When doing the pulling action of elementary backstroke, the arms never have to leave the water. Starting with your arms down and on the side of the body, recovery starts by dragging the thumb up the body’s rib cage. Once the hands have reached the armpits, the arms spread (form a ‘T’ shape) to catch the water, and then power the water backward towards your feet until your hands have returned to your side. The hands do not have to go past the shoulder when reaching.

 

An easy way to practice and focus only on the arms is to stand in the pool where the water reaches your chest. Practice bringing your thumbs up the rib cage out to form a ‘T,’ and push the water down to the bottom of the pool.

Check out the previous tip in this series Elementary Backstroke Kick

By Colyn Ma

Colyn is a casual Lifeguard/Swim Instructor here at MacEwan University Sport and Wellness. He is one of the coaches for the Junior Lifeguard Club and has more than 11 years of experience in competitive swimming and coaching.