Posted by LD on December 15, 2010 under Breastroke | 
The breaststroke is one of the most distinctive strokes in competitive swimming. You can use it to glide lazily through the water on a hot summer day or you can use the explosive kicking movements to swim fast in races. This stroke is one of the most challenging strokes for beginning swimmers to learn to master. It will take some time to learn, but once you do, you’ll be impressed at how much your general swimming skills have improved.
Before you begin learning the breaststroke, it almost goes without saying that you should be comfortable with basic water safety and swimming skills. Anyone attempting this stroke must be willing to put their entire body and face underwater. It is important that you are able to breathe rhythmically. If you need help with these skills, you should contact your local public swimming pool about water safety and/or swim lessons.
Because swimming is a skill best taught by a live instructor, it would b a sound idea to go ahead and take the basic swimming lessons anyway. Your instructor should be certified by the American Red Cross or some other national authority on water safety. Though private swim instruction may be costly, it is optimal for mastering the breaststroke, as the teacher will be able to devote substantial attention to your individual technique, instead of being distracted by keeping an eye of the form and safety of the rest of the class. I enjoyed learning the breaststroke as an advanced beginning swimmer. It is now the stroke I use the most. This is how I was taught the stroke. Review the instructions, and then attempt them while on the floor so that you have a feel for the proper technique prior to entering the water. It is wise to master kicking initially, followed by the arm movements. After you have learned them individually, they can be brought together.
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Posted by LD on December 7, 2010 under Breastroke |
Any swimmer who is interested in competition needs to know how to perform the breastroke. However, because it is such a complex stroke, many swimmers have a tough time doing the breastroke efficiently. Once you teach yourself how to perform this efficiently, it will become much easier to win races, beat your own records, and have a great time doing it. The best place to start is to find out whether or not you are doing a proper breastroke. Begin by reading our “breastroke for Beginners” article that is featured on our website. Additionally, it is a good idea to have a certified swimming instructor or your swim coach watch your moves to ensure that you’ve got it down. This can be very helpful, as most instructors and coaches will point out what you need to improve in order to get to the next level. A 16 year-old competitive swimmer from Lapeer, Michigan named Emily has some great tips to share. Emily is the current record holder at her school in the 100-meter breastroke. One thing she has noticed is that many of her competitors have a sloppy style in the breastroke. For example, she points out that the elbows should really be “out there” when the arms are pulled into the chest. Emily says that by keeping the elbows out, you will have more momentum to push ahead into the next stroke, with your shoulders out of the water at this point. Intermediate swimmers can get what Emily calls “lazy feet” when doing the breastroke. She says that you will be much faster if you can get the feet moving correctly.
The power to move forward in the breastroke comes from the glide. At this point, the arms and legs of the swimmer should be held together tight at the end of each stroke. If you want to execute a stronger glide, it’s vital to kick more strongly with your legs. Emily said a great way to strengthen the legs is to stretch them. “Hold it for 10 seconds and then release it to do the other leg. The goal here is to try and get the leg higher each time you do it.
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Posted by LD on December 2, 2010 under Breastroke |
You can swim the breaststroke in the next Summer Olympic Games the same way you get to Carnegie Hall: The age-old joke is still right: “Practice, Practice, Practice.”
What separates Brendan Hansen (who at this writing has been called the fastest breaststroke swimmer in history), Michael Phelps and other Olympic and world class swimmers apart from the rest of us is their dedication to doing the basics over and over again until they do them correctly.
Jeremy Baker should know. While he was growing up in Michigan he spent 16 years doing competitive swimming. His training began early, at the age of five, and won the all-state honors in competition for four years in a row after years of developing and practicing his skills. He continued to be competitively involved in college till he chose to follow a different path. He has kept his hand in the sport and now coaches other swimmers at the Troy Swim Club.
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Posted by LD on December 1, 2010 under Breastroke |
There’s only one way that you’ll be able to find yourself in the Summer Olympic Games swimming the breastroke … That’s right: As the old joke goes, “Practice. practice, Practice.”
Olympic swimmers, such as Michael Phelps and world-class swimmers, such as Brendan Hansen who is known as the fastest breastroke swimmer in history, have achieved such a high level of accomplishment in large part due to their dedication to regular training and repetition of the basic swimming fundamentals. Another swimmer that understands the meaning of dedication is Jeremy Baker. In his native state of Michigan, Jeremy swam competitively for sixteen years. Hitting the water as a 5 year old, he proceeded to develop skills that took him to receiving four consecutive years of all-state honors. He also competed at the college level until he decided it was time for other things. However, swimming is still a part of his life, as he now works at the Troy Swim Club as a coach for other swimmers.
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