Theme of the Week

Sculling with Your Feet – Breaststroke

We just spent five weeks exploring how sculling can improve “feel” for the water with the palms and forearms. (Check out the videos HERE.) This got us wondering: Is there such a thing as sculling with the feet and could it improve your feel for the kick – especially breaststroke kick? Join us this week as we look at kicking drills through a whole new lens.

Monday

Breast Drills: Eggbeater Warmup

Eggbeater kick is the ultimate scull for your feet.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/833-breaststroke-eggbeater-warmup> 

:08 - great warm-up drill for breaststroke

:13 - protecting the groin in warm-up

:24 - swimmer has his arms out of the water for a bit more pressure

:31 - start with the arms under for less pressure

:41 - raise the hands or stop sculling

:50 - lift the hands all the way out

:59 - go under and go horizontal - pushing forward

1:06 - alternate some egg-beater with regular breaststroke

1:12 - to teach connection - use FINIS PDF fins

<https://www.finisswim.com/Positive-Drive-Fin>

1:26 - go through the same progression with the fins

1:30 - go horizontal with the fins

Tuesday

Roque Santos: Kick Drills

Olympic breaststroker Roque Santos shares his favorite drills for making his feet “smarter.”

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/490-kick-drills> 

:13 - pull buoy kick - keep the legs narrow

:18 - we really see the narrow wide action of the kick

:26 - we see the W position of the legs - only this is an M because he’s on his back

:34 - W (M)

:59 - The “L”

1:06 - Wall kick

1:23 - Roque uses no hands

1:35 - narrow recovery wider down kick

1:43 - keep the knees underwater

1:50 - make sure you don’t TUCK

2:13 - Lane Line kick

2:19 - lay back and hold on (coaches and pool directors won’t like this)

2:24 - keep the knees under and then grab the water

2:27 - recover the heels

2:42 - Finish like Jeremy Linn

2:46 - kicking DOWN at the end of the kick

2:58 - think about kicking UP

3:05 - high feet finish

3:16 - aiming for the high finish

Wednesday

Davo Drills: Wall Kick

Dave Denniston and Staciana Stitts demo two versions of breaststroke wall kick (vertical and horizontal) that will build foot speed and feel for how to grab water with the feet.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/183-wall-kick> 

:10 - straight legs - hanging on to the wall

:14 - don’t kick the wall on the recovery

:16 - recover the heels behind you

:29 - don’t lift yourself up with your hands

:36 - recovery the heels behind you

:41 - look at the alignment of the shoulders - torso - hips - to knees

:49 - recover the heels behind you

:55 - grab the water with the insides of the feet

:57 - sweep down to the finish

1:09 - go horizontal into the wall

1:16 - look at the line from shoulder - torso - hips - to knees

1:24 - initiate the recovery of the heels

1:25 - look at the line - shoulders to knees

1:30 - body line on finish of the kick

1:34 - Dave has not good body line - Stacianna is good

1:39 - fixed the body position

Thursday

Breast Drills: Single-Leg Kick

We love single-leg breaststroke kick for developing foot speed and for making you aware of differences between your right leg and left leg. Plus…it’s just plain fun.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1026-breaststroke-single-leg-kick> 

:13 - Single Leg Kick

:20 - focus small

:30 - similar to egg-beater in it’s protection of the groin

:33 - illustrates variations in the two legs

:47 - symmetry is important in breaststroke - this can show variations

1:00 - initiate the kick with a single leg

1:05 - three kicks with one leg then switch

1:14 - two kicks with one leg then switch

1:19 - one kick then switch

1:22 - regular kick

Use patterns to help with the system

1:48 - then use no patters… focus on feel

1:59 - the lack of “power” allows for faster foot speed

Friday

Breast Drills: Kick with Fins

Doing breaststroke kick with FINIS PDFins is one of the best ways to develop “feel” for the water with instep.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1323-breaststroke-kick-with-fins> 

:10 - very good line

:11 - line from shoulders to knees

:13 - line from shoulders to knees

:14 - watch the body fall to the line - but the legs stay in that position

:17 - a bit too much tuck

:29 - the fins show where the connection starts

:39 - always be thinking about the thigh line

:55 - breaststroke with an extra kick

1:11 - stay shallow and parallel to the surface

1:22 - focus on where the fins catch and experiment with the recovery height

1:26 - arms may be a bit “down” - masters swimmer

1:29 - use the power of the fins to then practice the line

Saturday

Breast Drills: Tempo Trainer Kick on Your Back

Using a Tempo Trainer to find the optimum *rate* of your breaststroke kick is one of the best ways to develop “smarter” feet and a more effective catch of the water with the instep and lower legs.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1062-breaststroke-tempo-trainer-kick-on-your-back> 

