Give Your Freestyle the Middle Finger

Many swimmers overlook their freestyle hand entry because feeling the problems caused by an improper hand entry as it’s happening is difficult.

The repetitive motion of freestyle, coupled with an incorrect hand entry or pitch, isn’t only inefficient. It can also contribute to shoulder impingement and other mechanical injuries because an incorrect hand entry causes excessive internal rotation.

Thumb (No)

Your shoulder will rotate some internally when you’re reaching and extending, but if you lead with your thumb down, your upper arm bone, your humerus, rotates internally and stresses your rotator cuff muscles.

This can also lead to your elbow dropping, which creates a time during your stroke when you’re not generating any propulsion from your arms and won’t do so until you get your forearms reengaged in the catch phase of your stroke.

A thumb-first entry can also cause your hand to sweep to the outside (like the old S-pull) before finding your anchor for the catch and pull phase of your stroke. This is an unacceptable delay. By the time you find and reset your catch, it’s too late for you to move forward efficiently.

Pinky (No)

Pinky-first entry always causes a dropped elbow, which leads to you being unable to push powerfully against the water through the catch phase of your stroke. A dropped elbow means you’re getting into the propulsion phase too late, and you’re pushing down against the water instead of back toward your feet. You’re not creating a paddle, which can lead to other mistakes, including rolling too much to breathe, corkscrew hips, and more.

Middle Finger (Yes!)

So what’s the proper hand entry position for freestyle?

Ideally, right before your hand enters the water, your hand and wrist should be in a neutral position (flat with the horizon) with your fingers aligned and lightly touching each other. As your hand goes into the water, think of your middle finger as the pointer.

After a brief extension with fingertips pointing forward, drive your fingertips down to point at the bottom of the pool. This will ensure that your fingertips are below your wrist and your wrist is below your elbow. This early vertical forearm position will give you the least amount of drag and sets you for the strongest catch and strongest pull.

Practice

If you’re having trouble feeling your hand entry, ask your coach or a friend to video your stroke from the deck. This immediate feedback will help you make corrections. You can also experiment with paddles to learn to feel when your hand is flat to the water or if you tend to tilt toward your thumb or pinky.