On freestyle arm recovery, it seems logical to lift your arm out of the water, and reach as far as you can through the air before putting your arm back into the water to start your next pull. It may come to a surprise to many people to find out that this is inefficient!

Reaching through the air and slapping your arm down into the water can result in improper body position at the start of the next pull. Instead, “slice” your hand and arm into the water, somewhere to the right of and in front of your head. As your arm is slicing through the water, your hips should be rotating, setting you up for the next underwater pull.