Freestyle Glide Phase
Fundamental for stroke timing, pull control and stability
What Is the Glide?
The glide is the moment when your arm is held stationary near the surface before the pull phase begins. In freestyle, the recovering arm often enters the water before the other has finished its pull. Without a glide, the stroke shortens as the other pulling arm is cut short.
A well-held glide allows time for:
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A neutral torso posture
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The rest of the stroke to reach full range
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Improved balance, stability, and efficiency
Glide Control vs Entry Control
Swimmers often misconceive that focusing on the arm entry is the path to controlling the glide.
It is common to see a swimmer execute a perfect entry before losing control once the arm is in the water. A swimmer may have a technically perfect-looking entry but still fail to control the start of the pull, which matters more for propulsion and efficiency. To control the glide is to control the start of the pull; the start of the propulsion phase.
Our body mechanics naturally orientate based on where we aim.
This means that what you focus on shapes how your body moves. Focusing on the entry draws your orientation forward, making it more likely you will:
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Overreach
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Start the pull early
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Drop the leading arm
By focusing on the glide phase, swimmers tend to optimally reorient the entry phase without conscious focus. In other words, if you shift your attention to holding the glide, your body naturally begins to correct the entry without needing to overthink it.
This approach leads to better control, balance, and a more efficient stroke overall.
Always focus on the glide or start of the pull rather than the arm or hand entry.
Stretch to Glide, Right? 😬
Many swimmers mistake the glide for a forward reach or stretch. But when you reach forward, you activate the muscles in the shoulder and torso that orient the arm to move forward and downward, not hold it still.
The shoulder can position the arm in two ways:
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Forward orientation (like starting a pull): This directs the arm down through the water
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Backward orientation (like beginning backstroke or a freestyle pull): This allows the arm to be held stationary in a glide position
When you reach forward, you're unknowingly pressing the arm down, not holding it steady. This causes a subtle but continuous leading arm drop, even if it feels like you're gliding.
This creates two key problems:
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The arm starts the pull too early, cutting stroke length
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The arm gradually sinks, losing its stationary hold, defeating the purpose of the glide. In this case, as the arm drops, the pull loses the potential range of motion for propulsion.
✅ A correct glide uses shoulder orientation to hold the arm still, not stretch it forward.
✅ If anything, an emphasised glide will feel like you are subtly holding the arm back.
It sounds strange, but as we will highlight below, sometimes the best glide is where the swimmer simply tries to hold the arm stationary. Sometimes, less is more.
How to Glide Correctly
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Allow your arm to enter the water without focusing on entry technique.
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Once your arm is submerged, focus on keeping the arm stationary. Do not reach or stretch the arm forward.
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To emphasise the glide, you can subtly hold or press the arm back. You may even feel like your arm moves away from your body's centerline, moving outwards.
Your arm should feel controlled but relaxed. Swimmers often tense the arm during the glide in an attempt to generate more power during the pull. Unforuitly, once muscles are activated, further load actually encourages stroke mechanics to collapse. Maintain mechanical control but keep relaxed. Let the water pressure dictate your muscle activation.
If you struggle to hold the glide, it is a major indicator that you are losing balance somewhere in the stroke cycle. Check out our guide to swimming balance.
Tips for Practicing the Glide
Seek ROM
Not Rate
Seek a large range of motion (ROM) from your stroke, which slows your stroke rate.
This increases control whilst maintaining pace.
Your goal is to maximise propulsion for the lowest stroke rate. This is efficiency.
Non - Breathing
Strokes
Practice control particularly on non-breathing strokes.
The breath changes the orientation of the body, commonly causing loss of balance. Cement control on your non-breathing stroke to utilise stability.
Don't Focus
On Entry
Set your primary focus on control over the glide. As you move to the glide, your entry will optimally orient automatically.
By focusing on the glide, you create control over the entry, the glide and the start of the pull phase.
Gentel
Control
Start the pull gently, allowing the water pressure to dictate activation.
Gentle control increases your ability to optimise the catch phase.
When you "whip it and rip it", you encourage the stroke to collapse.
Common Mistakes
Skipping the glide, starting the pull too early
A common belief, particularly for triathletes, is that a high stroke rate maximises propulsion. This is true if you wish to maximise a swimming stroke that has fully collapsed. At this point, the only way to find propulsion, stability, and purchase on the water is to spin the arms.
Stroke rate and heart rate tend to be directly correlated. If you can develop your swimming to maximise range of motion (ROM) you can increase your output per stroke whilst maintaining or decreasing your cardiovascular effort. The catch is that this requires a period of conditioning for load, during which you must maintain your technique (swim mechanics) to ensure your stroke meets the correct load generated by meeting the water on each stroke. The point where your stroke collapses is known as the technical threshold.
Reaching forward or over-stretching the arm
Reaching forward encourages the arm to drop through the water, and this is very difficult to perceive. It’s the most common error we see when working with swimmers during video analysis. The swimmer perceives a stationary, gliding arm when, in reality, the arm is slowly dropping through the water and losing propulsion.
Focusing too much on hand entry, rather than on what happens after (the glide)
Swimmers believe a perfect entry leads to control, but in reality, they often lose stability and timing during the pull phase, where propulsion is generated. Emphasise the glide, and you will automatically create control over the entry and start of the pull.
Many swimmers mistakenly copy performance swimmers who appear to glide less at speed. However, a competent glide is essential for most swimmers to time their stroke and create efficient propulsion.
Important Note on Elite Technique
Avoid comparing your technique to elite performance swimmers.
Performance swimmers can alter their technique in unique ways while still maintaining balance and consistent propulsion, but for most swimmers, replicating these adaptations causes the stroke to collapse, as the resulting loss of balance forces the body to reorient mid-stroke, breaking the connection between mechanics and forward movement.
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