IMPROVING BREAST STROKE TECHNIQUE

In the water

 To improve your breaststroke technique your body position should be with your head facing
forward in line with your body.

 Keep your shoulders, hips and legs as horizontal as possible but slope your body slightly to allow
the leg kick to stay beneath the water.

 The leg kick uses your core and abdomen muscles more than freestyle so it’s important to not to
let your hips drop in the water. Your legs should be behind you rather than below you.

 Try to keep your neck and shoulders as relaxed as possible to aid the arm action and reduce
strain. Look downwards as you glide to avoid straining your neck.

Arm action

 From the glide position the hands should be pitched down and out.

 Keep your elbows high as you skull your hands out and round.

 Your hands should then sweep back in to the body as though they were to meet at the upper
chest.

 Try not to sweep your arms too wide – remember much of the propulsion comes from the legs –
not the arms.

 Your hands can recover under or over the water but your elbows should remain below the
surface.

 Your arms can then stretch forward with your hands close together to restart the arm action.

Kicking

 In contrast to front crawl, the majority of propulsion comes from the leg kick.

 Your knees should be just a little over hip-width apart, facing down, slightly out behind the hip
line.

 Turn your feet out as they sweep out and backwards in a circular action. Keep your feet flexed
rather than loose.

 The legs finish together, long and in a streamlined position with the feet in-toed.

 The legs are recovered to bring the heels towards the seat with the soles of the feet facing
outwards. Concentrate on bringing your feet to your bum rather than your knees to your chest.
Timing

 Good timing of the arm action and leg kick are imperative to make the most out of your
breaststroke.

 Try to time your arm action and leg kick so there is always something propelling you through the
water.

 The arms will be propulsive while the legs recover and the legs propulsive while the hands
recover.

Breathing

 Lift your shoulder to bring your face out of the water to breathe. Don’t raise your head – let the
head naturally rise with the shoulders so your chin is resting just above the water.

 Lifting your head rather than your shoulders can lead to back pain and lowers your hips which
will increase resistance.

 Inhale through your mouth before letting your shoulders drop as you sweep with your arms.
Exhalation usually occurs explosively during the glide.

Turning

 Your hands should touch the wall simultaneously below, at, or above the water surface.

 Rotate your body on its side as the hips pike, knees tuck and feet plant on the wall.

 Move your higher hand over your head to spear and push through the water as your kick off
from the wall.

 Stay streamlined and parallel to the water with your chin on your chest after extending your
legs.

 Perform one long, propulsive arm action with your hands staying close to the body line and
finishing at your thighs.

 Keeping your hands close under your body, bring your arms back to the front of your head and
powerfully kick to continue momentum.

 As you lift your head, start your regular arm action with your head breaking the surface before
the hands being to sweep back to the body.
 SHOULDERS

Scapular Push-Up

Execution
1. Facedown, support your body weight on your toes and forearms.
2. Holding your body in a straight line, lower your chest while maintaining the shoulder position and
allowing your shoulder blades to pinch together.
3. By rolling your shoulders (protraction), push your upper body upward.

External Rotation With Tubing

Execution
1. Stand sideways 4 feet ( 1 20 cm) from a pole with a piece of exercise tubing attached at elbow height.
Hold the tubing in the hand farther from the pole and bend the elbow to go degrees.
2. Rotate your hand away from your torso until you have covered a gO-degree arc. Keep your forearm
parallel to the floor during the entire movement.
3. Slowly return to the starting position.
 Feet-Elevated Push-Up on Physioball

“The physioball variation works the same muscle groups but is more challenging because of the unstable
nature of the physioball. The exercise can be made more difficult by increasing the inflation pressure of
the physioball or by resting only the toes on the physioball instead of the entire foot.

Kneeling Chop
“Because it starts with the arms and trunk in an elongated and stretched position, this exercise helps
swimmers develop confidence and strength in their stroke during the initial portion of the pulling phase
of all four strokes.

Execution
1. Position yourself so that when you are kneeling, the high pulley is diagonally behind your shoulder.
2. Reaching up and back, grasp the handle with both hands.
3. Initiate the movement with your abdominal muscles. The arms should act as an extension of the
torso.
4.Using an arcing movement, guide the handle downward toward the opposite knee.
5. Reverse the movement to return to the starting position.”

Standing Hip Internal Rotation

“This exercise targets a select group of muscles that are responsible for internal rotation of the hips, a
movement that is primarily seen in swimming during the recovery phase of the breaststroke kick as the
heels are brought toward the buttocks. Breaststrokers will therefore benefit most from the exercise. But
other swimmers should not ignore the exercise, because a small rotational component takes place
during the other strokes. Like the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder, these muscles play a protective
 role and help stabilize the hip joint.

Execution
1. Standing on one leg, reach with your arms and trunk to the inner side of the weight-bearing foot.
2. Use the weight-bearing leg as a pivot point.
3. Reach your arms and trunk toward a point on the ceiling above and slightly behind the same shoulder.
4. Hold the free leg in a flexed position and simultaneously rotate it with the trunk, driving the knee
upward toward the ceiling with the arms.”

Standing Hip Adduction

“Direct targeting of the adductor muscle group can help the breaststroker increase the strength and
stamina of the kick.
Execution
1. Stand sideways to a backstroke flagpole with a band fixed to the pole and the ankle closer to the pole.
Tighten your core muscles to stabilize your hips.
2. Allow the resistance of the band to pull your leg out to the side.
3. Keeping your knee straight, pull your leg across and in front of the stabilizing leg.
4.Slowly return to the starting position.”

Reference:
Kazakova, A.(2015). Dry-land Exercises for Swimmers: Breaststroke. Retrieved from
http://lifeasaninvestment.com/2015/10/15/dry-land-exercises-for-swimmers-breaststroke/