Breaststroke Speed and Efficiency Techniques for Faster Swimming

The breaststroke is a unique swimming discipline that demands precision, coordination, and technical proficiency. While it’s often perceived as a slower stroke compared to freestyle or butterfly, mastering breaststroke efficiency can dramatically improve your speed and performance in the water. This comprehensive guide breaks down the essential elements of breaststroke mechanics, optimization techniques, and training strategies to help you swim faster with less effort.

Understanding Breaststroke Mechanics: The Foundation of Speed

Breaststroke is characterized by its distinctive synchronous arm movement and whip kick. To develop speed and efficiency, swimmers must first understand the fundamental mechanics that drive this stroke.

The Perfect Breaststroke Body Position

Your body position in the water directly impacts your speed and efficiency. An optimal breaststroke position includes:

• Streamlined Alignment: Maintain a horizontal position with head, shoulders, hips, and feet aligned along the same plane.
• Head Positioning: Keep your head neutral, looking down and slightly forward (about 45 degrees), not straight ahead.
• Core Engagement: Activate your core muscles to prevent excessive hip drop and maintain proper alignment.
• Minimize Drag: Reduce frontal resistance by keeping your body as streamlined as possible during the glide phase.

Research from the International Journal of Swimming Kinetics shows that swimmers who maintain proper body alignment experience up to 30% less drag than those with poor positioning.

Optimizing Your Arm Pull

The arm pull in breaststroke is crucial for generating propulsion. To maximize efficiency:

• Initial Outsweep: Begin with hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing slightly outward.
• Catch Phase: As your hands move outward and slightly downward, catch the water effectively.
• Insweep: Pull your hands inward toward your chest in a heart-shaped motion, accelerating through this phase.
• Recovery: Bring your hands forward quickly but smoothly, minimizing frontal resistance.
• Timing: Coordinate your arm pull with your breathing and kick cycles for maximum effectiveness.

Common arm pull mistakes include pulling too wide or too deep, which increases drag and reduces propulsive efficiency.

Mastering the Breaststroke Kick

The kick provides approximately 60-80% of propulsion in breaststroke, making it essential for speed:

• Setup Position: Start with knees bent about shoulder-width apart, heels drawn up toward your buttocks.
• Foot Positioning: Turn your feet outward to create effective propulsion surfaces.
• Whip Action: Execute a quick, powerful whip motion, pressing water backward with the insides of your feet and legs.
• Complete Extension: Finish with legs fully extended and toes pointed, creating a streamlined position.
• Narrow Recovery: Keep knee movement minimal during the recovery phase to reduce drag.

Advanced Techniques for Increasing Breaststroke Speed

Once you’ve mastered the basics, these advanced techniques can help you break through performance plateaus.

The High-Elbow Pull

Elite breaststrokers utilize a high-elbow position during the pull phase. They maintain elbows at or slightly above wrist level during the out sweep, keeping forearms nearly perpendicular to the water surface.

They focus on “grabbing” water with the entire forearm, not just the hand, and accelerate through the in sweep phase. This technique increases the surface area creating propulsion and improves the angle of force application.

The Undulating Breaststroke

Modern breaststroke technique incorporates a slight undulation that helps maintain momentum. Swimmers allow their head and shoulders to rise slightly during the breathing phase, then press their chest downward as they extend their arms forward.

This creates a subtle wave-like motion through the body while maintaining hip position near the water surface throughout the stroke cycle. Olympic champion Adam Peaty utilizes this technique to maintain forward momentum between propulsive phases.

Efficient Breathing Technique

Proper breathing technique is crucial for speed and efficiency:

• Timing: Breathe during the insweep phase of your arm pull
• Economy of Movement: Lift your head just enough to clear the water surface
• Quick Inhalation: Inhale rapidly and return your face to the water promptly
• Exhalation: Exhale steadily underwater during the glide and arm extension phases

Elite swimmers spend minimal time with their head above water, reducing drag and maintaining momentum.

