The Backstroke Lane

Hey backstrokers, I'm reviving this thread as a desperate plea for HELP! :whiteflag: I'm a breaststroker who begs to differ with Fort on what the "evilstroke" really is. For me, backstroke is the EVILSTROKE, because it's my slowest! :afraid: So, I'm ready to confront the evilstroke and set a goal of actually getting it faster than my breaststroke... Watching videos my husband has shot of my backstroke and listening to the critique of my part-time coach, my worst problem is my kick. When I roll to the right, my left lower leg scissor kicks out and when I roll to the left, my right lower leg scissor kicks out. Even when I think I'm keeping my legs straighter, the camera doesn't lie... So, what drills can I do to correct this problem? Thanks! :)

Elaine, What I have my age group breaststokers try to concentrate on with thier kick during backstroke is turn the toes towards each other and try to lightly have them touch during the kick. This does several things: 1 - keeps the focus on a smaller tighter kick 2 - helps to keep the knees straighter 3 - gives them real feedback on if they are doing it correctly

Elaine, What I have my age group breaststokers try to concentrate on with thier kick during backstroke is turn the toes towards each other and try to lightly have them touch during the kick. This does several things: 1 - keeps the focus on a smaller tighter kick 2 - helps to keep the knees straighter 3 - gives them real feedback on if they are doing it correctly Thanks, Paul! I'm on my way to the pool (along with my husband and camera...), so I'll give it a try. :)

I've tried using a nose clip because I think it will help me on my SDK, but I just can't swim with it on. I get too confused since I always exhale through my nose on backstroke and the nose-clip gets me so out of my groove that I can't even swim. I guess I should devote a little more time to it before I abandon it altogether. I'm interested to see what others have to say about them...

I've tried using a nose clip because I think it will help me on my SDK, but I just can't swim with it on. I get too confused since I always exhale through my nose on backstroke and the nose-clip gets me so out of my groove that I can't even swim. I can't imagine using a nose clip as long as you are used to breathing out of your nose. Even in my (albeit horrible) back stroke, I breath in through the mouth and out through the nose.

In backstroke, if you are positioned correctly head to toe, water is going to invariably run across your face. No-one should ever assume that backstrokers keep their face dry. That said, I need every orifice above water to be pulling air on my behalf in anything over a 25 yd swim, so no nose clip for me!! :drowning:

Breathing: Once per cycle, or twice per cycle (on every stroke)? Why or why not? Does it matter?

Since we're at the beginning of a new season I thought I'd bump all the lanes to see which one is winning

I'm loving this thread! I'm training to swim a 50 and 100 backstroke in an October meet. For the past 2 weeks, I've been putting it all together: starts, swim, flips, SDKs. I'm sure that I'm still sloppy on some things, but I'm having a great time practicing! Will keep you all posted on how the meet goes. BTW, I DO use noseclips, when I swim backstroke. No matter how hard I try,i end up with a snout full of water. Any other stroke, I don't use them. I've found that I actually swim faster with them on! Not sure what the difference is, but it seems to work out that way.

How many of you wear a nose clip for backstroke? Do you wear it for a specific race, 50/100/200? Do you wear it all the time on backstroke sets in practice or only on certain sets?