Freestyle - Scott Tucker Straight Arm

Important Note to the Viewer

LESSONS: 25 VIDEOS

How to Get the Most from this Video

This video features Scott Tucker and the type of freestyle – called straight-arm-recovery freestyle -- that has helped him win two Olympic medals and four national titles. We’ll slow things down so you can see how Scott breathes… …how he kicks… …how he catches and pulls… …and how he recovers his arms over the water. What you’ll discover is that while the above-water part of Scott’s freestyle may look very different… …the underwater part looks very familiar. The point is: No matter how you recover your arms over the water, there are elements of Scott’s freestyle that can be incorporated into your stroke. In this video, we’ll point out six specific things that Scott does…that you can add to your own swimming. When you add these focus points to your swimming, it’s best not to think about all of them at the same time. Try to focus on one specific thing each day. And when you work on these techniques, it should always be in addition to what your coach is asking you to do…not in place of. All great swimmers will tell you: Don’t be afraid to try something new. Keep searching until you find the style and technique that’s right for you. Now let’s watch how Olympic gold medalist Scott Tucker swims freestyle.

Relaxed Recovery - Scott

In this clip, Scott is swimming race-pace freestyle. What you notice right away is that he has a straight-arm recovery…rather than a bent-arm or high-elbow recovery. After hundreds of hours of experimentation, Scott has found that this is the style that works best for him. Will a straight-arm recovery work for you? Maybe…maybe not. This is something only you and your coach can decide. The important thing is to keep an open mind…and to experiment. Scott has a unique recovery. But rather than look at how it’s different, let’s look at the things Scott does, that every swimmer can do. Watch Scott’s hands…and notice how relaxed they are as he recovers them over the water. Here’s Scott at a nice easy pace. The hands come up and over the top with no tension and no strain. The arm is relaxed from fingertips to shoulder. Here’s another angle at easy pace. By keeping the hand and arm relaxed, Scott gets a brief rest on every stroke. And by almost “throwing” the hand up and over, he uses the weight of the arm to create forward momentum. As Scott begins to pick up the pace, his stroke rate increases and he lets go of the “catch-up” or “front-quadrant” aspect of his stroke. But keep an eye on his hands. They’re still relaxed, even as he increases his cadence. As Scott increases to race pace, he almost whips his arms around. He’s swimming aggressively, and has lost much of his front-quadrant timing, but the hands and arms are still relaxed. Here’s that same, race-pace clip, slowed down so you can focus on the hands. Let’s watch Scott one more time at slow pace. Notice the relaxed quality. And one more time at race pace – still relaxed. Everything Scott practices at slow speed is there when he swims fast. No matter which style of recovery is best for you – bent arm or straight arm – the key is to keep it relaxed. Develop this quality at slow speeds… Then pick up the pace.

Extend It Forward

The number-one goal for every swimmer is to send your body forward…to get to the other end of the pool. If you let your body pause or glide too much between strokes, you can lose momentum, and then you have to work hard to get started again. How does Scott send it forward? Great balance and head position. From fingertips to head to shoulders to hips, Scott is balanced and horizontal in the water. Here you can see the hips breaking the surface – a sign that he’s definitely in balance. Even with a straight-arm recovery, Scott remains in balance, with very little up-and-down movement. He extends the hand forward…and sends his body forward along the same line. From under water, we can see that Scott looks slightly forward rather than straight down. However…notice that his head is still hidden within the frame of his shoulders and torso. And notice how much of Scott’s head is under water. He’s swimming in balance, even though he’s looking slightly forward. In this clip, Scott’s eyes are down and his head is exactly in line with his spine – but this is way too low. Here, he’s looking too far forward, and his forehead is creating resistance. This is just right. He looks slightly forward, but the water flows right over his head. Here you can see the correct position from above water. The head skims just under the surface, indicating great balance. How else does Scott send it forward? Perfect alignment. He carves a narrow path directly down the pool. Let’s take another look from directly below. If we freeze-frame it right here…notice the extension forward and how this narrows Scott’s body line. By reaching full extension with his arm, he sets up perfect alignment through the rest of his body. Here it is again. He reaches forward and right here…his body squeezes into perfect alignment. No matter how fast he swims, or how fast he turns over his arms, Scott reaches full extension on every stroke. By combining this kind of front-to-back alignment with great horizontal balance, Scott is able to send his energy exactly where he wants it to go – forward.

