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Breaststroke - Brendan Hansen

Important Note to the Viewer

LESSONS: 41 VIDEOS

How To Get the Most from this Video

How To Get the Most from this Video

This video features Brendan Hansen – and the type of breaststroke that has helped him win three Olympic medals. Brendan holds numerous age-group records, American Records, Olympic and World-Championships records, and he is the current World Record Holder in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke. In this video, we’ll slow things down so that you can see how Brendan pulls… …how he kicks… …how he sets a rhythm with his body… …and how he does a dolphin kick with his underwater pullouts. We’ll point out six specific things that Brendan does…that you can try in your own swimming. When you add these focus points to your swimming, it’s best not to think about all of them at the same time. Try to focus on one specific thing each day. And when you work on these techniques, it should always be in addition to what your coach is asking you to do…not in place of. All great swimmers will tell you: Don’t be afraid to try something new. Keep searching until you find the style and technique that’s right for you. Now let’s see what World Record Holder Brendan Hansen does…that you can do today.

Streamline Timing

Streamline Timing

In breaststroke, timing is everything. When you get it right, it can feel like you’re flowing or actually surfing across the water. In this clip, Brendan is swimming race-pace breaststroke. At speeds like this, the arms and legs seem to be moving nonstop. But if we slow it down, you can start to see how all the parts fit together. And it becomes clear that the starting point for each stroke is here...streamline. Here it is again…streamline. Arms fully extended. Eyes down. Head between arms. Body fully extended and level. Feet together and toes pointed. No matter how fast Brendan swims…no matter how quickly he moves his arms and legs…he starts and finishes each stroke in streamline. In this clip, try not to watch the kick or the pull. Focus only on what happens between the kick and the pull. Watch for the streamline. COMMON ERROR Some swimmers never get to streamline, and this throws off their timing. They look like a water bug skittering across the surface. The best way to practice correct timing is to hold your glide out front. Hold the hands out front and don’t start to pull until you finish your kick. This may feel awkward and slow at first – like you’re not moving your arms fast enough -- but it’s the key to correct timing in breaststroke. By getting into streamline at the start and finish of every stroke, Brendan takes away resistance and lets the power of the kick move him forward. Let’s watch a few more lengths from different angles. Look for the streamline, and then see if you can add this to your own stroke when you practice.

Connect Hands, Head, and Hips Going to Air

Connect Hands, Head, and Hips Going to Air

When Brendan thinks about his pull, he’s actually thinking about his head and his hips. In these next clips, try not to watch Brendan’s kick. Focus just on the hands, head, and hips and how they connect with each other for a powerful pull. Brendan’s pull is all about timing… and the connection between the hands, head, and hips. Let’s slow it down for a closer look. Brendan starts in streamline, with hands together and eyes down. At the exact moment his hands start to separate, Brendan’s eyes and head begin to lift toward the surface. As the hands anchor, the head is just beginning to break the surface. And as the head continues to lead up to air, watch how the head seems to draw the hips forward. Here’s another angle. Focus only on the connection between hands, head, and hips. Notice how the head going to air seems to lead the hips forward. It’s almost as if the head leads the spine UP through a hole in the water. In this clip, notice how the hands – after they anchor – seem to work with the head as they pull the hips forward. Now let’s look at some of the fine points. When Brendan lifts for air, his eyes are looking slightly forward and you can see his face. Brendan likes to focus on a point about 3 feet in front of him. Many coaches would say that the eyes should look down during the breath, but Brendan feels he is faster and has a better forward drive if he looks slightly forward. Notice also that Brendan’s head and neck are stable all the way through the pull and breath. Brendan is so connected along his head and spine that his head barely moves as it leads up to air. Brendan doesn’t climb too high out of the water. He keeps his head and spine in line for the breath, then surges forward into streamline. Here’s another angle that shows how little movement there is in the head and neck position as Brendan rises to air… and returns to streamline. It’s all about timing and connection.

