Freestyle - Sliced Hand Exit

Pushing the hand all the way through the exit of the stroke is something swimmers have worked on for years. Here's a little additional point to think about.

Why Do It:
Having a clean exit at the back of your freestyle allows you to increase your hand speed back in to the recovery.

How to Do It:
1. Swim freestyle.
2. Focus your attention to the BACK, or EXIT, of the hand on each stroke.
3. As the hand begins to travel UP rather than continuing BACK, slightly start to twist the hand so the pinky begins to lead the exit.

How to Do It Really Well (the Fine Points):
Start this focal point by swimming slowly, then build the speed a bit, feeling how the hand flies into the recovery. 

A telltale sign that you're probably pushing too far into the exit, is that the hand flips up or across the body during the finish. While we've all seen some great swimmers do this, try avoiding it while you work on a higher rate stroke.

Always experiment with mutliple techniques when practicing.