{"id":68674,"date":"2018-06-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.arenaswim.com\/uncategorized-en_us\/learn-correct-freestyle-hand-position\/"},"modified":"2019-09-24T16:48:49","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T14:48:49","slug":"learn-correct-freestyle-hand-position","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.arenaswim.com\/us\/training-technique-us\/learn-correct-freestyle-hand-position\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn the correct freestyle hand position"},"content":{"rendered":"

Improve the position of your fingers during the underwater stage of your stroke. Try our exercises!<\/strong><\/p>\n

How many times have you been told, \u201cclose your fingers, otherwise you won\u2019t catch the water\u201d?<\/p>\n

When you swim you have to think of your hands as paddles. T<\/strong>he larger and more compact the surface area of your hand, the greater the pulling force will be through the water. Sure, your stroke doesn\u2019t all depend on hand position, but it certainly plays an important role in the efficiency of your stroke.<\/p>\n

In order to\u00a0help you to understand how the position of your fingers can vary the efficiency of the stroke, try these following exercises. Swim 25 yds freestyle using the various techniques described below, trying to keep track of the number of strokes needed for each length:<\/p>\n

–\u00a025 yds with a closed fists<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

–\u00a025 yds with your fingers completely spread out\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

–\u00a025 yds with closed fingers<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

–\u00a025 yds leaving small gaps between your fingers and your hand slightly cupped<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Which lengths did you take the least amount\u00a0of strokes?<\/strong> If you swam your 25 yads according to the instructions that we gave you, the last lap, the one where your fingers were slightly spread, should be the one where you took less strokes. This is because your hand takes up a larger amount of surface area compared to the other three during the push and pull.<\/p>\n

To improve the position of the fingers during the underwater phase of your stroke, try these two exercises:<\/p>\n

Finger Paddles:<\/strong>\u00a0this is a great tool because it reduces pressure on your shoulders allowing you to concentrate on the catch, traction and pull.<\/p>\n

To improve your freestyle stroke, wear the Finger Paddles and try the \u201cZip-Up Freestyle technique\u201d.<\/strong> Start by reaching your arms out together in front of you, starting your stroke with just one arm, paying attention to the traction and push phase. At this point, when your arm is stretched out beside your body, direct your attention to the recovery, remembering to keep a high elbow, imagining it being a zipper closing the stroke you now have in front of you again.<\/p>\n