Backstroke tips from America's world record-holders

Tip #1 -- Throw your head back
 LK: You start with your head. You want to throw your head back until you can almost see the other side of the pool. Ideally, that's what you want to do because it will help you have a better entry into the water. It will help you get your hips out of the water.

Tip #2 - Keep your head back
NC: The most important thing in swimming, I think, is technique. It's so unnatural for humans to move through water. I mean there're starts … if I hadn't work on my starts recently, I probably would have hit my head on the bottom, not just my feet. I've really worked on my start this summer. Keeping my head back more in my streamline is something new that I worked on this summer.

Tip #3 - Pretend you're sleeping
 I guess the best backstroke advice would be the body position. Keeping your body straight in the water, keeping streamlined, will determine how fast you'll go. I tell people to try and keep your head up, keep your head pretty flat in the water. Picture yourself putting your head on a pillow, relax … what that does is really bring your chest up, brings your hips up and you will really ride high in the water and when you're riding high in the water, you'll have less drag and you'll move through the water faster. For little kids, I always tell them relax your head, put it back there and just pretend your sleeping.

Tip #4 - Arms at 10 and 2
NC: Keeping my arms at 10 and 2 … I taught lessons this summer … that's what I tell the six-year-olds and I still don't do that all the time. . 10 and 2 … you know, if I was a clock … that's what you tell a bunch of six-year-olds, if you're telling them to do backstroke: If I was a clock, keep your hands at 10 and 2, so you're not crossing over.

Tip #5 - Stay shallow and don't roll
AP: This is the way it works for me. I've looked at tapes of me and of other people. I seem to enter a little shallower in my catch. My pull is a little straighter; it's not so bendy, it's not so wavy, I guess. And I finish pretty shallow too; I don't finish that deep at all. I don't roll too much. I think that really helps you with your turnover rate. I think when you roll too much, your turnover rate can slow down and plus, when you roll too much, you might catch a little deeper.

Tip #6 - How to swim straight
 LK: That's some tough advice because I sometimes have problems with that, but obviously when you train indoors, it's good to focus on something in the ceiling, especially in training. You pick that spot. And outside - some kids asked me yesterday about this - you have to work on your peripheral vision. We sometimes take that for granted. In training and in competition, you've got to work on that. You've got to try to practice looking on both sides of the laneline to see where you are.

Tip #7 - Developing a kicking style
LK: What I notice is that if you watch the top backstrokers in the world kick, a lot of them have their own style of kicking. Some have a very wide kick, some have a very narrow kick. It depends on how powerful you are, how strong your legs are. For example, Peter Marshall is really powerful from his knees and below. And some guys like (Australia's) Matt Walsh is really powerful in his quads, so his undulation is really wide. It depends; you have to play around with it. Experiment with different styles of kicking and see what fits you the best.

Tip #8 - The kick and pull harmony
AP: I think the most important thing is a good harmony between the kick and the pull. When you can combine those just right, you'll just be stellar. I mean, I have a better than average pull and I have a better than average kick, then when you combine those two together, I think that's when I get to another level. That's just a matter of practice and trying to create balance in your stroke. You're going to have to swim when you do this; there's really no drill. You have to really concentrate on keeping a constant kick and keep a really steady pull. It won't be that easy. It might take time for a lot of people, but the outcome will probably be something special

Tip #9 - Throw your head back
 AP: I really bend back and do a huge dolphin kick at the end, maybe like two dolphin kicks. You just have to drive back as hard as you can. It's not just laying your head back, you've got to throw your head back. On the last stroke or two, just … wham! … throw your head back, kick for that wall and hopefully you'll find it there.

Tip #10 - And finally ...
AP: Stay on your back.