7 Ways to Improve the Freestyle Catch
Olivier Poirier-Leroy
Author, swimmer. Obsessed with helping swimmers level up in the water (and life).
Looking to power up your high elbow catch? Here are seven tips for how to improve your freestyle catch for faster swimming.
The freestyle catch is arguably the most important part of the freestyle stroke.
The catch is where a swimmer’s hand enters the water and “catches” water with the forearm and hand and pulling the body over the water and gaining propulsion.
The catch is also where many swimmers can stand to improve! Typical errors in the catch include a dropped elbow, sculling out of the hands, and inefficient pulling.
In this guide, we will examine some ways for swimmers to strengthen and improve the mechanics of the catch. We’ll look at some technique corrections and cues, dryland stretches, drills, and offer some guidance on how to put into practice at the pool.
By the end, you’ll have some actionable tips to improve the catch and increase swimming speed.
Let’s dive in.
How to Improve the Freestyle Catch
Ways to improve the freestyle catch include:
Next, we will look at each tip in more detail and offer some practical advice for how to get started with improving your freestyle catch in training for faster swimming.
Keep a high elbow
A strong catch results from the elbow not dropping at the beginning of the pull phase.
A dropped elbow is a killer for good technique and propulsion, and it’s something even experienced competitive swimmers are guilty of doing with surprising regularity.
A study published in Sports Health examined the freestyle technique of 31 NCAA swimmers, all with at least ten years of competitive swimming experience.
A dropped elbow during the catch was by far the most common freestyle technique error, with 61.3% of swimmers exhibiting this biomechanical error during the catch and pull.
To keep a high elbow in the catch, try the following:
?? Wrap the arm around a stability ball. A useful dryland exercise for improving the catch involves using a stability ball to strengthen the muscle pattern. Get down on all fours, place the ball a foot in front of the working shoulder. Extend the working arm so the elbow is at the top center of the ball, wrap the forearm and hand around the far side of the stability ball, and gently rock back and forth to reinforce a stronger catch.
?? Go “over the ball” with your catch in the water. Take the movement pattern into the pool by visualizing the hand and forearm going over the ball with each stroke. With each stroke, visualize your arm wrapping and “going over” the stability ball. This simple mental cue reinforces proper form and a high elbow catch.
Use a swimmer’s snorkel
The swim snorkel is one of the best types of gear for swimmers looking to improve technique, and, by extension, speed in the pool.
The main benefit of front-mounted swim snorkels is that they eliminate the need to turn your head to breathe, which often leads to poor technique and body position.
By eliminating the need to turn your head, swim snorkels help maintain proper body alignment, preventing issues like crossing the midline or dropping elbows, allowing you to focus on achieving a high elbow catch.
Swim snorkels also highlight the importance of shoulder and hip rotation, promote a higher body position in the water, and allow swimmers to balance their strokes.
Basically, they will do everything except your dishes.
Start with a swim snorkel by doing 25s and 50s freestyle at medium pace, habituating yourself to maintaining a neutral head position, and focus on that high elbow catch.
The best snorkel for swimmers is the FINIS Stability Snorkel. An update on the O.G. swimmer’s snorkel, the Stability Snorkel has several key features that make it better than the original.
It features a mouthpiece that can be twisted to the side, no head bracket, dual head straps for a snug and secure fit, and adjustable mouthpiece for comfort.
Perfect for swimming in comfort while hitting that excellent catch.
Long Dog freestyle drill
Long Dog freestyle drill is one of my all-time favorite freestyle drills. It is a progression of doggie paddle, something I am sure we are all aware of and know how to do.
In the Long Dog drill, swimmers complete a full catch and pull, then recover their arms underwater instead of above. This allows for focused attention on the catch without worrying about hand entry or exit.
To maximize the drill, use a snorkel to eliminate the need to turn your head to breathe, letting you concentrate fully on a strong catch.
As you get better and more comfortable with this drill, increase the speed and intensity.
Doing 25s long dog drill at a fast pace is an excellent way to dial in that freestyle catch and prep you for fast regular swimming later in the workout.
Tip: Advanced swimmers looking to add serious power and strength to the catch can add resistance—a swim parachute, for example—to this drill for an even stronger catch and pull.
