We want to coordinate all the steps into one stroke for this final step of the stroke pyramid. Coordinating the upper body and lower body movements will significantly improve your stroke’s efficiency. Coordination may result in you being able to travel further and faster with fewer strokes as long as refinement has been effectively met for the previous step.
There are three common, and not limited, ways to time a stroke when coordinating the upper body with the lower body: two-beat, four-beat, and a six-beat kick. These styles count how many kicks are completed for every stroke. Regardless of your preferred kick beat, the leg opposite the recovering arm should finish on a downbeat kick.
Switching arms after a set amount of kicks is a great drill to work on this coordination. This drill is called a layout drill. Everyone will have a preferred number of kicks before each switch, so it would be beneficial to experiment and not limit yourself to a set number from the start. An example of this would be the six-kick layout. You could also incorporate a different number of strokes with a number of kicks. An example of this would be a three-stroke with a six-kick layout.
Since coordination is the final step of the stroke pyramid, we want to make sure that each step is refined before combining it all. When swimming freestyle, it’s beneficial to include each step sequentially. Slowing down will also help focus on each step before putting it all together. Moving on to the next step too quickly will result in errors and bad habits that will need correcting later.
Developing an efficient freestyle can take months, but don’t be afraid to contact others for assistance. Joining an adult swim class or private lesson are great ways to get that additional support and gain some extra accountability.
Check out the previous tip in this series Freestyle Breathing
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By Colyn Ma
Colyn is one of the Aquatic Programmers at MacEwan University Sport and Wellness. He has been with us for over six years and has over 10 years of competitive swimming and coaching experience.
