Front crawl the basi
Swimming front crawl, also known as freestyle swimming, is the fastest swimming stroke and is often taught to beginners. It involves flutter kicking your feet and reaching forward with alternating strokes. Front crawl swimming works almost the entire body.
To start, position your body flat in the water with a slight slope down to the hips. The water line should be between the eyebrows and the hairline with eyes focused forward and slightly downward. Kick your legs up and down (alternating) making your ankles as floppy as possible, using your feet like flippers. Kick your legs fast and continuously.
Your arm motion is crucial as this is where you get most of your propulsion from. To do the front crawl arm stroke your thumb should always enter the water first with your hand at a 45 degree angle. Keep your elbow slightly bent as you reach your hand in front of your body to enter the water. Entry should be between the centre line of the head and the shoulder line and the hand should be directed with the palm facing down and out so the thumb first enters the water first. Don’t start pulling back as soon as your hand is in the water – you should give yourself room to reach forward under the water before you start to bring your hand back to the body. After entering the water, the arm should perform a three-sweep motion. With your elbow slightly bent, sweep forward, then back towards the centre of the body, then out towards the thighs – imitating an hour glass shape. Maximise the efficiency of your stroke by completing the whole arm action and not bringing you arm out of the water before it reaches your leg.
Try to keep your body position as flat as you can to be streamlined in the water with a slight slope down to the hips to keep the leg kick underwater. Keep your stomach flat and level to support your lower back. With eyes looking forward and down, your head should be in line with the body and the water level should come between your eyebrows and hairline. Try to keep your head and spine as still and relaxed as possible. Instead, rotate your hips and shoulders to generate momentum through the water. Your head should only join the rotation when you want to breathe. Your shoulder should come out of the water as your arm exits while the other begins the propulsive phase under the water. The hips should not rotate as much as the shoulders.
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