Training Strategies for Breaststroke Speed Development

Dedicated training programs can significantly improve your breaststroke speed and efficiency.

Interval Training Sets

Incorporate these interval sets into your training routine:

• Descending Sets: 8 × 50m breaststroke with decreasing times and consistent technique
• Pace Training: 4 × 100m at race pace with adequate recovery
• Sprint Intervals: 12 × 25m at maximum effort with technical focus
• Threshold Sets: 3 × 200m at 85% effort with minimal rest

These sets develop both anaerobic power and aerobic capacity while reinforcing proper technique.

Drills for Breaststroke Efficiency

These specialized drills isolate and improve specific aspects of your stroke:

1. 2-Kicks, 1-Pull Drill: Perform two kick cycles for each arm pull to develop kick strength and timing
2. Breaststroke with Dolphin Kick: Use a dolphin kick instead of breaststroke kick to strengthen your undulation
3. Pull-Outs with Extended Glide: Practice underwater pull-outs with an emphasis on maintaining the glide
4. Hands-Only Breaststroke: Use a pull buoy to isolate and perfect your arm technique
5. Breaststroke with Closed Fists: Swim with closed fists to emphasize forearm engagement during the pull

Strength Training for Breaststrokers

Targeted dry-land exercises can enhance your power and efficiency:

• Squat Jumps: Develop explosive leg power for your kick
• Plank Variations: Strengthen your core for better body position
• Internal/External Shoulder Rotations: Improve shoulder mobility and strength
• Medicine Ball Throws: Develop explosive upper body power
• Ankle Mobility Exercises: Increase foot flexibility for a more effective kick

A study in the UC Research Repository found that breaststrokers who incorporated specific strength training improved their 100m times by an average of 3.2% over a 12-week period.

Common Mistakes Limiting Your Breaststroke Speed

Identifying and correcting these technical errors can lead to immediate improvements:

1. Excessive Vertical Movement: Lifting your head and shoulders too high during breathing creates unnecessary drag
2. Incomplete Kick: Failing to fully extend your legs at the end of the kick phase reduces propulsion
3. Wide Arm Recovery: Bringing your arms too wide during recovery increases frontal resistance
4. Poor Timing: Uncoordinated arm-kick timing creates dead spots in your stroke cycle
5. Inconsistent Glide: Either gliding too long or not gliding enough can reduce overall efficiency

Using Technology to Analyze and Improve Your Breaststroke

Modern swimming technology offers valuable insights for technique refinement. Underwater video analysis records your stroke from multiple angles to identify flaws, while pressure point swimsuits provide tactile feedback on body position and drag points.

Tempo trainers help develop consistent stroke rhythm and timing, and power meters measure propulsive force and efficiency in real-time. Additionally, biofeedback systems provide immediate data on stroke symmetry and effectiveness, allowing swimmers to make informed adjustments to their technique.

Recommended Products

 Speedo Unisex-Adult Swim Training Pull Buoy

 Finis Alignment Kickboard

 Speedo Women’s Swim Goggles Mirrored Vanquisher 2.0

Conclusion

Look, getting better at breaststroke isn’t an overnight thing—it’s all about sweating the small stuff technically, putting in the training hours, and constantly tweaking your approach. Pay attention to how your body sits in the water, fine-tune your pull and kick, and mix in those specialized drills we talked about.

That’s your recipe for taking your breaststroke to the next level. Just remember, progress happens bit by bit through regular practice. Even tiny adjustments can make a surprising difference to your speed and efficiency down the road. So whether you’re gunning for medals or just want to feel smoother in the pool, stick with these principles and you’ll get where you want to go with your breaststroke. Keep at it!

For more swimming insights, check out our related articles on breaststroke benefits, swimming technique fundamentals, and advanced training methods here at Legendary Swimmers.

Resources

• International Journal of Swimming
• UC Research Repository