November 13, 2024

Lenny Krayzelburg

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How to Master Freestyle Swimming with Tips from Expert Lenny Krayzelburg

Even if you’re not training for competitive races, mastering the freestyle stroke can add power and variety to your swim sessions. And who better to guide you than four-time Olympic gold medalist Lenny Krayzelburg?

The freestyle, often referred to as, front crawl is one of the most efficient and fastest swimming strokes. It’s commonly used in competitive swimming due to its speed and ease of learning. Mastering the “front crawl” swimming technique can improve your swimming performance. 

Nearly 90% of swimming competitions and training sessions include front crawl, according to the American Swimming Coaches Association. Let’s discuss it.

Body Position

Ideal Body Alignment

It’s critical to maintain the proper body alignment in the water to reduce drag and maximize performance. Your torso need to be sleek and horizontal.

• Head Position: Keep your head in a neutral position, looking straight down. This lessens drag, raises the hips, and aids in maintaining a streamlined body posture.
• Body Alignment: Make sure your torso is parallel to the water’s surface and flat.
• Legs and Feet: Keep your legs close together with your feet slightly below the water surface. This minimizes resistance and helps maintain balance.

A good body position is crucial for both beginners and advanced swimmers in perfecting the front crawl technique.

Arm Movements

The arm movements in freestyle consist of three main phases: entry, pull, and finish. Each phase plays a crucial role in propelling you forward.

Entry

• Hand Position: Your hand should enter the water in line with your shoulder, fingers together, and the hand slightly angled.
• Arm Extension: Fully extend your arm forward upon entry, reaching as far as possible.

Pull

• Catch Phase: Your hand makes a “catch” in the water by moving outward and downward after the entry.
• Pull Phase: Bend your elbow and pull your hand towards your hip in a straight line. This maximizes the surface area pushing against the water, providing better propulsion.

Finish

• Hand Exit: Finish the stroke by pushing your hand past your hip. Your hand should exit the water with the palm facing up.
• Recovery: The arm recovery phase is done out of the water. Keep your elbow high and relaxed as you move your hand forward for the next stroke.

Knowing about these phases helps in mastering the front crawl technique for beginners and advancing to a more efficient stroke.

Leg Movements

Leg movements, or the flutter kick, are vital for maintaining balance and propulsion in freestyle.

Flutter Kick Technique

• Kick Technique: The flutter kick involves quick, alternating movements of the legs. Don’t kneel; instead, kick from the hips.
• Ankle Flexibility: Keep your ankles relaxed and pointed. This reduces drag and increases propulsion.
• Rhythm: Maintain a steady and consistent kick. Kick doesn’t have to be hard, but a good and consistent rhythm helps in coordinating with arm movements and breathing.

Practicing the flutter kick will enhance your freestyle swimming technique for beginners.

Breathing

Proper breathing is crucial for maintaining rhythm and endurance in freestyle swimming.

Breathing Technique

• Breath Timing: Turn your head to the side to breathe during the arm recovery phase. Avoid lifting your head too much, which can disrupt your body position.
• Bilateral Breathing: Practice breathing on both sides (bilateral breathing). This helps balance your stroke and reduces strain on one side of your neck and shoulders.
• Smooth Breathing: Inhale quickly through your mouth and exhale slowly and steadily into the water. This ensures a continuous supply of oxygen without interrupting your stroke.

Learning how to breathe efficiently is key to mastering what is freestyle swimming.

Coordination

Coordinating arm movements, leg movements, and breathing is essential for a smooth and efficient freestyle.

Synchronization

• Synchronization: Your arm movements should be continuous and alternating. One arm should go into the water while the other is coming out of it.
• Timing: The flutter kick should be steady and consistent, synchronized with your arm movements. Typically, a 6-beat kick (three kicks per arm stroke) is used.
• Breathing Coordination: Incorporate breathing into the rhythm of your stroke. While one arm is recovering and the other is dragging underwater, turn your head to breathe.

Practicing coordination helps refine the front crawl technique for advanced swimmers.

Body Rotation

Body rotation is an important aspect of this stroke. It aids in arm movement efficiency and reduces strain on the shoulders.

Effective Body Rotation

• Rotation Technique: Rotate your body along the longitudinal axis, from your head to your toes. This should be a natural and relaxed motion.
• Rotation Timing: Rotate your body to the side as your hand enters the water and your arm extends forward. This allows for a longer reach and more powerful pull.
• Balance: Keep your rotation balanced on both sides to maintain a streamlined position and avoid over-rotating.

Effective body rotation is a key component of an efficient freestyle swimming technique for beginners and advanced swimmers.

