How to Do a Flip Turn

Knowing how to do a flip turn is essential, whether you are an experienced swimmer or someone who is just learning the technique. This skill would come in handy, especially if you find yourself competing against other swimmers in a swimming competition. In fact, this maneuver would be a great addition to your existing set of swimming skills that you can show off to your coach, friends, and family.

If you are looking into how to do to a flip turn, then you are at the right place. In this post, we will be discussing everything that you need to know about how to do a flip turn, including the basics and its importance in swimming. In addition, we also have rounded up a bunch of tips on how you get to improve your flip turns with practice. Now, let’s get on with the discussions.

What is a Flip Turn?

Before we proceed, it is vital that you know what a flip turn is. In case you are not yet familiar, a flip turn is a process of changing your direction at the swimming pool’s wall to be able to stay swimming continuously. For backstroke and freestyle swimming, the process of doing a flip turn entails executing a full somersault on the wall and subsequently, a push-off in streamline. Meanwhile, for butterfly and breaststroke, the process is referred to as open turn.

The flip turn can be done when you are swimming backstroke, freestyle, and kick sets. In fact, there are also several benefits of perfecting the skills. Doing a flip turn makes you swim faster and it is proven to be more efficient, especially if you are competing in a race. To add, constant practice and execution allows you to build endurance, which will come in handy in the future. Lastly, knowing how to do a flip turn ensures that you have a better swim workout, as each time you pause between laps, you are also giving your body a break.

How to Do a Flip Turn

In this section, we will be talking about how to do a good and solid flip turn technique. Here is a step-by-step guide on what you should do

1. Accelerate toward the pool’s wall

It is common knowledge that if you swim faster to the wall, there will be more energy you can exert to do a quick spin. Moreover, if you spin fast, you will have an easier time blasting off the wall. With this, you need to power through the last meters via a strong kick. You might just be surprised as to how fast your feet can land the wall.

2. Hold your breath in then out

Every breath that you make takes you off the streamline position, which, in case you did not know, may decrease your momentum. On your last stroke, before you land the wall, you would want to maximize the forward energy that you are carrying into the flip turn. Additionally, the first arm stroke is the most powerful if you have your head in a neutral position, instead of on the side.

3. Foot positioning

With proper foot positioning, you get to spin faster. In addition, your feet are likely to arrive a lot quicker, especially if they are thrown straight over the top. This has proven to be a more effective technique rather than slightly off the side.

4. Push off on your back

In case you find yourself flipping your feet over the top and twisting your stomach before you push off the wall, you only take a second on the wall. This is where your speed is decreased to zero. What you can do is to push off from the wall the second you land. You should also be on your back then try twisting as you kick onto the surface.

5. Tuck to a tight ball

This is a very helpful maneuver because the smaller you are, the faster you are able to complete the rotation. It is that simple.

6. Look down

When you finally set your sights at the target, you are going to need to lift your chin, making your upper body and head in the opposite direction. Rather, look at the target using just your eyes.

7. Tuck your chin

One of the most common mistakes committed by beginners is that they pick their heads up out of the water before they execute the forward flip. Along with the upper body, beginners tend to use their head to generate the momentum that they need to be able to do the somersault. You do not have to do this at all. All you need to do is to use only your head to generate momentum. You may also need to use your core muscles to be able to convert the forward momentum into your spinning momentum.

8. Elbow positioning

When doing a flip turn, you must resist creating a spin with your arms wide open. When you are about to finish your last stroke before you turn, both of your arms should be positioned at your hips. Try pressing the back of your hands with your arms still in place. That way, you will be able to do a somersault between them. We also do recommend that you use your core muscles to pull your head to your knees. Once you hit the pool’s wall, your hands would be in the exact same place so you can streamline off the wall.

9. Distance from the pool’s wall

You may be too close to the wall if you find yourself executing the flip turn with your head an inch or two away from the gutter. When you land your feet on the wall, your legs should be slightly bent, just like when you are sitting on a chair.

Tips on How to Do a Flip Turn

- We get that twisting during your somersault or when your feet hit the wall is a hard habit to break. What you can do to improve your flip turn, is to swim freestyle top backstroke during your warm ups and warm downs. To make things simpler, try swimming a lap of freestyle, then do a flip turn, and finally, push off for a lap of backstroke.

- We do recommend that you execute somersault freestyles, as it has been proven to have helped to improve the speed of flip turns. When you are swimming freestyle, try adding in a somersault every eight arm strokes.

- You may also practice getting as small as possible while spinning very quickly. Try not to breathe before or after the somersault.

Conclusion

Doing the perfect flip turn should be within arm’s reach now that you have reached the end of this post. While these steps may definitely require repetition and constant practice, we do advise that you work your way by referring to this guide if you feel in doubt. We do hope that you will get to add this technique to your swimming skills.