I find it much harder to reduce the stroke per length in backstroke than in free. In free, you can glide a long distance in each stroke, but not so in backstroke. What should I work on, the pull, or the kick, or the coordination of the hand and leg? Appreciate any comments.
You don't need a fast kick; you need a strong six-beat kick with a lot of properly-timed torso roll. You cannot generate a strong catch and early pull unless you are rolled down toward the pulling arm. Also, the more you roll, the less strain you put on your shoulder in that catch position.
A lot of poor backstrokers lead with their elbows in the pulling phase. Due to poor torso roll, poor shoulder flexibility, or just not understanding what they really should be doing, they never get their arms in the right position to engage their back muscles in the pull. At the catch phase, you should feel the very same "over a barrel" feeling you feel in a proper freestyle catch. Then in the pull phase, the elbow should be pointed at the bottom of the pool and bent so that the upper and lower arms are about at right angles until the upper arm gets below the shoulder.
Meanwhile, while you are rolling from one side to the other, your head has to stay absolutely still.
In reality you should be taking pretty close to the same number of stokes in back as you do in free (if you do the same SDK).
If I come up at the flags, I actually take fewer strokes per length on my back than I do if I come up at the flags on my front. I think it is because my kick is more propulsive on my back than on my front. (I am working on that by doing more front kicking using my snorkel.)
You don't need a fast kick; you need a strong six-beat kick with a lot of properly-timed torso roll. You cannot generate a strong catch and early pull unless you are rolled down toward the pulling arm. Also, the more you roll, the less strain you put on your shoulder in that catch position.
A lot of poor backstrokers lead with their elbows in the pulling phase. Due to poor torso roll, poor shoulder flexibility, or just not understanding what they really should be doing, they never get their arms in the right position to engage their back muscles in the pull. At the catch phase, you should feel the very same "over a barrel" feeling you feel in a proper freestyle catch. Then in the pull phase, the elbow should be pointed at the bottom of the pool and bent so that the upper and lower arms are about at right angles until the upper arm gets below the shoulder.
Meanwhile, while you are rolling from one side to the other, your head has to stay absolutely still.
In reality you should be taking pretty close to the same number of stokes in back as you do in free (if you do the same SDK).
If I come up at the flags, I actually take fewer strokes per length on my back than I do if I come up at the flags on my front. I think it is because my kick is more propulsive on my back than on my front. (I am working on that by doing more front kicking using my snorkel.)
