Breaststroke Kick: Get A Good Feel For It

No Progress Breaststroke Kick

"I just feel as though I'm not moving at all" I hear you say.

Wait... Get Your Lesson Plans Here

Just as so many have said to me over the years as I try to teach someone how to do the correct kick for the breaststroke. It's one of the things that frustrates new swimmers. What they are getting at is lack of progress you seems to make when you first start trying to do the kick.

I have a lot of drill that I use to help be able to just do the action of a breaststroke kick but getting some kind of power out of it is another matter altogether. It needs to be remembered however that the biggest part of the problem at least to start with is an illusion. People get used to the feel of the strong propulsion that you get when you are doing a flutter kick and the much more gentle movement of a frog kick seem so sedate as to make you think you are not making any progress when in fact you are.

So basically the first thing you have to do is relax and allow yourself to feel like you are going slower. If you are doing the basics correctly you will come to realize that you may be making good progress.

Breaststroke Kick (Frog Kick) From Above

Breaststroke Kick (Frog Kick) From The Side

The Glide

Once you get the basics down you then need to concentrate on your glide. Now inexperienced swimmers have a tendency to look at faster swimmers and say "what glide". This is because to the inexperienced eye it looks like faster swimmers are not taking any time to do a glide. However nothing could be further from reality.

The glide is and essential element in breaststroke and without it your progress will be even slower than it is now. Faster swimmer defiantly glide your just not seeing it yet.

Even if you don't believe me yet just try and add a glide to your kick and stroke and watch the change in your speed.

Then sequence is simple kick, face down and glide, stroke, rinse and repeat (start the sequence again).

Enjoy
   Richard