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Breaststroke Turns - Feet

Posted by Glenn Mills on Sep 20, 2011 06:27AM (14,841 views)

We've been fortunate to have produced one of the most widely used breaststroke turn videos.  It's beautiful!  Dave Denniston showing absolute perfection in his turns.  Yes... we're biased.

Problem is... is it right for you?

Why Experiment:
Do you really know what you do, and if so, are you sure it's right?  The key to great swimming is experimentation, and there is never one way to the end result.

This week, we're borrowing from a few of our videos, and comparing some great athletes.  We wanted to show a couple ways some great swimmers get their feet on the wall for a breaststroke turn.

Our hero and originator, Dave Denniston, beautifully tucks one foot over top of the other and slides his feet into the wall.  This is the quickest way to get your feet to the wall and you'll feel everything slide forward.

Next up is Mr. Breaststroke himself, Brendan Hansen.  Brendan crosses his feet coming in, appearing to create more resistance getting his feet to the wall, but they're placed ready for a great push.  Probably hydrodynamically slower coming in, but faster going out.

How about 2-Time 400-IM silver medalist Eric Vendt?  He's a crosser like Brendan.  So does that mean that's best?

Check out super swimmer Eric Shanteau, who swam for both David Marsh (ditto for Dave Denniston), and Eddie Resse (ditto Brendan Hansen).  He turns like Dave!  Sliding the feet in.

Which is better?  We can't really tell, but we decided to go to pure instinct as the tie breaker.  What would a great swimmer automatically do?  How many times have you seen Cullen Jones swim breaststroke?  How does he bring his feet in?  Like Dave and Eric... sliding them forward.

While this doesn't make this the absolute best way... it certainly gives you some options!  Now go practice and discover.

You can watch all of these full videos at the following links:

Dave Denniston Breaststroke Turns - DVD

Breaststroke with Brendan Hansen - Streaming - DVD

All-Strokes with Kaitlin Sandeno and Erik Vendt - Streaming - DVD

All-Strokes with Eric Shanteau - Streaming - DVD

Cullen Jones Turns video coming this fall.


Tags breaststroke, Brendan Hansen, Dave Denniston, Cullen Jones, Eric Vendt, Eric Shanteau, Turns


Responses

Responded Sep 21, 2011 04:08PM

Love that smoooooothe Denniston style.
Responded Sep 23, 2011 04:30PM

Where's that 200 BR guy from the 1980? What do his feet look like on his turns??
Responded Sep 25, 2011 12:43PM

Most of the pushoffs seem to have the body going downward. Is this downward angle correct and why?
I do free open turns (because flips tire me a lot). Should I angle downward on pushoffs? I will experiment as you wisely recommend in your excellent video. Thanks again, Glenn, for excellent advice.
Responded Sep 26, 2011 09:32AM

Hey Al. Remember, these are breaststroke turns, which means each of these swimmers will be heading into a long, underwater pull. If you're using open turns for freestyle, or aren't able to go a long way off the wall, a more shallow push off would be recommended. Thanks and hope you're well.

Wilken... he's where he should be on these vids... BEHIND the camera! ;)

Edited Sep 26, 2011 09:40AM
Responded Sep 26, 2011 12:35PM

Glenn ... I must disagree with your response above to Wilken. You should be in front of the camera.
... Last April at the Y Nationals in Fort Lauderdale I was strolling through the International Swimming Hall of Fame. A video was showing the 200 meter breaststroke final. Two swimmers were way out in front of the rest of the field coming into the final 15 meters when this third swimmer comes into view with about 5 meters to go. This Glenn Mills guy touches out the other guys and wins by .01 seconds.
... One of the best races I've ever seen. You should post this video on GoSwim.
... I did well at Y Nationals Masters taking 3rd in 1650, 5th in 500, 5th in 200, 6th in 100, 7th in 50 frees plus 3 relays taking 2nd, 3rd, 5th.

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