Backstroke is the most specific swimming style that is fundamentally different from everyone else. The advantage of swimming on the back is that it allows you to breathe freely. Today we will find out how to swim on your back and find out how useful this exercise is.
Benefit
Backstroke, like other forms of swimming, is an excellent cardio exercise. In addition, it is very useful for the spine. And with proper execution, the exercise allows you to work out such muscle groups as the latissimus dorsi, hips, shoulders and trapeze. Swimming a man on his back helps to make his posture more beautiful, and his back wider. Well, the fairer sex choose this exercise to tighten the whole body, to become slimmer and more enduring.
The technique of swimming on the back is not particularly difficult, however, when you start mastering it, be patient and decisive, since at first, most likely, nothing will work out.
Kinds
There are two kinds of backstroke swimming: breaststroke and crawl. However, the breaststroke has no sporting significance. It is used either to relax after a long voyage, or to save the drowning. Crawl on the back is better known and widespread. A lot of competitions are held on it. Crawl is also included in the program of the Olympic Games. Therefore, today we will pay more attention to this particular species.
According to the technique of execution, the crawl on the back is very similar to the same style on the chest, only the movements are carried out in a mirror image.
Body position
First you need to take a horizontal position on the back and fully extend the body. The chin should be pulled to the chest, and the eyes should be fixed on the toes. The back should be slightly bent in the thoracic region, and the chest should be raised (just try to reduce the shoulder blades). When arms are extended behind the head, the water level should be at the level of the auricles. This is the starting position.
If you are unable to keep the clips pressed to your chest, try the following exercise. Between the chin and chest, hold the tennis ball. Try not to drop it. By controlling the ball, you will learn to monitor your chin and keep it pressed to your chest for a long time. Having mastered the exercise on land, try it on the water. Soon you will be able to completely abandon the ball.
Hand movement
The cycle of hand movements when performing this swimming technique is divided into three phases: “capture”, “pulling up” and “return”. So, let's start with the “capture”. An outstretched hand is immersed in the water with the palm of your hand away, that is, the little finger will first fall into the water. In this phase, the hand captures the volume of water that will need to be pushed out in the future. It's time to do the pull-ups. To do this, the hand moves underwater towards the thigh, pushing out the water. In the final stage of "pulling up" the hand passes near the thigh and leaves the water with the little finger up. This is where the "return" begins, during which the hand simply returns to the position for "capture".
When the first hand is under water, in the middle of "pulling up", the second performs a return. Hands should be constantly in opposite phases. There should always be a half-turn between them.
Foot movement
The legs in swimming on the back move in the same way as in the free style - oncoming strokes up and down. During movement, the distance between the legs should be 15-30 centimeters. One cycle (a full circle with one hand) includes three hits with each leg, that is, a total of six measures. The movement is carried out mainly due to the muscles of the thigh. The knees should be relaxed and the socks slightly stretched. The movement should be biting. With proper footwork, they create a small fountain on the surface of the water. In this case, only the feet can peek slightly, and the knees should always be under water. As in the freestyle, the body receives the main impulse due to the work of the hands, not the legs.
Backstroke: Nuances
Looking at athletes swimming on their backs, you might think that their hands are always in a straight position, but this is not at all. An even hand cutting water will not give any impulse to the body. To swim quickly on your back, you need to learn how to do the so-called S-shaped bend of the hands. Let us examine step by step what it is.
After "capture" the hand should push water to the legs. To do this, the arm bends at the elbow in the direction of the lower back. Imagine that you need to push the ball to your feet. This is how the movement of the hand should look underwater. After the push, the hand is again leveled and rotated so that the little finger comes out of the water first.
In addition, during the "pull-up" the body rotates around its axis in the direction of the working arm. All these simple tricks allow you to achieve maximum speed.
Training
To work out the correct technique, first learn how to work with your feet. When kicks are brought to automaticity, you can safely swim without arms. This will allow you to train your hands without thinking about the need to stay on the water.
To learn how to work the body, you will also need swimming on your back without arms. The arms are extended along the body. The body rotates alternately from side to side at intervals of three kicks. At the same time, at the final turning point, the shoulder should slightly peep out of the water. Do not forget that the head should always be face up.
Common mistakes
We will analyze the most common mistakes in the development of backstroke and methods for solving them.
- The body does not slide on the surface of the water, but as if stretches. The reason for this is simple: the legs are bent at the hip joint, which entails the fall of the pelvis down. To solve this problem, you just need to monitor the elongated, streamlined body position.
- Rowing legs do not keep the body on the water without the work of hands. First you need to check the correctness of the movements. If everything is in order with the technique, then the reason is the tightness of the ankle joints and the wrong position of the feet. Try turning your feet inward (making them "clubfoot"). If this doesn’t help, try using flippers until you learn how to work with your hands.
- During the "return" of the hands, they splatter the face. The reason lies most likely in the bending of the arms. Carrying a hand over your head, you need to keep it straight, and do not forget that the little finger goes first.
- Gliding on water is slow. If you encounter this problem, it means that your body, together with your shoulders, is always in the same position - horizontal. Add body rotation to the strokes and your backstroke will be correct.
Backstroke technique
Although this style does not have such fame as the crawl, for the general development it will not hurt to get acquainted with its technique. Moreover, it is not very different from the rabbit technique. The starting position is exactly the same as mentioned above. The technique of hand movement is also completely identical. The only difference is that the hands do not alternate, but work simultaneously. Well, the second difference, the most important thing, is that the legs carry out shocks, not blows.
The push is made while the hands are in the passive phase, that is, they sweep over the body. In preparation for the push, the hips form an angle of 160-170 degrees with the body, and the lower leg with the thigh - an angle close to a straight line. In this case, the feet unfold inward, as in the rabbit. During the push, the whole body is aligned in one line and glides over the water until the hands make a stroke.
Backstroke: Olympics
As already mentioned, the crawl on the back is included in the program of the Summer Olympic Games. For him, the Olympic program allocated 4 numbers: 100- and 200-meter heats for women and men. In addition, this swimming style is used in the 4 x 100 relay in the first stage and in integrated swimming in the second stage (distance 200 and 400 meters).
So if you want to see how real professionals swim, watch the video from the Olympics. Now that you know the theoretical side of this style, watching competitions will be much more interesting, even if our swimmers do not take part in them. And they, by the way, showed at the last Olympics any results in the discipline "backstroke". Rio de Janeiro helped reveal many talents.
Russian swimmer Yevgeny Rylov took third place in the final 200-meter backstroke. And his compatriot Daria Ustinova is the fourth. The Ukrainian swimmer Daria Zevina, unfortunately, was able to win only fourth place in the semifinal race of 200 meters.
Conclusion
Today we found out what is swimming on the back. Women and men perform this exercise the same way, so there is no need to consider the technique separately. This style is presented at the competitions with only one look, nevertheless it is very useful and interesting.