How To Learn To Swim In The Crawl Style

The crawl style of swimming is one of the most recommended modalities to begin in this discipline. It is more comfortable than other variants and has different forms of coordination.

You do not need swimming experience to learn to swim crawl. In fact, this is one of the most recommended modalities for beginners, since it is easy to learn and is comfortable when you do not have so much technique.

The word crawl is derived from the English “crawl”, which means “crawl” or “crawl”. It is one of the styles where you can find more variations in coordination, since it allows you to perform a bilateral breath, each arm cycle or every two cycles.

Would you like to learn to swim crawl style this summer? In the following space the advantages, disadvantages and some keys to execute this swimming technique will be reviewed.

Don’t hesitate to give it a try!

Swimming in the front crawl style: advantages and disadvantages

Before making the decision to learn to swim crawl, it ‘s good to know why it excels and what the possible downsides are. Although the coach can also provide this information, it is a good idea to know in advance.

First, within the concept of this technique it is emphasized that it consists of a coordinated action of arms, legs and trunk, whose main purpose is to achieve the maximum speed of movement of the swimmer through the water, said concept was said by a recent study carried out in the year 2020.

Advantage:

• It is one of the forms of swimming that provides greater comfort in the water.
• It offers the possibility of advancing greater distances with less physical effort.
• It has different swimming rhythms that facilitate the experience.

Disadvantages:

• Poor execution of the breathing technique increases the risk of neck pain.
• Holding your breath on the same side increases stress on the spine and reduces performance.

• Since much of the exercise is done looking straight ahead, underwater, it provides poor visibility.

Learn to swim crawl style

To facilitate the learning of the crawl style, it is essential to divide the technique from the posture of the body to the action of the arms and legs. Ideally, do it in order and dedicate some time to each movement.

1. Body position

To achieve optimal physical performance during crawl exercises it is important to adopt a hydrodynamic posture. That is, the position of the body should favor resistance to water and prevent it from slowing down movements, as expressed in a study carried out in 2015.

What is to be done?

• To begin, get in a horizontal position with respect to the water, so that you can move your feet effectively.
• Keep your back straight and check that your head is not too high or too low.

• Then, the body is aligned laterally, a product of the changes it undergoes by the alternative movement of the arms. If the stroke is done with the right side, the body will lean to the left and vice versa.
• Finally, you will have to roll or roll (roll) to breathe and achieve less resistance to advance.

2. Action of the arms

The most important propulsive action in the crawl style is the one performed with the arms. This is often divided into the following phases:

Grip:

• Dip the arm almost extended in the water, above the head, so that the fingers touch the surface first.
• Then, direct the palm of the hand out and down, until the elbows are extended to achieve a better width of the stroke.

Pull:

• Bend the elbow to a nearly right angle and direct the hand inward and upward.

Push:

• Extend the elbow little by little until reaching an angle of approximately 160 degrees. This time, the hand goes up and out.

Recovery:

• Bend the arm progressively to remove it from the water. When in the air, the elbow should be higher than the hand.

3. Leg action

Leg movements consume more energy than arms. However, they play an important role as stabilizers for the entire exercise. In general, the action of the legs consists of alternating the sweep diagonally.

Ascending phase:

• Keep the leg extended and direct it towards the surface. Once the sole of the foot reaches the limit of the water, do a knee bend.

Descending phase:

• After the knee bend, energetically extend the legs downward in a downward motion.

4. Breathing

One of the aspects that cannot be overlooked when learning to swim in the front crawl style is breathing. If there is not a good technique to breathe in, physical fatigue increases and it is difficult to finish the exercise routine.

The mechanics of breathing seem simple: take air through your mouth and expel it under water. However, this becomes tedious in practice due to the coordination with the other movements of the body.

What to keep in mind:

• Breathe in through the mouth and breathe out through the mouth and nose.
• Take into account that the moment of maximum inhalation is when the shoulder is at the highest point.
• While taking a breath, a part of the face has to remain in the water.
• The expulsion of air begins immediately after taking inspiration.

• Learning to breathe bilaterally is recommended to prevent lateral alignment imbalances.

Although the front crawl is one of the easiest swimming variants, it is important to know how to execute this technique to have a good performance. Therefore, in the learning process you have to focus on mastering the coordination of movements and breathing.