10 Tips for a Good Backstroke Swimming Technique: A Beginner’s Guide
Backstroke is one of the four main competitive swimming strokes, alongside freestyle, breaststroke, and butterfly. Unlike the other three strokes, backstroke is performed while lying on your back, with your face generally above the water.
Although backstroke may appear easier because swimmers can breathe without turning their heads, mastering the technique requires proper body alignment, effective kicking, coordinated arm movements, and good balance.
Learning the correct backstroke swimming technique can help beginners swim more comfortably, reduce unnecessary water resistance, and improve their swimming efficiency.
At Friendly Dolphin Swim School, we help children and adults develop swimming skills through structured lessons that focus on water confidence, proper techniques, and progressive improvement.
In this guide, we share ten practical tips to help you become a better backstroke swimmer.
1. Maintain a Horizontal Body Position
One of the most important elements of backstroke swimming is maintaining a streamlined body position.
Your body should remain relatively horizontal near the surface of the water, with your head, hips, and legs aligned.
If your hips sink too deeply, your body creates additional resistance, making swimming more difficult.
Tips for Better Body Alignment
- Keep your head relaxed and facing upwards.
- Maintain your ears close to or slightly below the water surface.
- Keep your hips relatively high.
- Avoid bending excessively at the waist.
- Maintain gentle core engagement.
A streamlined body position helps reduce drag and allows swimmers to move through the water more efficiently.