Full-Body Rotation

From head on, it’s easy to see one of Scott’s main focus points: Full-Body Rotation. The head is rock steady…while the body rotates cleanly and completely around the spineline. Notice that everything rotates at the same time – shoulders, torso, and hips – and that Scott’s shoulder actually clears the water. This reduces the amount of frontal resistance, and is one of the major benefits of a straight-arm recovery. It allows the body to rotate freely, and brings the lats and shoulders out of the water. From the surface, we can see Scott’s smooth, steady, rhythmic rotation from side to side. In this clip, let’s focus on the torso – from Scott’s shoulders down to his hips. Here’s an underwater closeup of the hips, legs, and feet. Look for full-body rotation. When Scott gets on his side and extends forward, you see a clear, straight, spineline. Then he rotates to show chest and bellybutton on the other side. At slow speed, Scott exaggerates his rotation. He gets on his side and really rides out the extension. As he increases the pace and the stroke rate, Scott lets go of some of the rotation, but it’s still in there. He makes sure that the things he practices at slow speed – like full-body rotation, balance, and extension – and still there when he goes fast.

Hide the Breath

Scott is a master at hiding the breath, and this is one of the key factors in his success as a freestyler. In these clips, you may not believe Scott is actually breathing…but he is. He swears to it! How does he do it? How can you do it? We’ll have to slow things way down to find out. In this clip, Scott is just cruising. Nice and smooth. Breathing to both sides. When it’s time for a breath, he keeps his lead arm extended. He keeps driving forward, but gives a little turn with his body and head, and gets his air. The breath is very relaxed. You never see Scott gasping for air. As he increases his speed, Scott turns his head even less. That’s because – at speed – his head and shoulder create a trough, in which he can find his air. Scott breathes right in the trough, with only half his mouth out of the water. When you try this, you’ll need some velocity to create the trough, and you’ll need to look back slightly, to get your air. As you practice, try to keep one goggle in the water at all times. Watch how Scott actually looks down during the breath. One eye is completely under water…the other eye is barely out of the water…and his mouth is barely visible. This is the ultimate example of a low breath, and it allows Scott to get air without disrupting his balance, alignment, or forward motion. From under water, notice that you can still see half of Scott’s mouth as he goes for air. The breath is very relaxed. It never interrupts his rhythm or flow. In this above-water clip, see if you can find the breath. Here’s the same clip in slow motion. Now can you find it? Here it is in super-slow motion. You can barely see the corner of Scott’s mouth. Right there. That was it. That’s how well he hides the breath. Let’s watch that again. The breath comes…right there. That’s it. Scott can breathe low to either side, but he’s a little better to the left, which is the side he uses most when he sprints. Here’s Scott at race pace. He swears he is breathing on this. And if you don’t believe it…. …Here’s a clip of Scott doing a tough training set. He’s pulling a bucket…and breathing on every cycle. Obviously, this takes practice, but hiding the breath is something every swimmer can do to go faster.

Consistent Kick

When Scott decides to turn on his kick, you can barely see him. His kick is quick, compact, and powerful…and he works on it every day. Scott’s kick can be described in one word: consistent. No matter what speed he’s swimming, Scott maintains a steady, consistent rhythm with his legs – and he never lets them drift or slide outside the shadow of his body. When Scott is swimming smooth and easy, his feet barely break the surface of the water. But notice the consistency. It’s not a big kick, but the legs are always moving. And the toes are always pointed. If we slow it down, we can see that Scott takes 6 to 8 kicks on every stroke cycle, even when he’s going easy. That’s a lot of kicks, but as a world-class sprinter, Scott feels this is the minimum number of kicks he should take, no matter what. If you’re a triathlete or distance freestyler, six kicks may be too many. But what you can learn from Scott is the importance of making your kick consistent and steady, and keeping it narrow and compact. Here’s a rare clip of Scott taking just a few kicks per stroke. If you take only 2 or 4 kicks per stroke, this is the kind of flow and consistency you want to achieve. At race pace, Scott’s feet do come above the water. This gives him even more foot speed because he’s catching some air and dragging it down. This allows his feet to travel with greater speed through the water. Here’s race pace from under water. Notice that the air is being dragged down not by the front part of the feet, but from the back part of the feet. Scott points his toes, and this gives him a great surface to push on, and the air allows the feet to move a little faster. How fast? At full speed, Scott takes an amazing 12 to 14 kicks per stroke cycle. Even at 12 kicks per cycle, Scott’s kick is fluent and natural. It’s not overdone. He keeps the movement small and controlled. He keeps his toes pointed at all times. Here you can see that the thighs move, but are hidden behind his body. His knees bend a little, but never at sharp angles. The feet whip through the water, just barely going outside the shadow of his body. While you may not achieve Scott’s leg speed, his kind of steady, rhythmic, consistent kick, is something worth striving for.

