Fitter And Faster Swim Drill Of The Week: 3-2-1 Count

Welcome to the “Swim Drill of the Week” sponsored by The Fitter and Faster Swim Tour presented by Swimoutlet.com. Swimming World will be bringing you a drill, concept, or tip that you can implement with your team on a regular basis. While certain weeks may be more appropriate for specific levels of swimming (club, high school, college, or masters), Drill Of The Week excerpts are meant to be flexible for your needs and inclusive for all levels of swimming.

This week’s drill is 3-2-1 count, which is a timing drill for breaststroke. The drill itself is relatively simple. Swimming breaststroke normally, swimmers will take pauses between each stroke cycle. Each pause will decrease in time over three strokes before starting the sequence over. After the first stroke cycle, swimmers will pause for a count of 3; after the second stroke cycle a count of 2; and after the final stroke cycle a count of 1.

The key for this drill is to maintain a high stable body position after each stroke cycle and also time the pull and kick so that you are moving forward in that streamlined position between cycles. The pull always comes before the kick, so swimmers should be accelerating as their arms move forward and their kick comes to a close. The 3 count pause will seem very long, the 2 count less so, and the 1 count close to normal. This helps your swimmers distinguish when they are accelerating and decelerating while also giving them a better sense of the amount of propulsion in each stroke cycle.

This is a great drill to continue to work on timing and pair with other breaststroke drills such as 2 kicks, 1 pull or separation drill in a progression. Below is an example of a breaststroke drill progression that would work on timing as your athletes move to full stroke breaststroke:

4 x 25’s as 2 kicks, 1 pull

3 x 25’s as separation drill

2 x 25’s as 3-2-1 count

1 x 25 build full stroke breaststroke

This a great drill to have in the toolbox to find that efficient, powerful breaststroke with perfect timing. Happy swimming!

Name*

Email*

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