Freestyle - Fist / Open Finish

With so many drills focusing on the catch and the front of the stroke, it's refreshing to hear someone talk about the finish.  

Why do it:
Even though focusing on the finish is sometimes frowned upon, to have a complete stroke, it's a good idea to spend some time making sure you clean up the end.

How to do it:
1)  Start by swimming a length of standard "fist drill".
2)  Now comes the tricky part.  About half-way through the pull phase... open your fist and finish your stroke normally.
3)  This added focus can help you feel the push that's still available at the back of the stroke.
4)  Vary a bit where you're opening, but make sure you get a good feel for the finish.

How to do it really well (the fine points):
Breathe!

That's really it.  Having done this drill, and watching what we filmed this morning and noticing that we're not breathing during this, the fine point is to be able to accomplish this drill AND take a breath.  Talk about walking and chewing gum at the same time... there's simply a LOT going on.  So, if you really want to focus on it, plan on doing some lengths without breathing first... then try to add a few breaths in.