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Breaststroke - High-Heels Recovery

Posted by Glenn Mills on Nov 23, 2010 08:23AM (11,603 views)

The breaststroke kick is the most disruptive swimming move in our sport.  Creating as little resistance as possible during the set up for this action can be a huge advantage to your swimming.

Why Do It:
The higher your recovery of the heels, the less resistance you'll create in setting up the kick.  This over-exaggeration can help you get the feet a little closer to where you want them.

How to Do It:
1.  You can do this during any normal breaststroke set; it doesn't have to be a special drill set.
2.  Kick normally, which generally means your feet will travel in a slightly downward angle.
3.  Then allow the legs to relax a bit and follow their natural path a bit higher in the water.
4.  When you start your pull, slide your feet just above the surface and into the recovery.

How to Do It Really Well (the Fine Points):
Draw your feet into the recovery from above the water.  Don't allow them to fall back into the water, but draw them forward.  See if you can slide your feet into the recovery without showing any splash back onto the surface of the water (like our aging model is showing).


Tags breaststroke, kick, recovery


Responses

Responded Nov 23, 2010 06:12PM

Haha... (aging model!) nice demo.

Responded Nov 23, 2010 06:33PM

Very close to looking like a start of a little fly kick action when breaking water. Any chance for DQ?
Responded Nov 23, 2010 06:36PM

First... it's a drill. Second... as long as there is no downward drop in the kick then it's not a dolphin kick. The feet are drawn, not dropped. The goal is to get the feet higher, and as always, a bit of exaggeration is a good idea. The problem is that people are seeking some kind of secondary propulsion and allowing the feet to drop HARD... this can cause the DQ and/or create more resistance. Hope that clears it up a bit.
Responded Nov 23, 2010 08:18PM

Glenn....do you mean somethin like the dolphin kick can look like a breaststroke kick if the legs are to wide open??...The Dad
Responded Nov 23, 2010 10:19PM

The aging model is a good swimmer.
Responded Nov 23, 2010 10:22PM

I think more the other way round. People are looking to extend the one downward fly kick off the start and turn to almost a fly kick within every stroke cycle which is, of course, against the rules. Of course, we have all seen the fly swimmer whose kick does come apart and effectively becomes a breaststroke kick which can also lead to a D/Q
Responded Nov 23, 2010 10:26PM

Juliette... no... some people add a dolphin kick during the glide phase of the breaststroke and as GW is saying... can get them in trouble. In my teaching, safety is always first (no DQs), which means by the time this extra dolphin movement provides benefit, you're going to get DQ'd. Anything that's less than beneficial is wasted movement and more than likely introduces additional resistance. If you really want to fine tune your stroke, and keep it safe... this is one thing to think about.

PS. Thanks Cesar. ;)
Responded Nov 26, 2010 12:30PM

As regards the splash in the back : should we try to avoid it or should we do it like the model ? (problem of english understanding)
Responded Nov 26, 2010 02:38PM

The model (as stunning as he is), is trying very hard to have NO splash. If you see a bit of splash in a couple of the recoveries, ignore that and focus on the recoveries with NO splash.

I'll make sure give stern instructions to that model to fix that prior to the next filming. ;)

Hope that helps.
Responded Nov 26, 2010 07:18PM

Thanks for the drill Glenn! I really need that one. I do a little upflip during my recovery. Two swim meets ago I got warned, that I will be DQ-ed next time. I am working very hard to eliminate that upflip right now... after all, I don't it on perpose, it is just there. It so much wrong with my breast stroke that it is hard to focus only on that "little" thing.

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