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.

http://blip.tv/swimmingworldtv/dryland-tip-dynamic-hip-mobility-5639753

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

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