Fitter And Faster Swim Drill Of The Week: 4-4 Drill

Welcome to the “Swim Drill of the Week” sponsored by The Fitter and Faster Swim Tour presented by Swimoutlet.com. Swimming World will be bringing you a drill, concept, or tip that you can implement with your team on a regular basis. While certain weeks may be more appropriate for specific levels of swimming (club, high school, college, or masters), Drill Of The Week excerpts are meant to be flexible for your needs and inclusive for all levels of swimming.

This week’s drill is 4-4 Drill for backstroke. This drill is similar to 2-2-2 for backstroke and is a great tool to use as part of progression to full stroke backstroke that is focused on balance, distance per stroke, and consistent tempo.

Pushing off the wall, your swimmers will begin by taking four single arm strokes with their right arm. The left arm should be glued to their side, but the left shoulder and hip should still rotate through the stroke as it normally would. Control is the name of the game during the single arm strokes. Swimmers need to be engaged through the torso and generate the rotation from the core and kick, creating a stable center in order to get the most out of each arm stroke.

After four single arm strokes on the right, swimmers will complete four single arm strokes on the left side in the same manner before swimming the rest of the length as full stroke backstroke that builds into a fast finish. When transitioning to full stroke backstroke, swimmers should focus on maintaining the stability in their core and power from their kick while increasing their stroke rate to get to the finish.

As mentioned above, this drill works well with 2-2-2 drill, another drill incorporating single arm backstroke that works on rotation, body position, and stroke tempo. A simple progression that builds into full stroke could look like the following:

2 x 25 single arm backstroke (R arm, then L arm)

2 x 25 as 2-2-2 backstroke

2 x 25 as 4-4 drill

2 x 25 moderate pace backstroke

You can also create a progression of descending single arm strokes per 25 (i.e. – 4-4 on the first 25, 3-3 on the second, etc.) that has your swimmers building more of the length as you continue. Regardless of how you incorporate the drill, this is another great tool to use with your backstrokers to promote a balanced, high tempo, and efficient stroke. Happy swimming!

All swimming and dryland training and instruction should be performed under the supervision of a qualified coach or instructor, and in circumstances that ensure the safety of participants.

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