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The Different Swimming Strokes

Mar 5, 2011 | By Barrett Barlowe
The Different Swimming Strokes
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You can tell something about a swimmer's personality by which stroke they prefer. Patient and strong breaststrokers will their way through the water, while freestyle enthusiasts move fast and efficiently. Each swimming stroke has its specific challenges and rewards but all require good technique and fitness to perform correctly.

History And Evolution

Olympics swimmers today compete in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly races. Images depicting humans swimming date back thousands of years, but the four competitive swimming strokes evolved relatively recently. The rudimentary stroke evolved into the symmetrical breaststroke, used by the British, who championed modern-day fitness and competitive swimming. Native Americans and Southeast Asian islanders employed a fast freestyle-style stroke long before Europeans adapted it for their own use. Fred Carvill used his own version of the stroke in competition at the beginning of the 20th century, easily beating out breaststroke swimmers.

Short Axis Strokes

Short axis strokes are those that require you rotate or bend along the short axis of your body. Imagine a rod running from one hip to the other. You undulate your body, hinged at the hips as you perform breaststroke and butterfly. Unlike freestyle or backstroke, your body remains parallel to the bottom of the pool, moving up and down rather than side to side. Breaststroke features a frog kick and pull. In breaststroke, your arms return to the front under water, unlike the other three competitive strokes. For this reason, and because you face the water broadside, breaststroke is less efficient and slower than other strokes. Butterfly evolved from the breaststroke, with its over-water arm return and dolphin kick. It debuted at the 1956 Olympic Games.

Long Axis Strokes

Freestyle or front crawl and backstroke are long-axis strokes. In swimming long-axis strokes, you rotate around the long axis of your body. An imaginary line running straight from the top of your head down the length of your body forms the axis around which you turn during freestyle and backstroke. Keeping your head and body aligned in both strokes helps you stay horizontal in the water. Lifting up your head too high causes your hips to drop, creating drag in the water.

Individual Medley

You probably have a favorite swimming stroke, but practicing all four competitive strokes not only makes you a more versatile and accomplished swimmer, it also helps you prevent muscle strains or injury from repetitive use. Combine all four strokes in one "set" by swimming individual medley workouts. A 100-meter individual medley or IM consists of 25-meter butterfly, 25-meter backstroke, 25-meter breaststroke and 25-meter freestyle. Because butterfly takes excellent fitness and flexibility, some swimmers substitute an additional backstroke leg for the butterfly.

References

Article reviewed by Allen Cone Last updated on: Mar 5, 2011

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