Breaststroke in Swimming

Posted by LD on December 15, 2010 under Breastroke | 13 Comments to Read

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.

The kick

1. We start by lying face down on the floor or ground, or on a armless chair, stool or even a bench.
2. Draw your knees up as close to your chest as possible.
3. Imagine a frog, now, kick your legs out to each side, as wide as you are able, then, move them in an arc until they are back together and straight behind you. These movements must be crisp and fluid.
4. If you are having trouble with the kick, try this exercise; Stand, holding onto a chair with your right hand. Raise your left knee to your chest (or as high as possible) then circle your knee outward. The left knee will be splayed leftward. Hold and then lower your leg. Do these same movements with the right side. This exercise will help you to get used to the feeling of your legs opening wide to the sides. Eventually you will coordinate these movements.

Arm movements

5. While you are still lying face down on the ground or any of the other options, bring your hands to your chest, now hold them in the prayer position, with your palms together and your thumbs up.
6. Keeping your palms together, extend your arms so they are above your head (similar to the exalted warrior pose in yoga). Now you’ll hold this pose a moment so that you’ll be able to learn it, as this will be part of your glide when you actually do the breaststroke.
7. Move the palms in an outward direction away from each other. Quickly and smoothly push your arms to your sides.
8. Just at the time your arms are reaching your sides, move you hands and your forearms upward, so that they come back into the prayer position once more.

Combining the Two

9.   Lie face down on the stool.   Bring your legs and hands as close to your chest as possible as described above.
10.   As your legs kick like a frog, bring your hands up into the exalted warrior position described earlier.
11. Now that your legs have reached the prone position, long and straight out behind you, now hold slightly and bring your arms down and around as described above. Now, as your arms are moving downward, raise your head and chest slightly, to copy the movement you’ll require to be able to breath.
12.   Bring your knees and hands to your chest to be ready for the next stroke.

When I first learned the breaststroke, it was hard for me at first to coordinate the arm and leg movements. Therefore, my instructor suggested I use a stool to simulate the movements. Your teacher can help you get the correct positions so you will know what they feel like.

The real thing, in the water

After you are comfortable with completing the motions outside of the water, you should be prepared to try them in a pool. You may consider doing a little warm up exercise, the standing leg exercise we did earlier would be great. This will reinforce the sensation of what the kick will feel like once you hit the water. 13. Start with some easy floating and perhaps some freestyle swimming in order to get acclimated and at ease with being in the water.
14. Don’t think it’s silly to hold onto the pool side and practice your kicks in the water.
15. When you feel comfortable, use a paddle board and practice the kicks: First with your head out of the water. Then practice them with your face in the water and your arms extended above your head (similar to the exalted warrior pose described earlier.) This will help you feel the glide, the portion of the breaststroke where you will get the most power.
16. When you are comfortable with the kick portion and your instructor sees that you have the right movement, practice the arm movement while standing. When your arms move downward to each side, lift your chest as a way of simulating your breathing motions.
17. When you believe you have learned each of these motions, you are ready to bring them into a unified stroke. Initially, I found this difficult, though my teacher suggested that I envision myself as a dolphin projecting itself from the sea. This was very useful in assisting me with putting the arm movements and breathing techniques together.

Learning how to time the movements just right is the hardest part of learning the breaststroke. The glide is the portion of the stroke in which you move forward the most. Although the motions will slow you down a bit, the trick to this is to glide forward as far as you can before you begin your next stroke. Intermediate swimmers will likely want to learn how to increase their breaststroke speed, which is something we will tackle in the following piece.

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