Never Let Go of the Catch

One of the most stunning things about Scott’s stroke is…his hands. Even at race pace, when he’s taking more than 100 strokes per minute, Scott’s hands are soft and precise when they enter the water. This kind of precise, controlled hand entry is important, no matter what type of freestyle you swim. But it’s especially important with a straight-arm recovery. With this much momentum generated in the arm… …it’s critical to control the entry, so that no air bubbles are carried into the catch, and so that the hand is in perfect position to begin the pull. How does Scott develop this level of control? By practicing at a relaxed pace, where he can focus entirely on the hands, the catch, and the pull. In this clip, let’s watch Scott’s fingers. Notice how he separates them slightly to create a larger surface area, and how he points the fingertips down and inward just a bit for a clean entry. The hands are controlled yet relaxed. Scott never lets his hand crash into the water. From under water, notice how Scott’s hand goes immediately into the catch position. It’s as if he’s found something solid to hold on to. This is one of the advantages of a straight-arm recovery. The hand enters further in front of the body than it does with a bent-arm recovery, and it enters at a point where it can immediately catch water. Scott gets a precise, immediate catch…and then he never lets go. Notice how his fingertips are always angled down. They’re always in a catch position. It’s as if he finds a ledge for his hand, then uses it to pull his body forward. In this clip, let’s focus on Scott’s wrist and forearm. If we freeze-frame it right here… you can see how he uses them to form a long straight lever – like a giant paddle -- from fingertips to elbow. The lever never bends…the wrist never collapses or wobbles. The palm, wrist, and forearm create a big oar that Scott uses to pull himself forward. By creating a long straight surface to hang on to the water, Scott is able to involve more of his body in the pull. Notice how he anchors with the hand and forearm…then engages the muscles all along his side and his back, to help pull his body forward. Because he never lets go of the catch, Scott is able to get great rotation, and exceptional hand acceleration through the pull. If we slow that down, we can see how Scott’s hands catch and hold…and then speed up through the pull. They almost seem to snap out of the water at the finish. You can see this even better from above water. Watch how the hand accelerates and then snaps out and forward into the next catch. Watch how the momentum of the exiting hand is carried into the recovery. The hand whips over the water and right into the next catch. Let’s watch all of this from way under water. Look first for soft hands and no bubbles. Look for the precise, immediate catch. And look for no letting go of the catch. From entry to exit, Scott holds on with his hand, wrist, and forearm. Let’s watch again in slow motion, this time focusing on the hand as it accelerates through the pull and then swings over the water and goes immediately into the next catch. Here’s another shot from underneath. Scott never lets go of the catch, and you can see how this gives him great hand speed, great rotation, and incredible power. No matter what type of recovery you use, the catch should be a key focus point.

Go Swim Freestyle

For the final section of the video, we feel there’s no better way to learn than just to watch Scott swim. Try to pick out the things we focused on. Are his hands and arms relaxed on the recovery? Is the hand entry clean, with an early catch that he never lets go? How well does he hide the breath? Does he have full-body rotation and a narrow, consistent kick? And does he send all his energy forward? Try to find the things Scott does…that every swimmer can do. And watch how he searches at slow speed… …for the things he wants to have in his stroke when he goes fast. Swimming is all about the search for speed. And as every great swimmer will tell you: Never stop exploring. Use every practice to find the techniques that work best for you.