Continuing on with the fourth step of the freestyle stroke pyramid is working on arm movements. For a freestyle or front crawl stroke the arm movements can be broken down into four sections: recovery, catch, power, and finish.

The catch phase is the segment of the stroke when you are positioning your hand and arm in the water in order to maximize the amount of pull force that you can generate. Once your arm should be fully extended in front of you, you attempt to get your forearm and wrist perpendicular to the pool bottom (from a side view) without moving your elbow from the extended position. This phase should not be rushed.

It can be useful to practice your arm movements independently so that you can concentrate on the each of the four sections. You may find it useful to use a pull buoy to help support your legs closer to the surface of the water to help minimize drag.

Check out Freestyle Pull Recovery Swim Tip

By Jason Britton and Victoria Mitchell

Jason is a full-time Lifeguard/Instructor here at MacEwan University Sport and Wellness. He has over 19 years of aquatic and coaching experience and is one of the main organizers of  SwimRun Edmonton. Victoria is a Lifesaving Society Swim Trainer and Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Trainer.  She is also MacEwan University’s full-time Aquatic Programmer.