Modern backstroke includes powerful underwater dolphin kicks following starts and turns. Maintain tight streamline—hands stacked, biceps squeezing ears—while executing strong dolphin kicks. Current rules permit 15 meters of underwater swimming before surfacing.
The breakout phase transitions from underwater to surface swimming. Recent techniques favor the “top arm breakout,” where your upper arm initiates the first stroke rather than the traditional bottom arm approach. This creates smoother rhythm transitions.
Conclusion
Mastering backstroke swimming technique requires attention to multiple elements working in harmony: streamlined body position with elevated hips, powerful hip-driven kicks, efficient arm pulls with proper rotation, and consistent breathing. When you learn how to swim backstroke correctly, start by perfecting your body position and head placement, then layer in the arm technique, kick, and rotation progressively.
Practice specific drills targeting your weakest areas, maintain consistency in training, and avoid the common mistakes that slow progress. Understanding how to do backstroke with proper form will transform your swimming from struggle to strength, enjoying both the performance benefits and the unique experience of swimming while gazing at the sky.
