**Injury Prevention in Breaststroke**

When it comes to injury prevention in swimming, freestylers (and their rotator cuffs) get most of the attention. But what about breaststrokers and their stressed-out knees, ankles, leg tendons, groins, and biceps? This week we send out some ideas for avoiding injury in GoSwim’s favorite stroke.

**Monday**

**Breast Drill: Kick Variation**

To avoid breaststroker’s knee, learn how to vary your kick!

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1389-breaststroke-kick-variation>

:50 - Narrow recovery

:57 - Wider recovery

1:05 - Narrow

1:10 - Normal Kick

1:16 - Wide kick

1:30 - complete and finish each kick

**Tuesday**

**Breast Drill: Pull Buoy Kick**

From developing a narrower kick, to avoiding knee pain, kicking breaststroke with a pull buoy is a very useful drill.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1376-breaststroke-pull-buoy-kick>

:22 - Hold the buoy between the thighs

:36 - requires good ankle flexibility to grab some water

:51 - feel the grab of the water at the top of the kick

1:03 - point the toes out

**Wednesday**

**Breast Drill: Band Kick**

Train a narrow breaststroke kick with a band around the ankles.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/837-breaststroke-band-kick>

:15 - too wide

:25 - theraband around the ankles

:40 - holding the ankles a bit closer together

:49 - criss cross the band

:58 - kick with a board to get used to it

1:07 - feel the band stretch out as you grab the water

1:15 - move to full stroke with a typical kick

1:37 - teach the kick BACK not just out and around

**Thursday**

**Breast Drill: Single-Leg Kick**

Single-leg kick is a great way to reveal – and correct – imbalances that can lead to injury.

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

:16 - kick breaststroke one leg at a time

:30 - build quickness and coordination 

:38 - see if there are differences in how you connect or kick w each leg

1:03 - initiate the single leg kick underwater

1:09 - 3-3 kick

1:15 - 2-2 kick

1:18 - 1-1 kick

1:22 - back to regular kick

1:51 - play with your own variations

**Friday**

**Breast Drill: Narrow to Wide Pull**

Breaststroke pull can put stress on the biceps. Learning to vary the width of your pull can help prevent overuse injury – and adds interest to your breaststroke sets.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1974-breaststroke-narrow-to-wide-pull>

:15 - World class width

:21 - start with a very small pull

:23 - a little larger pull

:25 - larger still

:28 - larger or normal stroke

:35 - small

:38 - wider

:41 - wider (in theory)

:50 - gradually building a wider stroke

**Saturday**

**Denniston Drills: Fast Hands with Flutter Kick**

Doing breaststroke with flutter kick is a killer way to avoid overuse injury to the knees. It’s also a great way to work on fast hands and your breaststroke LINE.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/200-fast-hands-with-flutter-kick>

:12 - flutter kick breaststroke

:30 - continuous kick

:43 - quick strokes

:59 - continuous kick

**Sunday**

**Breast Drill: 4-Stroke Free Breast**

Combo drills are a great way to avoid overuse injuries. Here’s how to combine breast and free.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1701-breaststroke-4-stroke-free-breast>

:29 - regular free

:31 - high recovery free for the weight

:33 - dive into the glide

:42 - dive into the glide

:51 - dive into the glide and into the outsweep

:54 - keep the eyes down during the outsweep

1:22 - extending long and below the surface

**Bonus:**

**Breast Drill: Kick with Fins**

Two benefits: 1) reduce stress on the biceps by pulling every other stroke, and 2) imprint a better catch position for the feet and ankles.

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

1:12 - double kick w fins

**Breast Drill (Glenn in EP): Kick Size**

Overhead views of breaststroke kick with size variations

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2924-breaststroke-kick-size>

1:43 - variations in recovery resistance

**Golomeev: Physioball Balance**

Great dryland exercise for strengthening the inner thighs.

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2275-physioball-balance>

**Breaststroke - Medball Kick**

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/2626-breaststroke-medball-kick>

:33 - hold it between your knees

:50 - release the ball

**Double Medball Eggbeater**

<https://www.goswim.tv/lessons/1577-training-double-med-ball-eggbeater>

1:54 - straighten the arms

2:08 - sand filled

Chat -

12:07:28 From Beth Baker To Everyone:

Are you talking about the pullout?

12:08:42 From Coach Dan Jimar To Glenn Mills(Privately):

Mille

12:08:55 From Coach Dan Jimar To Everyone:

Mille

12:09:17 From Randy Parker To Everyone:

Rebecca Soni

12:10:37 From Melinda Wolff To Everyone:

YES!!! REbecca Soni is who I was trying to remember! Thanks, Randy.

