The Swim Pull Drill is a intermediate-friendly bodyweight strength exercise that targets the lats, middle back and chest, with the shoulders, triceps and abdominals working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesLats, Middle Back, Chest
Secondary musclesShoulders, Triceps, Abs
EquipmentBodyweight
LevelIntermediate
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Swim Pull Drill
Push off in a streamlined position with the legs quiet and the body long.
Enter one hand about shoulder-width apart, moving forward and slightly down, with the palm flat.
Set the catch by dropping the hand down and in while the elbow bends and points out to the side.
Press the hand and forearm straight backward as one surface, accelerating as the hand passes under you.
Finish the stroke just past the hip, thinking back and up rather than pulling straight through.
Recover the arm forward while the other side repeats the same sequence, keeping the legs still.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
Isolates the catch and pull so hand path and elbow position can be corrected without leg compensation.
Loads the main propulsive muscles of freestyle, which contribute the majority of forward force.
Builds upper-body endurance in a non-impact environment with no external load.
03 Don't do this
Common mistakes
Entering the hand too wide or too narrow, which compromises every phase that follows.
Rushing the catch and overpowering it, so the arm never gets oriented backward for the pull.
Sculling side to side instead of pressing straight back, which moves water sideways rather than behind you.
Dropping the elbow below the hand, a position linked to painful shoulders in competitive swimmers.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Swim Pull Drill, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
