Breaststroke Underwater Pullout Progression

Important Note to the Viewer

LESSONS: 5 VIDEOS

Step 1 - Underwater Pull

In learning the most recent version of the breaststroke underwater pull, here's a quick progression that can help swimmers break down each step, and focus on the proper timing. Step 1 is as simple as it gets. Push off in streamline, and hold that position for as far as you can. If you see the back of the swimmer starting to drop, this can show a loss of core stability, or that they are not keeping the feet pointed through the entire push. Have them sit on the side of the pool and hyperextend their toes. Some athletes can even overlap the feet to get the trailing edge even cleaner, creating almost no turbulance in the back. Push off with legs rigid and streamline tight. Continue practicing this until the swimmers can remain stable through the entire process.

Step 2 - Underwater Pull

Just like in every other stroke, you're allowed to take a dolphin kick in streamline. Just like in every other stroke... you should do this in your breaststroke underwater pullout. Push off in as in Step 1, and then add a single dolphin kick. Do not break streamline, and keep gliding as far as you can after the dolphin kick. Maintain your bodyline after the kick. WHEN you initiate the kick will vary by athlete, but since the goal of the dolphin kick is to MAINTAIN momentum from the pushoff, putting it earlier rather than later will be more beneficial. Keep the kick small and tight, as TOO much set up for the kick, can introduce too much resistance and distrust the momentum you're carrying off the wall.

Step 3 - Underwater Pull

After the pushoff (Step 1), and the dolphin kick (Step 2), it's time to initiate the pull down. Push off with a solid streamline, from hands to feet. Inititiate the dolphin kick, and pause just a bit to separate the steps. Pull the arms straight down until the hands are resting by the thighs. There are many different schools of thought as to where the hands to end, so try to find the place that hides the hands from the water, while not putting the body in an awkward position. One of the key things to think about at this stage is the head position. Remember, it's instinctual for the head to follow the hands, and if the head tucks down at this stage, you'll go deeper, and slow down. Two very dangerous things at this stage of the pullout... if you want to go fast. When the hands pull down, think about standing up STRAIGHT to keep the head in line and moving forward.

Step 4 - Underwater Pull

The most resistive position in all of swimming is the recovery of the arms and legs during the breaststroke underwater pull. IF done without the proper timing, you can count on slowing down, or stopping... or even the dreaded GOING BACKWARDS!l. Recovering the arms and legs at the exact same time will lead to most of not all of these problems. To practice the proper timing, go through all the steps, to the pull down. Now, recover the arms back to streamline WITHOUT KICKING. There will be much instinct in this with your legs, so fight the feeling of kicking too soon. Check the bottom to make sure you're still moving forward after you extend the hands back out front. While learning, pausing in each step before you move to the next one, allows you to think about what just happened, and what's about to happen. However, when polishing this to a competitive skill, remember that pausing too long in any position will cause you to slow down a bit.

Step 5 - Underwater Pull

The final step of this progression adds the kick. A very important thing to remember when adding the kick, is that instinct will try to take over again. You will feel yourself slowing down, especially when you start to recovery the arms. Instinct will tell you to set up a BIG KICK as soon as you can. Just remember, the bigger the kick, the more resistance, the more you'll slow down, and you'll be asking your kick to reinitiate momentum... which is really tough. A better idea is to delay the kick so most of it's recovery is done AFTER the hands have started to pierce the water forward. By delaying the recovery of the kick until the hands get near the shoulders or under the chin, you'll only have one of the two (arms / legs) recovering at a time, minimizing the amount of resistance you're creating. That delay can also add a bit of panic in the athletes mind, RUSHING the kick to finish it in time, which hopefully means it's just a bit smaller, creating less resistance, which can maintain more momentum. It's all a game of timing and balancing the amount of resistance you create with the amount of momentum you maintain. Keep experimenting and figuring out when to initiate each step, how long to pause between each, and always remember... it's not about how far you go, it's about how fast you get to the other end.