THE MECHANICS OF FRONT CRAWL
Check out any pro field in a triathlon swim – or the pointy end of any age-group competition – and you’ll quickly notice one thing: everyone is swimming front crawl. Now, we get asked about this a lot at 220, and the answer’s yes – if you’re a newbie and want to swim breaststroke then there’s nothing in the competition rules to say you can’t (and you’ll find plenty of other folk at the ‘chilled’ end of things doing the same). But, if you want to be competitive, you have to give front crawl a go. But why is that?
In technical terms, front crawl (aka freestyle) creates more constant and efficient propulsion, while having the lowest levels of frontal resistance. Basically, it’s faster.
Breaststroke is potentially an easier stroke to breathe on, but it’s also incredibly inefficient. In front crawl, the body stays level on the surface of the water so everything stays hidden behind your lead hand and your head, which means you punch a relatively small hole through the water.
Front crawl also puts a lot less strain on the body, meaning you can do more of it to get fitter, stronger and faster. So how do we swim it efficiently?
