Backstroke Pull Drills

Side-Wall Pull

The purpose of side-wall pull is to help you feel what it’s like to apply pressure on the water with your forearm and hand. It will also help you learn to use the strongest muscles of your back and determine which positions feel the strongest.

Many swimmers struggle with both these skills. Instead, they focus on pushing backward against the water with their hands and using the weaker muscles of their shoulder to do the work.

This drill is a simple way to work on this skill. While standing in the pool with your side to the wall, lay your forearm and hand on the pool deck and press down with your whole arm.

Side Pull

The purpose of side pull is to help you learn to push backward against the water with the entirety of your forearm and hand, powering your pull with the strongest muscles of your upper body. Feel free to wear fins while doing this drill.

To perform side pull, lie on your side in the water. Reach your bottom arm as far above your head as possible. Then bend your elbow so that your forearm and palm are facing backward, with your fingers pointed to the side of the pool. From that position, pull straight back, using your forearm and hand to create propulsion.

One-Arm Backstroke

With one-arm backstroke, focus on using the same great pulling pattern and integrating it into backstroke swimming. It’s going to be a little more challenging to do while adding the rotation and the arm recovery. Swim backstroke, just with one arm at a time. Feel free to wear fins while performing this drill.

In this drill, focus on executing a great pull using your whole forearm and hand. Slow it down, focus on setting up your stroke, and improve your pull with each repetition.

Double-Arm Backstroke

In double-arm backstroke, both arms are pulling at the same time. This can be helpful for two reasons: It can help you learn how to pull straight back while you’re using your forearms, and it can help you learn to accelerate your hands. Feel free to wear fins while doing this drill.

To perform it, recover both of your arms over the surface of the water at the same time. Once they enter the water, set up your stroke and focus on pulling straight back, feeling pressure on your forearm, and accelerating your hands.

Single-Single-Double

Single-single-double drill is a combination of one-arm backstroke and double-arm backstroke. You’ll do a left arm stroke, a right arm stroke, and then a double-arm stroke. Feel free to wear fins while performing this drill.

This helps you get a feel for the skills emphasized during single-arm backstroke as well as the skills emphasized during double-arm backstroke. You’ll also be able to work on timing your pull with your rotation, as well as pulling straight back and accelerating your hands throughout your stoke.

Backstroke With Band or Buoy

Backstroke with a band or buoy is great for challenging your upper body, and it puts you in a position to learn a great pull.

Simply grab a buoy, a band, or both, then start swimming backstroke. The only way to move forward is to use your arms. This works really well when you’re trying to hit certain times or stroke counts. The only way you can do it is by improving your pull.

Closed Fist

Closed fist swimming is exactly what it sounds like: Close your fist and start swimming backstroke.

It’s helpful for improving your pull because when you can’t use your hand to pull, you must use your forearm only. If you struggle with engaging your forearm on your pull, doing this drill can be helpful. The second benefit is that when you open your hands back up, they feel huge, and you can really start to feel the water.

Upside-Down Paddles

To perform upside-down-paddles drill, just hold your paddles upside down while swimming backstroke.

By holding your paddles upside down, you lock your wrist in place. When your wrist is locked in place, your forearm and hand must move together. To get your hand facing backward, you must get your forearm facing backward as well, just as you want to do to execute a great backstroke pull.

Pinch Paddles

To perform pinch paddles drill, grasp your paddles by their sides and start swimming backstroke.

Doing so forces you to create stability at your wrist. A lot of swimmers do backstroke with a limp or loose wrist, which hurts their arm pull. By learning to feel a stiff wrist, you can understand what it takes to make that happen, and then you can start using it when you’re not pinching the paddles.

Stroke-Count Swimming

Counting your strokes while swimming backstroke is the simplest and easiest way to improve. To change your stroke count, you must change how you swim.

The goal isn’t always to take fewer strokes. You want to be able to adjust your stroke count up or down for any given set, and you want to be able to maintain your stroke count during long and challenging sets, which demonstrates that you’re being consistent with your technique.