What is the power and recovery phases of the swimming strokes?

Question

What is the power and recovery phases of the swimming strokes?

Answer 1

the power phase can be thought of as the underwater phase, while the recovery phase is the above water phase.  

When looking at freestyle (technically called the Australian crawl) the power phase is everything from the point where the swimmers hand enters the water to where the hand leaves the water. The recovery phase is everything else. When looking at Backstroke and Butterfly, they are just as easy to see.

Breaststroke is different because the hands are usually under water the entire time. Breaststroke also has two power, and two recovery phases, because the kick just as important as the pull, and they alternate. Meaning, while a swimmer is kicking to push themselves forward, the power phase of the kick, the arms are recovering, by reaching forward.  When the arms are in the power phase, pulling the swimmer forward, the legs are recovering, or preparing for the next kick.

Answer 2

The pull of the stroke is broken down into 3 parts.  The catch, pull and finish, the power phase is the finish.  It is when you are excelerating the pull, the recovery is when you are not pulling.  For free, back and fly the recovery is when your arm is above the water.  Breaststroke is the only stroke that has an underwater recovery.