:14 - kick on your back can allow for a quicker kick

:23 - slightly too much “tuck”

:32 - line from shoulder to knee

:45 - Old school TT

1:06 - 1.70

1:33 - 1.50

1:58 - 1.30

2:13 - 1.10 - try to finish and streamline

2:33 - .90

2:46 - seeking power - line from shoulders to knees - bigger bend

2:51 - .70

2:55 - better line

2:59 - doesn’t seem to be AS crunched

Sunday

Breast Drills: Resistance Wall Kick

Great drill for awakening the feeling of *press* in the breaststroke kick.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1486-breaststroke-resistance-wall-kick> 

:06 - use the strap - see the W

<https://www.finisswim.com/Pulling-Ankle-Strap_2>

:09 - W

:14 - hide the recovery

:15 - show the feet (W)

<https://www.finisswim.com/Alignment-Kickboard>

:40 - find the point where you can’t go any further

:44 - grab the water with the feet

1:02 - at the greatest resistance point - feel the toes point to the sides

1:24 - this is all about awakening the feet - not body line 

1:33 - shoulders to knees

Bonus:

Glenn Endless Pool: Kick Width

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/3267-breaststroke-kick-width>

Glenn EP: Kick Recovery

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1584-endless-pool-kick-recovery>

Glenn EP: Reverse Kick

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1585-endless-pool-reverse-kick>

Breast Drills: High-Heels Progression 2

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1137-breaststroke-high-heels-progression-2>

Water Running for the Serious Athlete: Bent-Knee Crossovers

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/793-stride-13-bent-knee-crossovers>

Chat -

10:04:00 From Dan Jimar to Glenn Mills(Direct Message):

VPN works well for many of those programs (was able to watch Canadian trial that way).

10:07:23 From William Park ChPC to Glenn Mills(Direct Message):

Muck more streamlined

10:12:31 From William Park ChPC to Glenn Mills(Direct Message):

I’m sorry I got to go you tan amazing teacher first n coach second go blue

10:13:31 From Randy Parker to Everyone:

How’s the torque on the knees? After three meniscus surgeries, I’m trying to be careful.

10:18:18 From Cindy Dyer to Everyone:

Is it the knee only making the angle out or are the hips joints also flexing?

10:22:10 From Monty Krieger to Everyone:

but by keeping the soles of the feet together the knees go out

10:22:25 From Ruth Cheung to Everyone:

What does the L stand for “for the NO L’s” - sorry I might have missed it

10:22:39 From Berrin Yavuzer to Everyone:

most go out to shoulder wide

10:23:01 From Barbara Hummel to Everyone:

Ruth, that’s the angle that Glenn talked about at the beginning of the webinar.

10:24:12 From Dan Jimar to Everyone:

for swimmers that keep the feet inside the knees even during the kick?

10:35:26 From Melinda Wolff to Everyone:

As a masters breaststroke swimmer, I get severe calf cramps IF I try to "point" my toes at the end of the kick, regardless of how gently I am pointing them. (I get similar cramping when doing strong underwater dolphin kicks.) I notice in this Davo Stacianna Wall Kick video that his toes are facing the wall , not the bottom of the pool. Do other swimmers here suffer from calf cramps as a result of pointing toes or underwaters?

10:37:30 From Gregg Thurlbeck to Everyone:

Plenty of people have this cramping issue. And it can really be exacerbated by the flex and point of pushing off the wall.

10:38:25 From Wallis Lahtinen-Hicks to Everyone:

I get those calf cramps during butterfly-no fun

10:39:01 From Berrin Yavuzer to Everyone:

More pointing toes flexibility exercises on land could help your cramps :)

10:41:34 From Wallis Lahtinen-Hicks to Everyone:

thanks

10:42:07 From Gregg Thurlbeck to Everyone:

I am not a fan of supplements, but a fellow swimmer recommended Rosa Canina (rose hip) drops for this cramping issue. It has worked quite well for me. But I would point out that another swimmer in my club were not helped.

10:42:09 From Katie Kenny to Everyone:

Can you talk a bit more about ankle flexibility? Is it more about the range of motion or how loose the motion feels? What range of motion would be considered flexible? I feel like it takes strength for the motion to feel loose?

10:42:37 From Mark Hesse to Everyone:

try curling the toes instead of pointing them

10:43:32 From Mark Hesse to Everyone:

that was a hint from Sergio Lopez

10:49:40 From Paul Howard to Everyone:

In slow motion check out the up motion of the feet as it also drives forward.

10:50:33 From Melinda Wolff to Everyone:

A tip I got years ago was to "squeeze a grape" between your butt cheeks - to me this helps bring the hips down to the the thighs.

