If you are imagining yourself doing this exercise and looking like a watermill then you wouldn't be far off…
Again, the rules are simple (the clue is in the title): swim the crawl with your arms straight!
This drill may seem easy given its name and its instructions, but in practice it is much less simple than it seems, believe me!
So when Simon says "Swim with your arms straight", you must, of course, swim with your arms straight—the whole time. This goes for when your arms are both in and out of the water!
You will notice that keeping your arms straight in the pull phase is no small task. However, you must work hard to efficiently roll your shoulders as well as focus on the trajectory of the movement in the water.
In addition to this, the straight-arm crawl drill will make you stronger and as a result gain amplitude!
So it's time to put on your swimsuit and pierce the surface of the water!
To get the most out of your drills, you must stay focused on your movement so that it becomes automatic. If you do the drill in a hurry, it will not be assimilated properly.
There is no point performing these types of exercises during all of your sessions. It is also important to alternate drills and full (normal) swimming to make use of the technical point in a real situation. One or two drills over short distances per training session is a good compromise.
Butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke swimmers don't fret! You will soon be getting the Top 5 drills for your speciality!