Swimming Breaststroke – the best stroke

We have all been there – sitting behind a breaststroker, trying to overtake them, trying to get around their wide kicks and slow speed. Frustrating!!!

However, to get good at breaststroke – you have to swim breaststroke! That is to say, if you want to swim fast breaststroke in competition you have to train to swim fast breaststroke.

Many swimmers wonder why their breaststroke does not improve. Often the reason is simple…they don’t swim it enough in training.

How often do you do a full session of breaststroke? That’s breaststroke warm up, breaststroke kick, breaststroke pull, breaststroke drills, breaststroke main set, breaststroke starts / turns / finishes.

Many breaststrokers find themselves doing a few breaststroke drills in warm up, a few 50’s of breaststroke kick and then freestyle or medley main sets. Now often this is because of crowded lanes and the need to get the work done – particularly during main sets – but there is an old saying, “train the way you want to race”.

Allocate two to three sessions per week of nothing but breaststroke.  Breaststroke specific sessions, and especially timed breaststroke main sets. Then, watch how much you improve!

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The Top Ten Technique Tips for Every swimmer

1. Effective propulsive movements are SLOW to FAST

In swimming, effective propulsive movements are SLOW to FAST.

In Fly, you reach long, feel the water, catch then accelerate through the stroke to recovery. Same in back. Same in breast (arms and legs). Same in free.

It starts with an effective feel on entry and a strong catch then…..throughout the stroke it is acceleration that makes all the difference.

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Training for Butterfly: Seven Special Secrets and Sets

This is the first in a series of four articles of special training sets designed to improve your swimming strokes.

1. BK – SK – FK – SK (Kick Drill)

The trick to great fly kick is to learn to kick with strong, flowing, even power and rhythm in both directions.

Try this drill:
Push off in with your arms by your side. Kick six kicks on your back, rotate to your left side and kick six kicks on your side, then rotate over to your tummy and kick six kicks on your front and rotate over again to your right side for another six kicks.

The aim is to keep a strong, even, flowing kicking movement throughout the drill particularly the first and last kicks after and before you rotate to a new position.

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