Advanced Breaststroke Ideas and Drills that Work By Wayne McCauley

Details To Look For Streamline in stroke and in pulldowns Fast Hands Fast Feet –finish the kick Swim Underwater during the stroke Two Hunch system Non-Traditional Breathing Non-Traditional Pulldowns

Streamline, Streamline, Streamline  Streamline, streamline, streamline is what I tell my swimmers every set.  They shoot the hands forward so that when they kick they are already going into the streamline.  I tell them the more time in streamline the faster they will be and the easier the swim will be.

The Modern Streamline This can mean up to 16 less yards to swim for the 200 Breast or Fly!

Keep Your Body “In Line” Swimming with good posture Flat back – Core Tension! Core Tension! Push your back towards the surface Push your back towards the surface Rotate hips, don’t lift or drop Rotate hips, don’t lift or drop

Keep Your Body “In Line” Swimming with good posture

Underwater Streamline

Importance of Drills Drills alone can decrease the 50 time by one second and the 200 time by four to six seconds in one season. Some coaches feel it is easier to increase strength, I feel masters are not going to make large changes in strength. Drills can increase hand and foot speed P = F x D/T (Power equals Force x Distance divided by time.)

Fast Scull Drill Fast Hands = More Power  Scull as fast as possible with all out hand speed -without slipping water.

Butterfly Pull May Be The Future of Breaststroke Many world class swimmers eliminate the out scull and in sweep, instead using a straight back butterfly pull Similar to the “pulling over a barrel” we were taught 40 years ago. Recover of the hands not back to full streamline, but at shoulder width out

“Butterfly Type” Pull AGNES KOVACS

Underwater As Part of The Stroke Breaststroke is faster underwater than on the surface. The faster the pull is, the quicker the swimmer can press the head and chest underwater. The more time the swimmer spends during and after the kick while underwater, the faster the time.

Head position affects streamline For every inch the head is lifted, the hips sink two inches. For every inch above the surface the head is lifted, it will take additional time to get to the streamline position.

One-Second Drill  Have swimmers hold a streamlined position underwater for a “one-one-thousand” count on each stroke.

Two Second Drill After the one second drill, have swimmers hold the streamlined position underwater for two- one-thousand count each stroke. Dominico Fioravanti won both the 100 and 200 Breaststroke in the 2000 Olympics

Dominico Fioravanti

Do you know the time of your swimmers stroke? Most breaststrokers time for each stroke is 1.2 to 1.7 seconds Most 200 breaststrokers stroke is 1.4 to 1.9 seconds For every tenth added in streamline you can subtract a tenth per stroke in overall time!

Dominico Fioravanti

Kosuke Kitajima

The Two Hunch System I use the two hunch method in breaststroke. The first hunch is pulling the shoulders up next to the ears after the in sweep to decrease water resistance.

Biceps squeezed next to ears The Second Hunch

The second hunch is slightly before the arms are full extended as in Grote’s picture, or immediately after full extension. This hunch starts with the upward rotation of the elbows and shoulders so the swimmer feels like they are doing butterfly. The palms rotate so both thumbs are pointing down.

The Hunch and Proper head position

Aussie Piper of left – USA Moses on right

KICKING DRILLS Are your swimmers finishing the kick? The last six inches are 50% of the power. After the soles of the feet slam together, the toes are pointing down. It is not necessary to point the feet backwards, although many swimmers do.

KICKING DRILLS Forward egg beater is a modification of a water polo drill. This drill improves foot speed (power) and leg endurance. Simply it is all out pumping of the legs. By decreasing this time component the time spent in streamline after the kick can be increased.

Forward Eggbeater This drill will eventually do two things. Sprint faster. Endurance is enhanced.

Pulldowns There should be NO disturbance of water at the surface. The Modern streamline must be obtained immediately off the start and each turn. Alternate timings can be as short as one second before the pulldown. Try not breathing on breakout strokes in 50 and 100 races.

Non-Traditional Breathing I teach swimmers to swim breaststroke without breathing every stroke. There is no reason to breathe in the 50 events. Breathe every other stroke in the 200.

Non-Traditional Breathing Don’t breath the first stroke up after the underwater stroke. Don’t breath the last 3-5 meters. Steve Lundquist can be seen not breathing the last three strokes in 1984

Breaststrokers Web sites

Coach Wayne McCauley SPMA Chairman ASCA Level 5 Masters Masters National Champion Masters All-American 18 Consecutive Years in USMS Top 10 Contact Info: (310) “1993 Old style”