Swim Tip

Presented by Greg Doyle, Camp Director

Nike Swim Camp Tip: The Back-Side-Stomach Freestyle Flip Turn

The daily skill progressions and challenging swim sets are adjusted to reflect skill and performance levels.

The freestyle flip turn is one of the most important components that a swimmer can perform in order to give you a competitive edge on your competition. When performing turns and push-offs, it is the fastest you will travel at any point in a race except after the start.

Key factors to consider when performing an effective flip turn is first, your approach to the wall is important, so maintaining a good body alignment will help you set up a fast rotational flip turn.

The second important factor in performing an effective flip turn, is maintaining a tight and fast body rotation. Using your hands, head, core, and legs will assist you in maximizing your rotational speed during the actual flip turn.

The final step in performing an effective and energy saving flip turn is using the “Back-Side-Stomach” flip turn which is used after you leave the wall. You should leave the wall on your back, then using your core strength, quickly rotate to your side, then stomach while performing your breakout stroke with the hand that is closest to the bottom of the pool.

You can practice variations of this flip turn drill by performing 4x to 6x flutter kicks on your back, side, and stomach so you can feel the distance and speed coming off the walls.

Remember, performing the “Back-Side-Stomach” flip turn starts with the streamline which must be tight from head to toe during all phases of the “Back-Side-Stomach” Freestyle flip turn drill.

Good luck with practicing the “Back-Side-Stomach” Freestyle flip turn drill! I hope to see you at the Nike Swim Camp at Wingate University!

Check out more swim training tips to help take your game to the next level!