This week’s drill is a finish drill for freestyle. This drill is a simple,  but effective way to get you to lengthen your freestyle stroke and make sure you are accelerating through your underwater pull into your recovery with each stroke.

This drill is not very complicated, but very effective. Swim your regular freestyle with a focus on exaggerating the end of the underwater phase of your pull on each stroke. You want to feel like you are accelerating through the last phase of the catch in your stroke, throwing the water behind you and forcing your arms out of the water and into a fast recovery.  

When doing this drill, you may feel like your stroke looks hitchy. It is important remember this is an exaggeration of the how you want to finish every pull. It is a drill to be done slowly, to develop muscle memory. This drill tries to correct the common problem I see in swimmers freestyle. Dropping the elbow during the pull or exiting the water too early. These motions are inefficient. If you practice this drill, you will begin to feel what it is like to hold onto the water during the pull phase of your stroke.  Through practice you will develop the ability to distinguish between slipping through the water and holding onto it in the second half of your pull.