12:15:11 From Monty Krieger To Everyone:

Are you suggesting changes PRIOR to injury or response to injury?

12:15:25 From Coach Dan Jimar To Glenn Mills(Privately):

replace breaststroke kick with fly kick when knees are hurting (other options?)

12:16:20 From Coach Dan Jimar To Glenn Mills(Privately):

torn hamstring from wakeboard (for me personally, Thursday a week and a half ago).

12:16:45 From William park ChPC To Glenn Mills(Privately):

Great teaching Glenn thank you happy move to your new house. Go Blue. Sorry I have to go

12:20:23 From Paul Howard To Everyone:

Pull bouy also helps with teaching leg turnover turn over intern to support arm turn over.

12:21:49 From Nancy Schley To Everyone:

For hams and groin mm pulls, careful gentle stretches ..don't over stretch these two

12:25:27 From Coach Dan Jimar To Everyone:

thank you

12:27:49 From Melinda Wolff To Everyone:

Look at her ankles in her K - amazing flexibility!

12:29:19 From Beth Baker To Everyone:

Love how fast she gets her hands out regardless of the width of her pull

12:31:12 From Coach Dan Jimar To Glenn Mills(Privately):

I start them (esp younger) with scowling out and in with hands and build the arms bigger from there

12:31:41 From Melinda Wolff To Everyone:

Who is this swimmer with fast hands? Such a great, smooth stroke!

12:34:48 From Monty Krieger To Everyone:

are you doing one dolphin kick when you do exchange?

12:35:57 From Monty Krieger To Everyone:

What is the advantage of that other than less breaststroke?

12:37:45 From Cindy Dyer To Everyone:

I purchased these fins a few months and have helped me understand what my legs and feet are to

12:37:54 From Cindy Dyer To Everyone:

doing

12:38:53 From Lindsay Leigh To Everyone:

Which Finis fins are these again?

12:39:22 From Lindsay Leigh To Everyone:

https://www.finisswim.com/Positive-Drive-Fin Found them!

12:45:08 From Monty Krieger To Everyone:

are the 2 10Lb med balls allowed under the Geneva Convention?

12:49:44 From Monty Krieger To Everyone:

What about length one swims breaststroke - are shorter distances ‘fast’ better than longer distance repeats?

12:54:25 From Beth Baker To Glenn Mills(Privately):

Not sure if you saw my text. But, how do you avoid a dolphin kick at end of a breast stroke? What is the swimmer missing? Balance, alignment? I can communicate with you offline if best.

12:54:30 From Monty Krieger To Glenn Mills(Privately):

Do you have a hard time lifting your torso up (pulling hips forward) when going slowly/purposefully?

12:54:41 From julie Phillips To Everyone:

can you just use a pullbuoy to help with a narrow kick

12:55:31 From Barbara Hummel To Everyone:

Julie, I do a lot of that to help with narrow kick. Usually alternate a length of free pull and a length of breast

12:55:52 From julie Phillips To Everyone:

Reacted to "Julie, I do a lot of..." with 👍

12:56:10 From Barbara Hummel To Everyone:

It does elevate your body position a bit. When you take off the pull buoy you’ll ride a little lower in the water.

12:56:40 From Gregg Thurlbeck To Everyone:

Some people, women in particular, who have a flatter breaststroke have a lot of difficulty with using a pull buoy because the feet come out of the water

12:57:10 From Beth Baker To Everyone:

Reacted to "Some people, women i..." with 👍

12:57:16 From Shirley Chung To Everyone:

Reacted to "Some people, women i..." with 👍

12:57:24 From Nancy Schley To Everyone:

that's good!!

12:57:34 From Melinda Wolff To Glenn Mills(Privately):

I'm still hankering for information on HOW to breathe, before, during and after racing.

12:58:39 From Beth Baker To Everyone:

Straight arm pull feels powerful but EVF is what we SHOULD be doing.

12:59:15 From Amy Brown To Everyone:

Exactly!!!! Never felt injury from swimming until recently entering a new decade.

12:59:32 From Beth Baker To Everyone:

Would love a zoom session on that!

13:01:15 From Camy Gitwenty To Everyone:

yes, a zoom on "it feels fast but I"m slower" and "it feels slow but I ride fast effortless"

13:02:12 From Beth Baker To Everyone:

Reacted to "yes, a zoom on "it f..." with 👍

13:03:21 From Nancy Schley To Everyone:

Good luck with moving!

13:03:24 From Nicole Linn To Everyone:

Thank you!!


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Oct. 10, 2023 - Injury Prevention in Breaststroke Zoom