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SW🧠 In backstroke, the pull is the most important part of the stroke.
❓ But it doesn’t start underwater. It starts with how your arm enters.
The main rule is simple.
✅ You have to enter with your pinky first.
❓ Why?
Because in backstroke, there is no gliding.
You enter and you go straight into the catch.
What I see very often is that swimmers pull too deep. They drag water from the bottom.
❌ This does two bad things.
1️⃣ First, it puts your shoulder in danger.
2️⃣ Second, it doesn’t create much propulsion.
Pulling deep feels strong, but it’s not effective.
✅ The solution is simple.
When you enter with your pinky, you have to pull through the side.
🆓 Just like in freestyle, we still want a high elbow catch.
You catch water first with your hand and forearm.
Only later you use the whole arm.
The arm moves through the side, not down.
Your hand should never go very deep.
At the end of the pull, your thumb should finish close to your thigh.
❗️ This is very important.
If you push water somewhere else, you won’t move straight forward.
Simple physics. You have to push water straight back to swim straight forward.
After that, the thumb comes out immediately and the next stroke starts.
🏆 Inside the Swim Success Training App, we break down backstroke entry and pull step by step.
📈 Free structured training is available inside the app, and for deeper precision, we also offer video stroke analysis.
🔗 Link in bio
@swim_success_
