The movement of the breaststroke is not easy to master, but once you learn the steps and coordinate the various phases in the right way, it turns into a very pleasant way of swimming.
Steps
Step 1. Stand sideways in the water with your arms stretched out in front of you and your legs stretched back
Push yourself under the water trying to travel as far as possible.
- This phase, also called underwater, involves bringing the arms that are in front of you down and back up beyond the thighs, just like during the butterfly movement. Glide into the water until you slow down; Bring your hands forward as you kick and start the breaststroke.
- Don't forget the underwater phase which provides the initial impulse and allows you to swim faster.
- Do it at the start and every turn.
Step 2. Spread your arms so that they are diagonal to your body
Make sure your palms are facing out and your elbows are straight.
Step 3. Bring your elbows to the sides of your body and then join your hands in front of your chest
At this point, you can simply push your hands forward, so that they return to the starting point. Avoid spreading your arms excessively, but at the same time do not draw small circles with your hands; remember to breathe when your hands are in front of your chest, before quickly extending them forward and to the sides with your palms facing up.
Step 4. As you complete the third step, lift your head, neck, and upper chest out of the water and breathe
Hands must remain immersed.
Step 5. Bring your feet towards your butt by bending your knees
Make a circular motion with the lower extremities until the legs are extended again and the feet are still close together; complete this step as quickly as possible.
Start the kick as you breathe; you can anticipate it a little, but don't postpone it
Step 6. Slip
Let the body flow into the water but not for too long; devote no more than 1-2 seconds to this phase otherwise you slow down too much.
Find the right balance between a sliding phase that is not too long and not too short; you have to find the correct rhythm
Step 7. Do not take two strokes with one breath
Otherwise, you are automatically disqualified from the competition. You have to breathe with each movement, raise your head and bring it back under the water; if you do not respect this pattern and perform two strokes with your head submerged, you will be disqualified, so remember to raise your head. When you breathe, don't look forward. The head comes out of the water automatically with every movement of the arms and legs; if you lift it voluntarily, you only waste energy. When you are almost at the end of the pool touch the edge with both hands at the same time, otherwise you are excluded from the competition.
Advice
- Maintain a position that allows the spine to remain straight; in other words, look towards the bottom of the pool as you swim and breathe. Many people have a tendency to look forward, but this position leads to bending of the neck, preventing proper alignment between the head and spine; as a result, the head tilts back, the pelvis moves down and you are forced to drag the whole body. Looking down, the pelvis rises, the spine remains straight and the body assumes a more "hydrodynamic" position with each stroke.
- Remember the "pull, breathe, kick and slide" mantra as you swim.
- Do not give in to the temptation to quickly perform the arm extension phase because it is the fastest phase of the stroke; however, if you prolong this moment too much during competitions, you run the risk of slowing down the pace.
- Make sure your feet do not move beyond shoulder width during the kick; in this way, the legs do not protrude to the sides and you can avoid unnecessarily dragging the body. By keeping the kick as wide as the shoulders, you can maintain a good hydrodynamic position as you bring your legs closer to your body for the next movement, which becomes more efficient as a result.
- To gain speed, breathe as quickly as possible between the recovery phase of the arms and the kick. If you withdraw your arms, breathe and kick smoothly and steadily, the moment you breathe during the movement you can remove the resistance of the water.
- Remember that it is better to cover a lot of space with a single stroke instead of doing hundreds of short, high-speed movements; try to gain meters with each movement.
- Keep your feet flexed as you kick to get more kick from the kick.
- The stroke should finish shortly before the kick ends.
- Keeping your head very low and your toes curled is good advice; cup your hands slightly to prevent water from running between your fingers.
- Do not spread your elbows but push them forward.
- Do not bring your elbows past the end of the rib cage, otherwise you are automatically disqualified.
Warnings
- Do not stretch your legs too much as you may suffer from cramps, contractures that make you slow down and consequently lose your pace and time goals.
- Before swimming breaststroke, remember to warm up (for example with some freestyle laps), otherwise you could injure your knees.
- Do not swim breaststroke in shallow water as you can seriously injure your feet, legs and hips.
