EVF stands for Early Vertical Forearm, and is an essential part of being a great swimmer. To give an indication of exactly how important EVF is, at a Senior Nationals swim meet in Irvine, California, 11 coaches were asked the following question: If you were teaching freestyle for the first time, what would be the first thing you’d teach your swimmers? 9 of them answered that it would be EVF.

So what exactly is EVF? Well, while it is difficult to explain in writing, the concept is that you want your hand and forearm to be in the vertical position for as much of your stroke as possible, so that you can catch as much water as possible. I will use the video below as a reference:

The first thing that you have to understand is that great swimmers think about moving their body over their hand, whereas novice swimmers picture moving their hand past their body. When your hand first hits the water, instead of rotating a straight arm, you should first bend your elbow to where your hand is immediately in the vertical position (aka perpendicular to the water). Then pull your body over your hand, and make sure to finish your stroke by pulling the water all the way to your hip.

The EVF can be employed in all 4 strokes using the same basic idea of getting your hand and forearms into the vertical position as quickly as possible. Be forewarned that if you are not used to using the EVF, it will engage your muscles in an entirely different way, and your muscles will probably fatigue very quickly at first. Stick with it though, as it will pay off in the end.

If you are having trouble with the technique of the EVF, consider purchasing a set of PITS from the swimcoachtools.com store for only 49$. These devices force your arm to maintain the proper pull position, and if used for a portion of your practice will help develop muscle memory for proper technique.