In this clip, watch Aaron’s hands.  Notice that the palms of his hands are always open, and that they are always pushing water toward his feet.

Let’s slow that down for a closer look.  The hand enters and the palm is open, creating a big surface – or paddle – for pushing water.

When Aaron thinks about his pull, he thinks about creating maximum surface area.  He wants to keep his hand open so that it can push water all the way from the catch…until the final downsweep.   

Notice that when the palm is open, the fingertips point toward the laneline, and that the hand is perpendicular to the body. 

By maintaining this angle, Aaron pushes water not only with his palm but also with his forearm.  

To create an even bigger surface area, Aaron also uses his elbows.  In this clip, watch how he maintains a high elbow.  Instead of letting the elbow collapse during the pull, Aaron actually PUSHES the elbow up toward the hand at the beginning of the pull.

By keeping a high elbow, he gets a faster pull, and more control over his hand position from the entry all the way through to the final downsweep.

Here you can see it again.  Aaron creates a long pulling surface with his hand and forearm…and pushes the elbow UP past the head and toward the hand.  

It’s all about creating and maintaining surface area and keeping the hand and forearm perpendicular to the body. 

At race pace, it’s harder to see the position of the hands.

But if we watch from under water, you can see how Aaron uses his hands, forearms, and elbows to create maximum surface area for the pull.  


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Perpendicular Pull