How to Swim the Elementary Backstroke

While floating on your back, raise your arms and legs, and then squeeze them down for a relaxing glide.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Swimming Trunks
• Swimsuits
• Swimming Caps
• Swimming Ear Plugs
• Swimming Goggles
• Swimming Nose Clip
• Swimsuits

1. Float on your back, with your arms and legs at your side.

2. Draw your knees up toward your chest. At the same time, draw your arms up along your sides, bending them at the elbows so that your hands are almost in your armpits.

3. Kick your legs out and apart, then quickly squeeze them together. They should end up straight, with your toes pointed.

4. Extend your arms like an airplane, and then squeeze them down against your sides.

5. Coordinate your arms and legs so that both go up, out and together all at the same time. The result should be a burst of motion through the water.

6. Glide and repeat.

Tips & Warnings

• Relaxing helps you float.
• This is a great relaxation stroke, not a race stroke. Take your time with it.
• The kick for this stroke is the same as the breaststroke kick, only on your back.
• Be careful not to hit your head on the side of the pool. Know where you are in the water. Many pools have flags hanging 5 yards from the wall so you know when you're getting near it.

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on 6/30/2006 I like to teach kids using soldier, monkey, rocket. Soldier, whole body is straight, monkey is when they bring their feet up and their arms- sometimes I tell them to tickle their armpits-and they think it's funny too! Then airplane/rocket is bring the arms out like an airplane and immediately back down into a soldier position while at the same time they whip their legs around back to soldier position as well. The biggest problem I've seen with this however is the children begin to think of the stroke as 3 separate movements and will pause between each one- making it look more like a funny backfloat than a stroke.

on 11/22/2005 Performing the whip kick on your back is not the same as a whip kick on your front. Whereas on your front, you bring your knees up to your chest to keep your feet in the water the whole time, you do not do this during whip kick on your back.

Instead, you should only bend at the knee, not the hips, to avoid having your knees coming out of the water. Imagine tracing a straight line from your shoulder, through your hips, and to your knees. Do not let that line bend!

During the elementary backstroke, only bend your knees back, so that your ankles reach your bottom, without bending at the hip and bringing your knees to your chest.

on 11/22/2005 Try bringing your hands all the way over your head for a more graceful variation of this stroke. Just continue moving your hands up the sides of your body past your armpits and on over your head before pulling them back to your sides.

on 11/22/2005 When teaching kids how to do the Elementary Backstroke it help to break it down into motions they will remember. For little kids the "tickle, T, touch" method it good for remembering the different arm motions and for older kids the "chicken, airplane, soldier" methods works well too.

on 11/22/2005 A fluid stroke is the key. You'll be amazed how long you can keep going (and how fast you can go!) if you maintain an even fluid stroke. Believe it or not, once you master it, this stroke will improve your strength and your stamina.