Front sculling
Sculling for swimmers is a way to develop a better feel for the water, giving you the sense that you are catching and moving more of it.
Front sculling is an excellent sculling drill to refine catch mechanics and promote better grip on the water.
To do front sculling, grab your swimmer’s snorkel (yes, again) and push off in a streamline.
Keeping the arms in front of you, quickly scull the palms in a figure eight-motion in the area precisely where the catch initiates.
Bend your elbow slightly to developing a more transferable sculling motion.
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Adding front sculling to your warm-up and pre-set is an excellent way to groove a more efficient catch for the main set to come.
Get your paddles on
Swim paddles increase catch sensitivity with the added surface area of the paddles. The added resistance increases forearm and hand engagement during the catch phase.
By combining a larger surface area with your goal catch (e.g. proper hand entry, optimal elbow position) you can strengthen the catch and create muscle memory that will stick around when you remove the paddles.
Swim paddles are also a technique feedback tool, making it easier to feel improper technique, whether that’s a dropped elbow in the catch or poor hand positioning.
Start by doing 25s and 50s freestyle with swim paddles at medium pace, focusing on “going over the ball” with the paddle.
The best paddles for swimmers are the Speedo Power Paddles. They feature removable wrist straps (perfect for focusing on a clean hand entry and steady pressure against the paddle with your palm).
The Speedo Power Paddles are available in variable sizes, use a scalloped, ergonomic shape, and are manufactured by the best swim brand on the pool deck.
Swimmers ready to add power to their freestyle catch will love these long-lasting swim paddles.
Resisted swimming
Once the technique of a high elbow catch is taking shape, swimmers should start adding strength development to the mix.
Resisted swimming, such as using a drag chute, DragSox, power tower, or other forms of in-water resistance training, can power up the catch by forcing swimmers to apply more power in the stroke.
In my experience, using light resistance is also a great way to help promote a stronger catch.
The body is smart, and it has a way of “self-organizing” to pull more effectively when increased resistance is introduced. Swimmers often scull out with their hands during the catch, creating a movement that doesn’t add propulsion (Smeets et al., 2017).
The added resistance forces swimmers to get into a stronger catch sooner.
Extra resistance and drag also highlight inefficiencies and dead spots in the stroke and catch.
Studies with competitive swimmers (Telles et al., 2011) have shown that regular training with a drag chute can improve “propulsive continuity,” reducing the gap between propulsive and non-propulsive phases of the stroke.
Like any resistance training, start light with resisted swimming, using killer technique from the moment you push off the wall.
The top parachute for swimmers is the FINIS Swim Parachute.
It’s available in multiple sizes, has an extra-large adjustable belt, long cord to reduce the chute getting tangled in the feet, and durable nylon chute that will work even harder than you.
Thoracic spine mobility
The thoracic spine, the middle section of the spine from the neck to the lower back, is crucial for movements like shoulder rotation, which is obviously essential for an efficient freestyle and strong catch.
Limited thoracic mobility hinders a swimmer’s ability to rotate properly, causing “flat” swimming, overgliding, and that cursed dropped elbow during the catch phase.
By increasing the range of movement in the t-spine, swimmers can rotate the shoulders effectively and attack the hand entry and catch.
Fun fact: Swimmer’s shoulder is very prevalent in competitive swimmers. In a survey of 1,262 active swimmers in the United States, shoulder pain was present in 10% of age group and 26% of national team swimmers (McMaster and Troup, 1993).
My favorite dynamic stretch for improving thoracic spine mobility and, by extension, improving the body’s ability to execute a murderous catch is the quadrupled t-spine rotation.
Get on all fours, wrap the fingers behind your head, and using your elbow to guide the movement path, rotate the elbow in a circular motion so that it ends by pointing at the ceiling.
Repeat for 8-10 repetitions and repeat on the other arm.
Wrapping Things Up
Mastering the catch is one of the fundamental and more rewarding aspects of swimming.
Once you lock that catch in place and start pulling more water, you’ll find your body gliding through the water with less wasted effort, resulting in faster swimming.
Adding the right stretches, drills, mental cues, and the swim gear to your swim training isolates and improves the catch.
When you hit the pool today, bring one or two of the tips listed and strengthen that catch and level up your performance in the water.
Happy swimming!
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