5 Best Breaststroke Drills From a Professional Swimmer

The breaststroke is one of four strokes of competitive swimming. This swimming stroke looks simple and effortless to spectators, making it the most attractive of the four strokes for beginner swimmers.

But not every beginner manages to swim breaststroke perfectly from the get-go. That's right, it's a more complicated stroke than you think!

The key feature of the breaststroke swimming technique is its correct timing of arm and leg movements, allowing swimmers to keep the momentum going. Additionally, the breaststroke kick is something most beginners and even advanced swimmers struggle with: its out-sweep motion is far from natural for the human body.

Before we dive into improving your technique with my breaststroke drills, let's talk about the stroke mechanics & what makes it different from other strokes.

For the majority of the stroke cycle, swimmers maintain prolonged, perfectly streamlined body position underwater. Thus, everything that happens underwater matters, and your body position will dictate how efficiently you carry speed after a leg kick.

After pushing off with the out-sweep kick, the swimmer enters a glide phase with arms extended forward, maintaining a streamline position.

At the end of the glide phase, the swimmer's upper body rises above the surface of the water, which is called the recovery phase. That's where the streamlined body position takes a hit, and, as research indicates, that's one of the non-propulsive phases of the stroke.

However, water resistance (drag) can be minimized if the swimmer keeps their lower body in a high, well-streamlined position.

Leg kick is the second most powerful and the longest of propulsive phases when you swim breaststroke. Unlike other strokes, in breaststroke, a leg kick is performed in a simultaneous and symmetrical way. Breaststroke kick can be distinguished into 3 separate movement phases: heels are drawn up, feet turn outwards, and heels push back in an out-sweep action.

We know that the breaststroke kick is one of the most important propulsive forces in the stroke, but what about the arm pull?

For a long time, the swimming community and the leading coaches thought that arm pull was not something they had to focus on. The upper body and its role in the breaststroke was minimized until the latest research discovered that "catching" the wave after the recovery phase and performing a solid arm pull improved the time in competitive breaststroke swimmers.

Thus, it's important to take time to work on your breaststroke pull and leg kick equally.

In a full cycle of the breaststroke pull, we can distinguish three phases: out sweep (catching the water and pulling it back), in sweep (bringing the hands together), and full extension of the arms forward.

During the breaststroke pull, the arms are simultaneously and symmetrically parted to the sides to catch and pull the water.

At the beginning of the pull, palms are rotated outwards to initiate the catch. After catching the water with the palms, the swimmer will proceed to rotate the arms down and pull the water back by bending the arms. In this phase, the breaststroke pull is similar to the butterfly, when elbows are held above the palms at 90 degrees.

As soon as the forearms approach the shoulders at the right ankle, the swimmer accelerates up in sweep-like motion. It's important to note that during this phase, swimmers should maintain a proper lower body position, keeping their hips high in the water. Failing to do so will decrease the speed. In sweep phase ends after the swimmer tucks elbows tight to the torso.

The final part of the arm pull is called recovery. During the recovery phase, the swimmer pushes the chest on the water and drives their hands forward until fully extended. Additionally, swimmers will simultaneously breathe before the recovery is over.

The key to stroke efficiency here is to catch the wave swimmer will create when pressing the chest down on the water. Once arms are fully extended, palms turn outwards to initiate the next stroke.

Remember when I mentioned that the best swimmers, like World Record Holder Adam Peaty, have a very narrow breaststroke kick?

Just look at his kick.

It takes less time to perform a breaststroke kick when it's narrow.

And that's exactly why Adam Peaty is so GREAT: his fast kick cycle allows him to maintain a proportionally fast arm stroke rate. If you're a sprinter, that might be what you are missing.

It's important to note that not everyone will be able to reach kick THAT narrow. But we can work towards it, right?

This breaststroke drill is an excellent way to maximize distance per stroke and stroke efficiency. Two kicks allow you to figure out how to get the most out of one kick with the proper streamlined body position.

Among various breaststroke drills, this one is one of the best that teaches you to keep a perfect streamlined body position. Additionally, it's a great hypoxic drill that will help you to improve your breath control.

Breaststroke pull is one of the most complicated stroke phases, where most swimmers lose all their speed. This drill is perfect for fixing. Continuous flutter kick will give you a good sense of keeping the momentum going, even when your upper body is out of the water.

Propulsion from the flutter kick will give an extra push to drive your upper body forward aggressively, ultimately creating a stronger wave to catch with the next pull.

I mentioned earlier that certain phases of the breaststroke pull have a direct similarity with the butterfly. Let me show you my example.

All the basic breaststroke drills that covered focused on the swimming part of the stroke. Now, let's focus on another important phase of your breaststroke swimming -- pullouts.

Pullouts are an incredible asset when swimming breaststroke. It can make or break your entire race. And if you primarily compete in the short course yard or meters, I would focus on perfecting my pullouts more than actual swimming. That's how important it is.

How do you make your pullouts stand out? You perfect your butterfly kick and make your arms pull stronger while maintaining a good body alignment.

Let's focus on making you travel further in the water with this drill.

Added resistance like parachutes, power buckets, drag socks, sponges, and paddles helps us develop a swimming-specific power. In addition, swimming regular breaststroke after removing the resistance can enhance your feel for the water.

So, add resistance.

Add resistance when you swim regular breaststroke.

Breaststroke drills got too easy? Add resistance.

I promise it'll only improve your overall swimming.