Once your hand enters wide, the next step is to extend and pause.

Let’s watch that in slow motion.  The hand enters wide…extends forward…then pauses briefly before starting the pull.

This simple pause will lower your stroke rate, increase efficiency, and lengthen your body.  It also allows you to glide past the bubbles attached to your hand.  This gives you clear, solid water in which to start the pull.

You may think that pausing will slow you down, since you are gliding and not pulling right away, but  -- as you can see here – Karlyn is still moving forward at this point.

Think of your pull as ending in front of your body -- here, at the top -- rather than at your hip.   

For maximum power, don’t let your hand cross the centerline as you extend forward.

If you reach across the centerline, like this, it may feel like you’re reaching forward, but it will cause you to zigzag down the pool.

Be aware that on your “breath stroke,” your extended arm may drift toward the centerline as you turn your head to breathe – like this.

You may need to over-emphasize and use a really wide entry to compensate for the extra roll that occurs when you take a breath.   You may feel like you’re swimming lopsided -- as if one hand is entering wider than the other – but you’ll really be swimming straight.

Another way to avoid zigzagging and crossing the centerline is to take fewer breaths.  Non-breathing strokes tend to be more symmetrical than breathing strokes.

During the breath, the pulling hand also has a tendency to cross the centerline – as you can see here.

So you may need to exaggerate the width of the pulling arm as well as the width of the extending arm.

But the main focus is to extend outside the centerline…and then pause.  This sets you up for a longer, more powerful pull.

As you pick up the pace, the pause will shorten…but it’s still there.  Extend and pause on every stroke.


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Extend and Pause