Swimming Tips - Learning the Side Stroke

Butterfly, American crawl, breast stroke , backstroke, these are the strokes Olympic swimmers practice and race with. These strokes are all engineered for speed and power. Each will likely get the swimmer where he wants to go quickly. There is nothing wrong with any of these strokes but if you want to master a stroke that will take you on a more leisurely pace to your destination, then learning the side stroke might be something to consider.

Take the position. Unlike any other stroke you may learn, the side stroke is performed neither on your stomach, nor on your back . As the name indicates to swim this stroke you need to establish a position on your side. Getting onto your side in the water and maintaining that position may be one of the more difficult parts of the stroke. Holding this position however is crucial because it allows your body to move smoothly through the water. Rolling onto your stomach or back means creating friction with the water and slowing your progress.

You can learn the side position best by trying it first on your floor at home or in the sand at the beach. Either experience will get you ready to try the side position later on in the water. You may practice on either side but it seems that right handed people like to lie on their right side, while lefties choose the left. ( eventually you will learn to do the same stroke on both sides.) Where ever you try the side position first you will want to lay down on your hip and stretch your legs out in a straight line below your hips . Place the arm that is closest to the ground out flat directly up from your shoulder so that your shoulder creates a pillow for your head.Your arm should then be fully extended along the floor . From the tip of this hand to your toes your body should be arranged in a straight line. Your upper arm for the moment should simply lie along the top of your body. It is this side position that you will need to take into the water to begin learning the side stroke.