Low-Profile Back Balance teaches correct body alignment for swimming on your back.

Push off on your back with hands at your sides.  Round your shoulders slightly so your body is not at attention.

Keep your chin tucked in and look directly at the ceiling as you start a quiet, easy flutter kick.  

Press your head and shoulders into the water until the water touches your goggles and your face is almost submerged.  The water should circle your face.

The more you press into the water, the higher your hips will rise.  This gives you a better body position in the water, and actually makes it easier to kick. 

When you kick, don’t overdo it.  Rather than creating a volcano…

…Think about boiling water with your toes.

The kick should be quiet and should remain within the cylinder of your body.  

If you do a lot of running or biking, your kick is probably from the knees down and the feet are outside the cylinder.  

Try to keep the legs straight but supple.  

If you’re not making forward progress, it’s usually because your feet are hooked rather than pointed.  Again, this is from years of running or biking.  If your kick looks like this…

… try kicking violent to silent.  

Kick as hard as you can for several yards. When you are moving forward, simply relax your kick without changing the range of motion.  

Try several lengths of this – kicking as hard as you can for several yards…

Then easing off without changing the size of your kick.

When your body is balanced and horizontal and relaxed, it’s easy to move through the water.   

Passing the PST is not about muscle, it’s about creating a better body position, reducing drag, and being efficient.

**Biggest Mistake Candidates Make**  
The biggest mistake that candidates make on Step #1 is not rolling their shoulders.  They tend to throw their shoulders back – as if they are standing at attention on land.  

Once you get over this tendency… and learn to round the shoulders… you can press your upper body into the water and have more buoyancy and balance. 


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Step #1: Low-Profile Back Balance