How to Swim the Breaststroke

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Phillip Toriello, and this is how to swim breaststroke. The breaststroke is basically comprised of two components, your kick, and your pull. The way I teach, I like to break down the kick first and foremost. Within that kick, we have a bend of the knees, with the base of your feet up towards the top of the water, an open of the legs, a snap, and then a glide, so it goes into your bend, open, snap, glide through the water. The glide lasting approximately two seconds. Most of the power in your kick is going to come from that snap, so if you open your legs a bit wider, you're going to have a lot more space to snap your legs together, to propel yourself through the water. The next component that I talked about, was the pull. The pull is comprised of approximately four phases. You have your outward sweep, your inward sweep towards your chest, your recovery, and your glide. The thing that I like to stress the most, is on the outward sweep. As soon as your hands come apart, lift your head for the breath, inward sweep, and then glide, putting your head down during the recovery. Pull,, breathe, bend your legs. Open, snap, recovery. Glide for two seconds. By breaking it down in those simple steps, you'll learn breaststroke in no time, and don't get down on yourself, because it does take time and practice. For more information, please contact your local swimming expert."