How to do the Breastroke

Posted by LD on August 5, 2010 under Breastroke | 15 Comments to Read

The breastroke 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. The breastroke is also one of the most challenging for beginning swimmers to learn. 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 breastroke, it almost goes without saying that you should be comfortable with basic water safety and swimming skills. You should not be afraid to submerge your face and/or body. You should understand the principles of rhythmic breathing. If you need help with these skills, you should contact your local public swimming pool about water safety and/or swim lessons.
It would be a good idea to have basic swimming lessons anyway, since swimming is one of those skills best taught by a live instructor. Your instructor should be certified by the American Red Cross or some other national authority on water safety. While they are generally more expensive, private swim lessons are best for learning the breastroke because your instructor will be able to devote his or her entire attention to your form, rather than having to watch for the safety and technique of other students at the same time.

Take your time and learn it correctly

Here are my steps on how to do the breastroke.

As an advanced beginning swimmer, I enjoyed learning the breastroke. It is now the stroke I use the most. This is how I was taught the stroke. Read the directions first, and then try them while lying on the floor so you understand what to do before trying it in the water. It’s best to learn the kick first and then the arms. Once you can do them comfortably, then you can combine them.

The Breastroke Kick

1. Lie face down on the ground or on an armless chair, stool or bench.
2. Draw your knees up as close to your chest as possible.
3. For this step, envision a frog: Kick your legs out to each side as wide as you can then move them in an arc until they are together and straight behind you. This movement should be sharp and smooth.
4. If you have 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. Your left knee will be pointing to the left. Hold and then lower your leg. Repeat on 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.

The Breastroke Pull (arm motion)

5. Again, while lying face down over a stool, bench or armless chair, bring your hands to your chest and hold them in the prayer position (palms together, thumbs up).
6. Keeping your palms together, extend your arms so they are above your head (similar to the exalted warrior pose in yoga). Hold this pose a moment (this will be part of your glide when you actually do the breastroke.
7. Turn the palms outward away from each other. Quickly and smoothly push your arms to your sides.
8. Just as your arms reach your sides move your hands and forearms upwards so they come back into the prayer position against your chest.
Combination
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. When your legs reach the prone position (long and straight behind you), hold slightly, and then bring your arms down and around as described above. As your arms move down, raise your head and chest slightly, to imitate the movement you’ll need for breathing.
12. Bring your knees and hands to your chest to be ready for the next stroke.
When I first learned the breastroke, it was hard for me at first to coordinate the arm and leg movements. That’s why my teacher had me first pretend on a stool. Your teacher can help you get the correct positions so you will know what they feel like.

In the water

Once you have mastered these movements on dry land, you are ready to use them in the pool. You may want to warm up by doing that standing leg rotation exercise we did earlier. This will give you the sensation of what the kick portion feels like in the water.
13. Warm up with some floats and some freestyle or backstroke swimming until you feel loosened up and comfortable in the water.
14. Hold on to the side of the pool and practice the frog kicks.
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 breastroke 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. As your arms swing down to your sides, raise your chest to practice taking a breath.
17. Once you have all these movements mastered, it’s time to put it all together. It was hard for me at first, but my instructor told me to imagine that I was a dolphin leaping out of the water. That helped me to picture how to coordinate the arm motions and the breathing.

The hardest part of the breastroke is learning how to time the movements. The breastroke glide is the portion of the stroke in which you move forward the most. The trick is to glide forward as much as possible before starting the next stroke, the motions of which will slow you down slightly. I hope this article helped you get the basics of how to do the breastroke. Future posts will go over each portion more specifically, and hopefully help you fine tune your stroke.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• Breastroke Glide
• Breastroke Pull
• Breastroke Kick
• Breaststroke in Swimming
• Breastroke Drills