Swim Drill Of The Week: Single Arm Breaststroke

Welcome to the “Swim Drill of the Week”. 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 Single Arm Breaststroke, a drill designed to increase the efficiency of the breaststroke pull. While the drill may initially seem awkward and ineffective the first time doing it, after repeated practice it will help develop a strong pull that minimizes resistance and proper timing.

To perform the drill, swimmers will alternate between a right arm pull, a left arm pull, and a full normal pull throughout a length. Swimmers will still use a full breaststroke kick following each pull. While completing the single arm pulls, swimmers should have their opposite arm extended in front. With their single pulling arm, they should focus on grabbing as much water as possible through the insweep of the pull to feel themselves drive forward. Through the middle and recovery phase of their pull they should be as fast as possible, minimizing any pause in their stroke.

Alternating between the single arms pulls forces swimmers to learn control over their timing. It is common to see swimmers slip through their stroke, pause at their chest with their pulling arm, or try to use their non-pulling arm when doing this drill. Encourage them to drive forward through each pull, and after a few cycles they should be able to translate their timing into their full, normal breaststroke pulls. The end result will be a greater awareness of the timing of their pull and a more effective and efficient pull. Happy swimming!

All swimming and dryland training and instruction should be performed under the supervision of a qualified coach or instructor, and in circumstances that ensure the safety of participants.

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

Name*

Email*

3 Comments

Oldest

Newest Most Voted

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Jake Des Roches

7 years ago

Works great with paddles!

Jabbar Prince Rind

7 years ago

ALWAYS ON TOP <3
<3 GUL-BOTTER.TK <3

Maliha Hashmi

7 years ago

Knock yourself out Ahmed Farooq!! 🙂 🙂 🙂