Connect Hands, Head, and Hips Going to Streamline

Connect Hands, Head, and Hips Going to Streamline

Just as Brendan connects his hands, head, and hips as he goes to air, he also connects his hands, head, and hips as he returns to streamline. Here’s Brendan at the highest point in his stroke cycle. The hands are directly under the chin. As Brendan’s hands begin to surge forward and slice through the surface of the water, his head seems CONNECTED to the hands. The hands seem to DRAW the head forward. During the surge forward, there’s no up-and-down movement of the head. It simply moves FORWARD on a direct path with the hands. As Brendan continues to surge forward, notice that his hands and head hit FULL STREAMLINE at EXACTLY the same time. Here’s another angle. Watch how the finished head position – with eyes down and head completely inside the shoulders – coincides with the finished hand position. And with this angle, you can see how the hands, head, and hips are connected and aligned for a perfect streamline. Each stroke starts and finishes with the hands, head, and hips in perfect alignment. In this clip, Brendan is swimming at a relaxed, easy pace. Look for the connection of hands, head, and hips going up to air… and the connection as he returns to streamline. At a slightly faster pace, the connection is still there. He seems to move forward with no stops and starts in his stroke. And at race pace… you can still see the connection. This kind of consistency is no accident. The key elements that Brendan wants in his stroke at race pace are the things he practices every day at training pace. Remember: Connect your hands, head, and hips to pull yourself forward rather than up and down.

Fast Hands - Brendan

Fast Hands - Brendan

How does Brendan achieve World-Record pace? Watch his hands. Notice how they move quickly and smoothly through the entire pull cycle – with no hitches and no stopping points. Brendan makes sure that he gets into streamline on every stroke, but he doesn’t spend much time there. His hands flow immediately into the outsweep. He catches and grabs water, but the hands don’t rest there. Once the hands anchor, they turn and start immediately to sweep back and in. The hands pull back…but they don’t get stuck. As soon as the chin is over the hands, the hands immediately lift and shoot forward into the recovery. Let’s watch it again at speed. Notice how the hands move continuously, and notice how quickly Brendan gets them back into streamline. Here’s a closer look at the insweep. From the side, you can see that Brendan keeps his hands in front of the shoulders. By keeping the hands in front of the shoulders, Brendan maintains hand speed and momentum. When he focuses on fast hands, Brendan also thinks about his elbows. In this clip, watch the elbows and notice that he never lets them collapse or drop. Compare the last clip to this one, where Brendan is letting his elbows collapse and drop too far behind his shoulders. This creates a slight hitch or hesitation in his stroke, and he loses hand speed and momentum. Here’s another view of Brendan keeping the hands in front of the shoulders and the elbows high. Notice how quickly his hands switch from pulling…to shooting forward. Another way that Brendan achieves fast hands is to shoot his hands over the water during the recovery. This cuts down on resistance, and allows the hands to drive into streamline. By working on fast hands, Brendan is able to get his upper body back into streamline before the kick begins. This allows him to get maximum power from his kick. In this next clip, you’ll see one of the fine points that Brendan works on in his recovery. Notice that by the time his hands enter the water to go into streamline, the palms have turned out and are ready to start the pull. This is one of the key elements of fast hands. If you recover with palms up, you need to turn the hands over quickly to get ready for the next pull. In this final clip, focus on how Brendan’s hand speed sets the pace for the rest of his stroke. And notice how fast hands help him maintain constant forward motion, with no stops and starts in his stroke.

Hide Your Kick

Hide Your Kick

When Brendan works on his kick – and he does this at every practice – his 1 goal is to eliminate drag. He does this in several ways. The first is to focus on timing. On every stroke, Brendan makes sure that his upper body is in streamline before he delivers his kick. This ensures that he will get maximum power out of every kick. Watch how the hands reach full extension just as the feet are poised to begin the kick. And notice that the hands remain out front until the feet come together. Don’t rush the hands. Keep them out front and together until the kick is complete. The second way to eliminate drag is to hide the legs and feet during the recovery. In this clip, let’s focus on the legs and thighs. Notice that Brendan’s knees are pointed back as he recovers the legs. There’s not much bend in his upper leg. By pointing the knees back and keeping the thighs hidden behind the torso, Brendan eliminates drag. Notice how Brendan hides his upper legs and keeps the knees pointed back as he sets up each kick. This helps him maintain constant forward motion, and this is one of the key elements in his stroke. By hiding his kick, Brendan avoids the complete stops and the big surges that are typical of the stroke. The idea is to keep moving forward at all times, and Brendan does this by keeping his knees and thighs hidden behind his body. Brendan also hides his feet. Here you can see that Brendan keeps his feet together with toes pointed inward as he recovers the legs. The toes point inward until the final moment. As the hands reach full extension, the toes turn out to the sides and the legs snap back to deliver the kick. As the feet come together, Brendan takes one more step to eliminate drag: He points his toes.