Complete Guide to Improving Freestyle Technique: Key Details from Pull to Kick

Freestyle is the fastest and most widely used of the four competitive swimming strokes, forming the technical foundation whether you train in the pool, race triathlons, or swim in open water. However, many swimmers hit a technical plateau after learning basic freestyle — able to swim 1,000 meters but unable to break through a pace barrier, or left gasping for breath after a single lap.

The problem usually isn’t fitness — it’s technical efficiency. This article breaks down the core techniques of freestyle across the pull, kick, body rotation, and streamlining.

The Pull: Swimming’s Engine

The arm pull provides roughly 80% of freestyle’s propulsion, making it the most important technical element. A complete pull cycle has four phases:

1. Entry and Extension

Correct Technique	Common Mistakes
Fingers enter the water first, 15-20 cm in front of the shoulder line	Slapping the palm on the water surface, creating a large splash
Arm extends naturally forward after entry, lengthening the stroke	Pressing down immediately after entry
Entry point aligned with the extension of the shoulder	Arm crosses over the midline on entry

The key to entry is being quiet and smooth. Imagine your fingers slicing into the water like a blade, not slapping down like a brick. Don’t rush into the pull right after entry — let the arm extend forward naturally first. This brief “glide” moment effectively lengthens each stroke.

2. The Catch Phase

The catch is the transition from extension into the pull, and it’s the phase most amateur swimmers overlook.

• High-elbow catch: Keep the elbow high while rotating the forearm downward, fingertips pointing toward the pool floor
• Feel the water pressure: Imagine your hand gripping a basketball-sized mass of water
• Elbow angle: The elbow bends to roughly 90-120 degrees during the catch

Tip: Practice the “high-elbow catch” feel on land — stand with your arm extended forward, keep the elbow still, and let the forearm and hand swing downward like a hinge.

3. The Pull Phase

The pull generates the most propulsion. Key points include:

• The palm pushes straight backward, not downward or outward
• Push all the way until the arm is fully extended and brushes past the thigh
• Don’t exit the water early — many swimmers rush to lift their hand out halfway through the pull, wasting propulsion in the second half of the stroke

4. Recovery

Recovery is the phase where the arm travels above the water from back to front:

• The elbow exits the water first, leading the forearm and hand
• Stay relaxed — the arm doesn’t need to exert force
• Keep the elbow higher than the hand, forming a “high-elbow recovery”

Kick Technique: More Than Just Kicking

Although the kick contributes less to propulsion than the pull (roughly 20-30%), proper kicking is essential for maintaining a level body position and pull rhythm.

Basic Principles of the Kick

Element	Description
Origin	The kick is powered from the hips, not the knees
Amplitude	The feet move up and down through a range of about 30-40 cm
Ankles	Keep the ankles relaxed, with the tops of the feet extended naturally
Rhythm	Sync with the pull rhythm, typically a 2-beat or 6-beat kick

2-Beat Kick vs. 6-Beat Kick

• 2-beat kick: Two kicks per stroke cycle, suited to long-distance swimming and triathlon — energy-efficient but requires good balance
• 6-beat kick: Six kicks per stroke cycle, suited to short-distance sprinting — generates more propulsion but burns much more energy

For most amateur swimmers and triathletes, the 2-beat kick is the most practical choice. The leg strength you save can be reserved for the bike and run that follow.

Body Rotation: The Overlooked Key to Efficiency

Freestyle isn’t swum lying flat on the stomach — it’s a continuous rotation of the body from side to side. Proper body rotation delivers the following benefits:

1. Longer stroke: Body rotation lets the arm extend further forward
2. Reduced drag: A rotated, side-on position presents a smaller frontal profile than lying flat on the surface
3. Shoulder protection: Reduces stress on the shoulder joint, lowering the risk of swimmer’s shoulder
4. Easier breathing: Body rotation makes turning the head to breathe more natural

The rotation range is roughly 45-60 degrees, driven by the core muscles (obliques) rather than the shoulders or head.

Streamlining and Drag Reduction

In the water, the benefit of reducing drag often outweighs the benefit of adding propulsion. Here are the key points for minimizing drag:

• Head position: Look toward the pool floor, slightly forward at about 45 degrees, with the waterline at the top of the head
• Body level: Don’t let the hips sink — keep the core engaged so the body forms a straight line
• Legs together: Keep the kick within the width of the body, not flaring outward
• Minimize excess movement: Don’t sway the head side to side or lift it too high to breathe

Technical Training Set

Here is a 60-minute training session focused on freestyle technique:

Set	Distance	Description
Warm-up	400m	Easy freestyle
Pull drill	4×50m	Single-arm freestyle (two reps each arm)
Catch drill	4×50m	Fist swimming, focusing on the forearm catch
Kick drill	4×50m	Kickboard kicking, focusing on hip-driven power
Rotation drill	4×50m	Side kicking + 6-kick-1-stroke drill
Integration	4×100m	Full-stroke freestyle, focusing on one technical cue
Cool-down	200m	Easy freestyle or backstroke
Total	1,800m

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I get out of breath after just one lap — is that a fitness problem?

Usually not. The most common causes are poor breathing rhythm and a body position that sits too low (increasing drag), which means you’re spending most of your energy fighting the water instead of moving forward. Fix your head position and breathing rhythm first, and you’ll find the same effort takes you much further.

Q: Should the fingers be spread or held together during the freestyle pull?

Keep the fingers naturally slightly apart (about a 3-5mm gap). Research shows this actually catches more water than holding the fingers completely together. Water flowing through the small gaps between the fingers creates turbulence that effectively increases the pulling surface area.

Q: How do I know if my technique is actually improving?

The simplest metric is Strokes Per Length (SPL). In a 25-meter pool, a strong amateur swimmer typically takes 14-18 strokes per length. Track your SPL — the better your technique, the fewer strokes it takes to cover the same distance at the same speed.

Conclusion

Improving freestyle technique is an ongoing process of refinement. Rather than grinding out more distance in the pool, spend time polishing each technical detail. Remember: in the water, efficiency always beats brute force. Starting with your next pool session, pick one technical cue to focus on, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you improve.

Related Reading

• Freestyle High-Elbow Catch: The Most Important Pull Technique
• Freestyle Pull Technique: A Modern Take on High-Elbow Entry and the S-Shaped Pull
• Freestyle High-Elbow Catch Fully Explained: The Mechanics from Entry to Push
• Freestyle Pull Rhythm: When to Use 2-Beat, 4-Beat, and 6-Beat Kicks