10:51:46 From Brian Lindsay to Everyone:

What mode for the tempo? I think you just answered it.

10:52:18 From Barbara Hummel to Everyone:

I like to use Mode 1

10:52:46 From Brian Lindsay to Everyone:

Thanks!

10:56:58 From Melinda Wolff to Everyone:

A drill that I like: 1 leg + opposite arm BR, for 25 . Then switch leg/arm

10:57:15 From Dan Jimar to Everyone:

the bonus video links will be on the page later?

10:57:34 From Dan Jimar to Glenn Mills(Direct Message):

1990 Goodwill games: Mike Barrowman - 2.11.53, Kirk Stackle & Sergio Lopez 2:12.24 all under old world record of 2.12.89 (Barrowman in Tokyo 8/1989)

10:58:09 From Melinda Wolff to Everyone:

Foam rolling your thighs really helps with flexibility.

10:58:37 From Monty Krieger to Everyone:

Tufts Medicine | Rethinking Muscle Cramps

Tufts University

https://sites.tufts.edu › medicine › winter-2017 › rethi...

Rod MacKinnon, M82, H02, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, has a different idea. “The primary origin of the cramp is the nerve, not the muscle,” ...

10:59:19 From Monty Krieger to Everyone:

<https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/elle-fit/news/a31275/scientist-rod-mackinnon-discovers-cure-for-cramping-muscles/>

Eureka: Nobel Prize Winner Figures Out The Cure For Cramps

A scientist has reportedly figured out the cure for muscle cramps while out on a kayaking trip.

Nobel Prize winning molecular neurobiologist Rod MacKinnon, while on a sea kayaking jaunt seven miles off the coast of Cape Cod, had the unpleasant, but entirely familiar experience of cramping arm and leg muscles, putting him and a friend at risk, being so far out to sea. 

After the episode, Rod decided to put his significant brain power to work, eventually figuring out what many have misdiagnosed as the root cause of cramps.

10:59:20 From Jonathan Korchuk to Everyone:

Maybe why hot spice works for cramping.

11:00:10 From Monty Krieger to Everyone:

Apparently, instead of quaffing a bottle of water and the juice of some olives in the hope of replenishing water and electrolyte supplies, the best remedy might actually be to quickly consume a hot blend of ginger, cinnamon and bell peppers.

11:00:46 From Barbara Hummel to Everyone:

Thanks Monty!

11:00:58 From Barbara Hummel to Everyone:

I think it’s pickle juice!

11:01:52 From Randy Parker to Everyone:

My focus point for getting in the “W” shape is on inward hip rotation.

11:02:23 From Melinda Wolff to Everyone:

I was drinking pickle juice, too - great for my breath (NOT!)

11:04:46 From Cindy Dyer to Everyone:

Do you use a band to keep heels together?

11:05:29 From Barbara Hummel to Everyone:

That might be a bit anxiety producing to take away use of the legs completely

11:05:37 From Monty Krieger to Everyone:

how do you help people overcome an asymmetric breaststroke kick?

11:06:04 From Wallis Lahtinen-Hicks to Everyone:

are they actually going to move with the heels together? are they pulling or only kicking?

11:06:49 From Gregg Thurlbeck to Everyone:

I had one swimmer who had a slight scissor with one hip higher than the other. I had them turn their head toward the high hip side which forced that hip down.

11:07:28 From Randy Parker to Everyone:

Stand on pool deck on left foot. Right leg bent 90 degrees, swing right foot to side to demonstrate inward hip rotation.

11:07:58 From Mark Hesse to Everyone:

no pulling, most folks will not be able to move forward much at first with the heeels together but they do learn if they stick with it

11:08:19 From Jonathan Korchuk to Everyone:

I use the wall a lot to fix this

11:08:24 From Mark Hesse to Everyone:

Reacted to "I had one swimmer wh..." with ❤️

11:11:38 From Dan Jimar to Glenn Mills(Direct Message):

Hyman steps?

11:11:40 From Jonathan Korchuk to Everyone:

Maggie then😀

11:11:51 From Monty Krieger to Glenn Mills(Direct Message):

do you have video of YOU filming - would be interesting to see

11:11:54 From Cindy Dyer to Everyone:

I appreciate any help with my breaststroke kick! Lots of things to try. Thanks

11:12:06 From Camy Gitwenty to Everyone:

Very interesting , thanks

11:12:11 From Wallis Lahtinen-Hicks to Everyone:

thanks!

11:12:12 From Jonathan Korchuk to Everyone:

Great ideas..

Thanks


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April 4, 2023 - Sculling with Your Feet – Breaststroke Zoom