3 Keys to a Superior Breaststroke Kick

Martin Moravcikova World University Games 2015
Photo Courtesy: Gwangju Summer Universiade Organizing Committee

By Brittany Oxley, Swimming World College Intern

Breaststrokers are unique in the swimming community. They have strange hip and leg flexibility that allows them to powerfully kick.

Many non-breaststrokers often find breaststroke kick painful and hard to do. Non-breaststrokers often cringe when they hear they have to do breaststroke kick or swim breaststroke. As a result, they resort to the classic breaststroke pull with a dolphin kick. But nearly 70 percent of the propulsion of breaststroke comes directly from the legs. So by making your kick better, your stroke will automatically improve.

According to Dr. G. John Mullen, nearly 70 percent of swimmers experience knee pain while kicking breaststroke. So what can the swimmers do to decrease this pain and make their kick more efficient?

1. Stretching

You’ve probably heard your coach at some point tell you to stretch. Many people overlook this and do not see it as a way to recover your muscles.

How hard can it be though to spend 15 minutes a day stretching? You can do it after practice while you’re watching TV at night, or right after you wake up in the morning. Flexibility results in drastic improvements when it comes to your kick.

In order to help out your breaststroke kick, the best ways to stretch would be stretching your hips and feet.

Pigeon Stretch: This will improve the flexibility in your hip flexor, your groin, and your hamstring.

Photo Courtesy: Kelly Starrett

Butterfly: I’m sure everyone has done this in PE classes, but it is a great isolated groin stretch. You can control the deepness of the stretch and where it hits. You have control over whether you want to push your knees as close to the ground as possible, or if you want to focus on bringing your feet in towards you. Both variations will activate different muscles, and both benefit your hips.

Photo Courtesy: Priyanka Parab

Ankle Stretch: Sit down and use a band or rope around your feet. Then lightly pull the rope tight so that your ankles stretches inwards. You can then loosen the rope and pull your ankle away from you. Ankle flexibility is a vital part of grabbing water when initiating the kick and finishing the breaststroke kick. The last few inches of your kick can really surge you forward.

Photo Courtesy: Allan Phillips

2. Mobility

Getting a wider range of motion in your hips will allow your kick to become more powerful. Dolphin and flutter kick are extremely gentle on your joints. The more kicks you take, the faster you will go. However breaststroke kick is not like this. In breaststroke kick, one must learn to transfer the power and strength from on land to in the water. Taking more kicks is less efficient and exhausts more energy.

These mobility stretches described in the video will help elongate your muscles. Dynamic stretches such as these will get your heart rate up, which could be useful before practice or before you race.

3. Coordination

Most swimmers lack on-land coordination, which is why most of us swim. But becoming more coordinated on land could drastically help your breaststroke. Being aware of how your body moves on land translates to how you move in the water.

One exercises you could try doing to help improve this would be mini-band lateral walks. This will engage your lateral hip muscles. You can put the band either above your knees, while keeping wide feet and narrower knees. For another variation, you could also put an additional band around your ankles to activate tibial external rotation.

If you notice your knees go outside of your feet while you do this exercise, chances are this is how you kick as well. The number one thing to remember and be aware of in breaststroke kicking to help decrease your pain is to always kick around your knees. Never let your knees come wider than your feet. If you can master this, you can become a better breaststroke kicker.

Photo Courtesy: Karena Duduk

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

50 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Kara Lennon
8 years ago

Don Bender Margaret M. Bender

Sharon Slayton
8 years ago

Ashley Slayton

Miguel Angel Vejarano Reyes

Elmer Gonzalez_para_esos_que_se_hunden_:v

Elmer Gonzalez
8 years ago

jajajajaajja_algún_día_nadaré_bacán

Heather Good McTaggart

Kelly McTaggart

Teena Gianatti Paini
8 years ago

Christina Paini ?

poornima silva
poornima silva
8 years ago

Use the pull boy and do the brest stroke kick.
That’s the way I coach to the intermediate students.

Mohamed Tantawy
8 years ago

.

Josh Lo
8 years ago

Howie Chang woohoo!!

Howie Chang
8 years ago
Reply to  Josh Lo

Hahahaha so long ago

Bonnie-Ann Brill Keagy

Jenny is my baby breaststroker….. When she’s not looking at other swimmers

Nadia Gagliardi
8 years ago

Simon Gagliardi look at the first stretch for hip flexor

Hope Solomon Thomas
8 years ago

Abigail

Myrsini Varela
8 years ago

Agapi Savvidou

Agapi Savvidou
8 years ago
Reply to  Myrsini Varela

Ααα ευχαριστω πολυ!θα το δω!☺️??

Myrsini Varela
8 years ago
Reply to  Myrsini Varela

?☺??

Paweł Kowalski
8 years ago

(y)

Tehra Setness Scott
8 years ago

Cailey Scott ❤️❤️?

Terry Fountain
8 years ago

Cade Fountain , Tori Fountain

Autumn Hanson
8 years ago

Rebecca Marshall Merz

Belinda Norris
8 years ago

Jovarn Broughton

Youssef Ahmed Abdallah

Mohamed Eissa

Arie Camphens
8 years ago

Jeffrey Camphens,Odette Helsloot

Odette Helsloot
8 years ago
Reply to  Arie Camphens

Yeaaa

Odette Helsloot
8 years ago
Reply to  Arie Camphens

Yeaaa

Vicki Cline
8 years ago

I will pass this on!

Neah Estrada
8 years ago

Sofia Estrada

Nancy Elgharib
8 years ago

Malak Amr Freigah

Malak Amr Freigah
8 years ago
Reply to  Nancy Elgharib

Thank you

Heather Lynch Pearson
8 years ago

Reese Pearson

Luzmarie Figueroa Negron

Javier Figueroa

Denyse Housley Cox
8 years ago

Wyatt

Bill Romine
8 years ago

Paige Elisabeth Romine

Jill Eskew Tate
8 years ago

Mallory Tate

Dodoo Mag
8 years ago

Nashwa Yassin

Angela Peterson
8 years ago

Kallista Peterson

Gregor Manson
8 years ago

Kayla

Samah Abdel-Moneim Eid

Youssef Islam

Joshua Munro
8 years ago

Zane Rademaker

Abdelkhalek Gomaa
8 years ago

Allaeldin Gomaa
Randa Ahmad

Craig Patterson
8 years ago

Lachlan Patterson

Jakob Schmidt
8 years ago

Mikkel Hansen

Jakob Schmidt
8 years ago

Mikkel Hansen

Mayya Mohamed
8 years ago

Kareem Hatem

Preben Holm Paulsen
8 years ago

Steffen Kvamme

Oskar Lindholm
8 years ago

Aksel Skrydstrup

Meg Walshe
8 years ago

Lauren J C Over

Lauren J C Over
8 years ago
Reply to  Meg Walshe

Shaklzogo

Lauren J C Over
8 years ago
Reply to  Meg Walshe

jfjktowoxiot

Anne-Marie Merkly
8 years ago

Flavie Merkly

50
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x