Developing a high elbow recovery will help you reduce effort on the recovery, and keep your body balanced. One of the easiest ways to learn a high elbow recovery is with Fingertip Drag.

This is one of the simplest drills, as you don’t allow your hand to escape the water.

When you finish your pull, do not take your hand completely out of the water, but rather, scrape or drag your fingers against the surface of the water.

Your hand should move in a line forward that is parallel to your body. Keeping the hands close to your body, and not sweeping OUT as they recover to the front and extension.

As your hand moves to a position just in front of your shoulders, then fingers will begin to pierce and forward and help the arm achieve full extension.

This low recovery is a common and typical way to swim freestyle, but it’s not the only way. Being open to experimentation will be important in moving forward.


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Fingertip drag - Drill