Breaststroke - Pulldown and Arm Recovery

Posted by Glenn Mills on Feb 24, 2009 09:14AM (22,369 views)

During the breaststroke underwater pullout, the arms pull DOWN during the power phase, and then arms recover back UP to start the first stroke. This week's drill will help you isolate and work on this move: the arm recovery after the breaststroke pulldown.

- Learn great turns from Dave Denniston's DVD

Why Do It:
Staying small and tight during the breaststroke underwater arm recovery can help you to maintain your speed off the wall. Minimizing the resistance is key here, and learning a couple key points can really help you hang on to your momentum.

How to Do It:
1.  After your breaststroke pulldown, keep your head in line, your arms next to your sides, and your toes pointed. From directly in front, nothing but your head and shoulders should be showing.
2.  Initiate the arm recovery with your hands, keeping them tight against your body... and almost SCRAPING them along your skin or suit. As much as possible, try to keep your elbows in. Our demonstrator allows his elbows to go out a bit... we'll fix that this week.
3.  As your hands approach your chin, begin the recovery of the legs and keep your hands as tight in front of, or against, your head as possible.
4.  Recover your legs with your calves hidden behind your thighs while continuing to extend your hands forward.
5.  Pitch your feet out, keeping your head down and beginning to prepare for your first pull.
6.  As you finish the kick, start your first pull, trying to keep your head down and in line.
7.  When your hands reach their widest point, your head should be starting to break through the surface... then start swimming.

How to Do It Really Well (the Fine Points):
Practice a long, well-timed, and powerful breaststroke pulldown... every time you push off the wall after a breaststroke turn.

breaststroke, recovery

Responses

Cesar	Responded Feb 25, 2009 12:02AM I was expecting this drill. I like more the demostrator of the pic of the week on january 27.
fiZZLe	Responded Feb 25, 2009 05:04AM Good stuff, you may want to check out what Tennessee is doing with the dolphin kick. The coach talks about the reasoning in a floswim workout video. The idea there is to sort of have a flatter dolphin kick like Kitajima. I don't know if anyone tested with a tensiometer or anything yet though... Good focus point to get the most momentum into your swimming during the championship season! Makes a big difference for those of us over the 200lb mark.
fabrizio	Responded Feb 25, 2009 08:29AM I love this video: it shows well how to move one's hands. Thanks.
Jim Littlefield	Responded Feb 25, 2009 02:01PM I am often amazed and how much ground I can cover during a well executed pullout. While I am at the pool today I'll focus on keeping my elbows in during recovery. I have yet to figure out why I can easily go 10-15 yards further off the wall with breast stroke than I can with freestyle.
Alison Meehan	Responded Feb 28, 2009 07:21PM I found this video to be extremely beneficial! I am always striving to improve my underwater pullouts. I watched this about 10 times and then hit the pool. Good stuff.
alleycat	Responded Feb 28, 2009 11:36PM Great video - bit I keep getting distracted by that dude in the other lane doing his underwater back fly kick - such power! and flexibility!!
Glenn Mills	Responded Feb 28, 2009 11:48PM We've actually been trying to get him to limit the size of his kick. Looks good, but not enough RATE to go really fast. He's working on it though. :)
Zsofia Agnes Nagy	Responded Mar 03, 2009 03:27PM Many-many thanks!! I had to see (again) that I have a lot to improve here (everywhere).....elbows....timing....so I'll need to work a LOT on this pulldown....thanks to you, it will be easier now I saw it slowed down!
joe_owens	Responded Mar 04, 2009 05:20PM This is great for me, I'm trying to get my arms to do a bit more in breaststroke. I tried it at the pool. I can really catch the water with the pulldown, it feels almost like a 2nd pushoff. Much better than just taking the first stroke underwater. I'm not getting the bit between the pulldown and the surfacing though. By the time I surface I am almost stopped. Sometimes it's my bum or ankles that break first :) I was wondering if it is really done as deep as shown? Also could you describe the coordination of the kick. I think this is what I'm doing wrong. It looks like the feet are drawing to the butt at the same time as the hands are sneaking forward, then the kick happens just as the arms reach full extension and the palms rotate downwards. Is that it? Any other tips for getting it right? Thanks a lot. This site is great. Joe
cswitals	Responded Apr 21, 2009 05:58PM i wouldnt say the backstroker's kick is too big, but he needs to reach back farther with his hands, and keep them inline with the body. his hands/arms are pointing to the surface of the water, while his body is still trying to move forward. this is creating a lot of resistance. you can definitely see what im saying when you zoom out on the real time shot.
swimtrunk	Responded Aug 15, 2009 03:17AM I agree with CS about the BK's body position. His top body should be parallel and rigid while dolphin kicking. By holding your breath, you'll rise to the top naturally instead of aiming for it.

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Breaststroke - Pulldown and Arm Recovery

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