Rule #1:
Maintain head to hip horizontal alignment by keeping pressure on the buoy. Lifting your head higher than your hips at ANY time during the stroke, especially during breathing is a big NO-NO. Check yourself by imagining a skewer shoved through your skull and down your spine keeping you perfectly aligned, only allowing you to rotate the head to breathe and not lift it. The skewer tip should always be pointed at the pool wall you are swimming toward.

Rule #2:
Maintain a long "boat" position by keeping a "weightless" arm in front for three-quarters of the stroke pattern. This is also known as Front Quadrant Freestyle. Stretching the arm out front allows the hips to continue to rotate on the side as the recovery arm passes your ear.

Rule #3:
Swim on your SIDE not on your STOMACH. Skate down the pool sliding from one hip to the other. Use hip rotation to power your arms through the water. Anchor the hand out front, and then pull it back by rotation of the hips. Increase speed by increasing hip rotation, not arm turnover.

Rule #4:
"Stealth Kick" steady and narrow just below the surface. Don't break out of the turbulent cylinder created by the body. Legs should not fall significantly lower that the hips, excessively break the surface, or scissor wider that the width of shoulders.

Rule #5:
Develop a "vertical forearm pull" to increase propulsion. I believe keeping the elbows near the surface at the catch and the finger tips pointed toward the bottom is FAR more important than an "S" shaped pull pattern. Remember though, this is the LAST step and should only be emphasized AFTER the 1st 4 rules have been thoroughly ingrained in your muscle memory.

View Complete Article

Michael Collins is currently the head Masters Coach for Irvine Nova Aquatics as well as the head age group coach. This article was written when Mike was the head coach of the Davis Aquatic Masters (from Jan. 89 to 1997) where he published a workout book entitled A DAM Good Year. Mike has served as the USMS Coaches Committee Chairman (1994-1998) and was named the USMS Coach of the Year in 1990.