Backstroke lets you work out while looking up at the world, rather than the bottom of the pool. The only of the four competitive strokes you swim on your back, backstroke allows you to breathe at will. Backstroke races also are the only ones you start in the water. Olympic backstrokers compete in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke, as well as medley races, which combine all four strokes in one race.
Float and Kick
Get the feel for backstroke by pushing off the pool wall on your back, with your hands and legs outstretched, elbows pressed tight against your ears and knees and feet together. This streamlined position allows you to glide farther before you run out of speed. Next, add a flutter kick to your streamline glide and continue for a full length of the pool. You rely on your kick more in backstroke than in freestyle, and the flutter backstroke kick requires good leg flexibility as well as strong abdominal muscles.
Legs
In the backstroke kick, keep your legs loose but do not bend the knees so much that they break the surface of the water. Employ a gentle whip motion, starting the kick from your hips and carrying it through your legs to your ankles. Imagine that you are kicking off a loose sneaker with your feet as you flick your ankles to propel the water away from you. If you feel your hips sinking in the water, kick faster and lower your head so that your forehead just breaks the surface of the water. Tip your chin up and back to adjust your body into a more neutral position in the water.
Body Position
Rotating from one side to the other helps avoid drag and shoulder injury. Kick in a streamline position, but this time put both arms by your side. Rotate your shoulders and body to one side, bringing the higher shoulder up to the level of your chin. Fully rotated, your belly button should face the side of the pool. Keep your head still as your body rotates to keep moving straight. Kick for a few seconds and rotate to the other side.
Arm Motion
As you rotate your body and bring your shoulder up near your chin, lift up your arm on that side and bring it back over the water, behind your head. Bend your elbow as your arm submerges, and push back on the water with your forearm. Straighten out your arm, pushing back more water, then lift it so your hand exits the water at the level of your hip. Start a new pull with your opposite arm, just as your recovery arm exits the water. Avoid hesitating as your arm emerges from the water to keep yourself moving smoothly and to avoid letting your hips sink down in the water.
Full Stroke
Practice the one-arm backstroke with body rotation, using your left arm on one lap and your right arm on the return lap. You can then combine both arms and kick along with the body rotation. Ideally, you start a new pull just as the opposite arm exits at the level of your hip, and you swim the majority of the time on one side or the other. Again, avoid hesitating as your arm emerges from the water to keep yourself moving smoothly and avoid letting your hips sink down in the water.
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