I'm 38 years old and started swimming for fitness about 3 months ago. I learned basic breaststroke in my late 20s but haven't practiced much back then.
Here is a video of my breaststroke swim.
www.dropbox.com/.../breaststroke 2.MOV
If I sprint, it takes me about 33 seconds for 25m and 2:27 for 100m. I can maintain 2:40 per 100m when I swim long distances like 1000m, without getting tired.
I have two modest goals - Swim 25m in 25 seconds and 100m in 2min. How do I quickly reach these goals? Is my problem my poor technique or lack of strength (I'm skinny)?
Thanks in advance.
You are basically swimming BR at about a 35 degree angle and bobbing up and down to breath as you swim. Think about getting to a horizontal position. As Allen indicated, stopping your stroke makes you slow up and sink (bob down). But, BR is about 75% kick and I would recommend working on that first and getting into a horizontal position in the water.
1. Get a kick board and snorkel and use them to do kick drills with your hands resting on the board and face in the water using the snorkel to breath while you practice your BR kick. Watch videos and get coaching/instruction on good BR kick. BR kick requires developing flexibility, so start slowly to avoid damaging knees and groin muscles.
2. Sculling drills will help you learn to catch water and help with your BR pull (watch videos of sculling drills). You can use a pull buoy to keep your legs still and to float your hips up while you scull. Keep the sculling continuous so that you learn what it feels like to not stop your arm strokes. Expand from sculling to a full BR pull. Again watch videos and listen to coaching/instruction about the BR pull. You can use the snorkel to avoid breathing and to stay horizontal in the water as you pull. Then work on your breathing without the snorkel (note that the higher you raise your head, the lower your hips will tend to go).
3. BR requires a good streamline and glide and those require learning and practice too - more videos and instruction.
4. Once you are swimming BR horizontal with the proper kick, arm stoke, and breathing, you may want to modify your BR for faster swimming. For lack of better descriptor: "caterpillar" style BR with a lunge that skilled fast BRers currently use.
Good luck with it and keep on working at it.
You are basically swimming BR at about a 35 degree angle and bobbing up and down to breath as you swim. Think about getting to a horizontal position. As Allen indicated, stopping your stroke makes you slow up and sink (bob down). But, BR is about 75% kick and I would recommend working on that first and getting into a horizontal position in the water.
1. Get a kick board and snorkel and use them to do kick drills with your hands resting on the board and face in the water using the snorkel to breath while you practice your BR kick. Watch videos and get coaching/instruction on good BR kick. BR kick requires developing flexibility, so start slowly to avoid damaging knees and groin muscles.
2. Sculling drills will help you learn to catch water and help with your BR pull (watch videos of sculling drills). You can use a pull buoy to keep your legs still and to float your hips up while you scull. Keep the sculling continuous so that you learn what it feels like to not stop your arm strokes. Expand from sculling to a full BR pull. Again watch videos and listen to coaching/instruction about the BR pull. You can use the snorkel to avoid breathing and to stay horizontal in the water as you pull. Then work on your breathing without the snorkel (note that the higher you raise your head, the lower your hips will tend to go).
3. BR requires a good streamline and glide and those require learning and practice too - more videos and instruction.
4. Once you are swimming BR horizontal with the proper kick, arm stoke, and breathing, you may want to modify your BR for faster swimming. For lack of better descriptor: "caterpillar" style BR with a lunge that skilled fast BRers currently use.
Good luck with it and keep on working at it.
