How Does The Breast Stroke Differ From Other Swimming Styles?

The Breaststroke:A Different Swim

During the 2008 Olympics a United States swimmer by the name of Michael Phelps won eight gold medals. He won them by swimming a number of swimming strokes. Although Phelps is known as a speedy swimmer with tough endurance, his "slowest" stroke was always the breaststroke. So what makes the breast stroke different from all the others, even to an Olympic record-breaker like Michael Phelps?

The motion of the breaststroke is different for one big reason: your head is out of the water the majority of the time. In a properly formed breaststroke, your head should never go under water. For the breaststroke, a swimmer's chest is the focus on the water as opposed to a completely lateral position like the freestyle or the back in the backstroke. The swimmer almost "leans" into his or her chest at an angle, causing the head to stay above water.

The leg motions in a breaststroke are also very different from other swimming strokes. Instead of a quick up-down motion of the legs, breaststroke swimmers kick almost like frogs, with the knees riding up to thigh level and back down until the feet almost touch. For advanced breaststroke swimmers (like Michael Phelps and Brendan Hansen), the leg action rides like a whip from the abdominal muscles to the tip of the feet.

Breathing during the breaststroke is also different. Breathing in through the mouth should take place right before the arms come up towards the head. Those who swim the butterfly stroke try to catch small breaths just as the face comes up above the water in mid-stroke. Backstroke swimmers can breathe at almost any time.

In competitive breaststroke swimming, there is a lot of focus on the turns and kick-offs from the wall. At the Olympic level you can only perform one "dolphin" kick that moves your feet like a dolphin does his tail when swimming. Anything beyond one dolphin kick or any foot movement that takes the feet up and not out can disqualify a swimmer. Arm position in the turns and kick-offs is just as important. Breaststroke swimmers keep their arms alongside their bodies to increase speed, while freestyle swimmers keep their arms forward and extended. All of the different motions combined may make a breaststroke swimmer seem slow, but the efficiency of the stroke is nearly unmatched.

When you see competitive swimmers doing the breaststroke, think about all the required movements, mechanics, and breathing that it takes to make the breaststroke happen. They may seem slow, but they are working hard.