Tips for getting breaststroke right

14/07/2016

Getting breaststroke right isn’t easy. Learning all the main swimming strokes comes after you have mastered the basic skills of swimming. This is during Stage 3 of the Learn to Swim Pathway for adults learning to swim. But the strokes can take a lifetime to master.

If you feel you have reached a point with breaststroke where you are ready to develop then we have collated some tips for you below. There is also a short video to help you get it right. If you are not there yet, head over to the swimming.org Learn section.

Tips for getting breaststroke right

Float on your front with your face in the water, stretching your body as long as possible. Keep your hands together.
Keep your legs long and stretch your toes. Bend your knees slowly and bring your feet towards your bottom. Bend at the ankles to point your feet outwards then kick back and slightly downwards and snap your feet together.
Keep your head in the water and stretch your arms out in front. Turn your hands so that the thumbs point down with both hands pressing out and round. Turn your hands so the thumbs point up and draw the hands together in a small circular action in front of the shoulders.
Lift your head to breathe in as the arms start to come together, stretch your arms out and return your head to the water to breathe out. Breath every stroke: “Pull, Breathe, Kick, Glide”.