Flip Turn Drills

Stationary Flips

Stationary flips help you become comfortable with doing flips in the water. This drill is simple; you don’t have to worry about swimming, approaching the wall, pushing off the wall, or transitioning back to swimming.

To do this drill, lie on the surface of the water on your stomach, tuck into a tight ball, and flip as quickly as you can.

Jump Flips

Jump flips help you become comfortable with doing flips in the water.

To do this drill, jump off the bottom of the pool in shallow water and flip. The goal is to jump high and tuck tight. Focus on controlling your body when you’re moving quickly through space and still doing a great flip. This is a key part of a good flip turn.

Flip Turns With Tennis Balls

You don’t want to rely too much on your hands to initiate your flip. Rather, drive your knees to your chest. To help you learn how to generate turn speed by tucking tight, flip turns with tennis balls take away your ability to use your hands to flip. Because you’re holding tennis balls, your hands won’t be able to do much.

To do this drill, do a regular flip turn while holding tennis balls in each hand. Focus on tucking your knees to your chest to create the flip. As an alternative, you can do this drill with closed fists. An added bonus: When you open your hands back up, you’ll be even more effective at using your hands to help you flip fast.

Bottom Jumps

One of the most important parts of your flip turn is pushing off in a straight line. The straighter you push, the more speed you’ll maintain. But knowing if you’re pushing off the wall straight can be hard. Bottom jumps are an effective drill for solving that problem. 

To do this drill, in water that’s 2 to 3 feet deeper than your height, jump up and down off the bottom of the pool. The goal is to land in the same spot every time. You’ll have to jump straight to do so.

Bottom Jump With Quarter/Half/Full Turns

When doing flip turns in freestyle, you’ll have to rotate to your stomach. Pushing off the wall straight is hard enough; pushing off straight while rotating is even more difficult. Bottom jump with quarter/half/full turns can help.

To do this drill, in water that’s 2 to 3 feet deeper than your height, jump up and down off the bottom of the pool and add a quarter, half, or full twist as you jump. The goal is to land in the same spot every time, even with the twist. This drill is also valuable for backstrokers because it demands even more control of your alignment as you push off the wall.

Turn and Glide

A great indicator of your ability to push off the wall effectively is how long you can glide after your turn. Turn and glide will help you work on this.

To do this drill, swim into the wall, do your turn, push off, and glide for as long as you can. If your push-off is weak, you won’t glide far. If your streamlined position is bad, you won’t glide far. Doing this drill provides clear feedback about where you need to improve. Keep working on how far you can glide over time.

Hands on Deck

Making sure you tuck tight and flip fast are two important skills for flip turns. Hands on deck will help you work on them.

To do this drill, swim into the wall and do a full flip, but rather than putting your feet on the wall, continue flipping and place your hands in the gutter or on the pool deck. 

This drill serves two purposes. First, if you don’t tuck tight and flip fast, you won’t make it around to put your hands on the deck. If you don’t get close enough to the wall during your approach and flip, you also won’t be able to put your hands on the deck. Instant feedback.

Surfacing Requirements

Being consistent with your flip turns during workouts is difficult, especially as you get tired. Surfacing requirements is a simple way to address this issue.

To do this drill, place a cone or other object on the bottom of the pool, 3 to 5 yards/meters from the wall. While doing your turn, don’t start kicking or swimming until you pass the cone. This requires you to focus on a great push-off and a great streamline.

Hands on Deck With Tennis Balls

Making sure you tuck tight and flip fast are two important skills for flip turns. Hands on deck with tennis balls is a great way to work on these skills.

To do this drill, swim into the wall and do a full flip with tennis balls in your hands. But rather than putting your feet on the wall, continue flipping and bring your hands to the gutter or pool deck. You can also do this drill with closed hands.

The challenge here is that you must be effective with tucking tight and flipping fast to get your hands to the deck. This is made more difficult by using the tennis balls because you can’t use your hands to assist with your rotation.

Swim With Mid-Pool Flip Into Fast Finish

You don’t always get perfect push-offs when racing, so practice learning how to get your body back up to speed in workouts. Swim with mid-pool flip into fast finish is a great way to work on this.

To do this drill, swim 12½ yards/meters, flip, and return to the wall as quickly as you can. You’ll have to get back up to speed after coming to a stop.
This drill also has the benefit of helping you practice being aggressive into your flip turn. You shouldn’t hesitate, and without a wall, there’s nothing to worry about crashing into.