Catch-Up
Swim freestyle with one arm waiting out front until the other finishes its stroke and taps it. Each pull then starts from full reach, never rushed.
catch · No equipment · In Find the Catch, Roll Cleanly, Easy Breath
Why it works: Chapter 34, What does a long swim stroke need from your body?
The one cue
Touch before you pull
How to do it
- 1
Both arms forward
Float face down with both arms reaching ahead, a little under the surface, hands about a head's width apart. Kick gently, and keep kicking the whole time.
- 2
One arm strokes, one waits
Pull one arm back past your hip, swing it forward over the water and put it in between your head and its shoulder. The other arm stays long and still out front, never sagging.
- 3
Touch, then pull
When the returning hand reaches the waiting one, touch thumb tips, hands still a head's width apart. Only then does the waiting arm start its stroke. Make it a quick tap, not a rest. It feels slower than your normal swim, and it is.
- 4
Roll with each stroke
While one arm swings over, lie a little on the side of the arm that waits, so the reach comes from the shoulder and hip, not just the arm.
- 5
Breathe on the pulling side
Breathe out steadily into the water. Every second or third stroke, start turning your head as that arm begins to pull, one ear on the waiting arm, so your mouth is clear by the time the hand passes your hip. Face back down before it goes in.
Watch for
- Hands crossing the middle in front of your head. Your real stroke learns to cross too, and you swim crooked.
- Lying flat while you wait. The body stops rolling and the reach comes from the arm alone.
- The waiting arm sagging or starting early. The next pull starts from a dropped elbow instead of full reach.
- Long pauses out front. You slow almost to a stop and have to get going again on every stroke.