Training Exercises

To improve your technique, incorporate specific training exercises into your routine.

Body Position Drills

• Streamline Drill: Push off the wall in a streamlined position with arms extended overhead, keeping your body straight and legs together.
• Floating Drill: Practice floating on your stomach with arms at your sides and legs extended. Focus on maintaining a horizontal position.

Arm Movement Drills

• Single Arm Drill: Swim using one arm at a time, keeping the other arm at your side. This helps focus on the proper technique for each phase of the stroke.
• Catch-Up Drill: Swim with both arms extended in front of you. Pull with one arm while the other remains extended, then switch. This drill emphasizes the importance of a full extension and proper pull.

Leg Movement Drills

• Kickboard Drill: To isolate your leg motions, use a kickboard. Focus on a steady and consistent flutter kick.
• Vertical Kicking: Practice flutter kicking in a vertical position in the water. This helps improve kick strength and endurance.

Breathing Exercises

• Side Kicking Drill: With one arm outstretched and the other by your side, perform a side kick. 
• Bilateral Breathing Drill: Swim normally while practicing bilateral breathing, taking breaths on both sides.

Coordination Drills

• 3-3-3 Drill: One arm should be used for three strokes, followed by the second arm for three strokes, and finally, three complete strokes.
• Full Stroke Drill: Swim with a focus on synchronizing arm movements, leg movements, and breathing. Practice maintaining a smooth and continuous stroke.

Incorporating these drills into your training routine will improve your overall front crawl technique.

Common Mistakes and Corrections

Even experienced swimmers make mistakes. These are a few typical mistakes along with solutions.

Body Position Mistakes

• Mistake: Lifting your head too high.
  • Correction: Keep your ankles loose and concentrate on kicking from the hips.
• Mistake: Dropping your hips.
  • Correction: Engage your core muscles to maintain a horizontal body position.

Arm Movement Mistakes

• Mistake: Hand entry too wide or too narrow.
  • Correction: Aim for a shoulder-width hand entry.
• Mistake: Incomplete pull phase.
  • Correction: Ensure you follow through in a straight line and finish past your hip.

Leg Movement Mistakes

• Mistake: Kicking from the knees.
  • Correction: Focus on kicking from the hips with relaxed ankles.
• Mistake: Inconsistent kick rhythm.
  • Correction: Practice maintaining a steady and consistent flutter kick.

Breathing Mistakes

• Mistake: Holding your breath.
  • Correction: Breathe out into the water gently and steadily.

Mistake: Excessive head movement during breathing.

• Correction: Turn your head to the side, keeping one eye in the water.

Coordination Mistakes

• Mistake: Poor synchronization of arm and leg movements.
  • Correction: Practice drills that focus on coordination and rhythm.

Correcting these mistakes will help you improve your front crawl swimming technique.

Understanding Muscles Worked

Knowing the muscles involved in freestyle swimming can help you focus on strengthening them for better performance.

Freestyle Swimming Muscles Used

• Shoulders: Deltoids and rotator cuff muscles are heavily used during arm movements.
• Arms: Biceps and triceps work during the pull and recovery phases.
• Core: Abdominal muscles and lower back muscles stabilize your body.
• Legs: Quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles are engaged during the flutter kick.

What Muscles Does Freestyle Work?

It is a full-body workout. It strengthens your upper body, core, and lower body, improving overall muscle tone and endurance.

Comparisons and Differences

American Crawl Stroke vs Freestyle

The American crawl stroke is another name for freestyle. Both terms describe the same swimming technique.

Freestyle vs Butterfly

Freestyle and butterfly are different strokes. Freestyle focuses on continuous arm and leg movements with less resistance, while butterfly involves simultaneous arm movements and a dolphin kick, requiring more strength and coordination.

Additional Tips

• Freestyle Flip Turn: Practice the flip turn to transition smoothly between lengths in a pool. This improves your speed and efficiency.
• Muscles Used in Front Crawl: Focus on strengthening the specific muscles used in freestyle through dryland exercises and swimming drills.

A Few Last Tips for Success

Perfecting the freestyle swimming technique takes consistent practice, focus, and a good grasp of the essential mechanics. Whether you’re new to freestyle or working to refine your skills as an advanced swimmer, concentrating on body alignment, arm strokes, leg kicks, breathing patterns, and coordination will enhance your performance. Dive in, keep practicing, and make the most of your time in the water!

A four-time Olympic gold medalist and founder of SwimRight Academy, he developed the SwimRight® methodology to bring expert swimming instruction to all.

Lenny Krayzelberg