In these clips, I want you to focus on my legs.

In these clips, I want you to focus on the legs.

Remember: Fast breaststroke is all about minimizing resistance. You can have the most powerful kick in the world, but if you create drag and resistance with your legs, that big kick will get you nowhere.

A lot of swimmers let their knees and feet go wide as they prepare for the kick. This can feel powerful, but it creates a lot of drag. To avoid drag, I try to hide my feet behind the thighs until the very last moment.

Here’s a slow-motion clip to show how I do this. As the hips draw forward, I keep my toes pointed and my legs in streamline.

Here, as I finish the pull and get ready to deliver the kick, my feet are hidden behind the thighs.

When I kick, I also think about recovering the heels as high as possible. In these clips, notice that my feet are right near the surface, and that my heels actually come out of the water.

Now let’s focus on the feet and the kick. As my feet reach their highest point, I point the toes out toward the side walls. I also bring the heels as close as I can to the hips. This gives me the biggest kick possible and the most propulsion FORWARD. In breaststroke, you gotta kick butt to kick butt.

Let’s watch this from a different angle. Focus just on the feet.

And now focus on how high I carry the hips through the entire stroke cycle. I recover the heels as high as possible – but keep them hidden – and I carry the hips as high as possible.