Next Step: Breaststroke or Butterfly?

Originally posted by ande ... breastroke seems easy, but it's difficult to swim correctly ... ande Ande speaks the truth. Breaststroke is funny. I have a good friend who is a runner but swims twice a week so he can do tris. We were talking about our swimming workouts one day. I do *** a lot and push myself. I am "OK" at it, but certainly not great. But I get much more of a workout when I do some *** with my free. He was surprised - he thought *** was easy and that he uses it as a way to catch his breath. Of course, he does the "head above the water at all times, no pull-down, gentle kick" style of breaststroke!:eek:

Originally posted by ande tackle both breastroke seems easy, but it's difficult to swim correctly ande You've got that right! I was a breaststoker in high school over 26 years ago - we couldn't submerge the head. Since then I've been swimming for triathlon so I focus on crawl. But this year I joined a USMS club and actually swam a few meets. So I've been trying to teach myself the new wave style of breaststroke. It's not as exhausting as fly but it seems to have a lot of the same rhythm. And that rhythm seems harder to keep if you swim it easy. And strangely, even though I've been swimming primarly crawl for so many years, in the meets, breaststroke is still my best stroke :)

Start working on fly and breaststroke together. They're both "Short Axis" strokes, and there's a number of drills that are almost the same or very similar for both. You can learn the common and basic things for both first, then elaborate on that.

tackle both breastroke seems easy, but it's difficult to swim correctly fly is tiring ande Originally posted by bearcat I've been swimming regularly for fun and fitness for 2-3 years now and have become reasonably proficient in freestyle and backstroke. I swim on my own--no coach or masters group. I'd like to learn the other two strokes. Which of the two should I tackle next? My guess is that breastroke would be easier to learn and easier on the shoulders but I'm game for either one. Thanks for any suggestions.

If you're into survival, lifesaving and utility strokes, then I suggest breaststroke. I think butterfly has its place in meets, competitions and the like, but not much else. Sidestroke is another very interesting utility stroke you can learn esp. for lifesaving.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I'll take a shot at both. One of the things I really like about swimming is that there is always something technical to work on and try to improve. I guess some people might find this discouraging, but to me the possibility that you can do something a little better keeps it interesting.

Actually, I would say that butterfly is easier to learn, but it is definitely harder on the shoulders. Both strokes require a lot of energy and will help strengthen your core, which will in turn help your free and back. I agree with etrain. TI has some good drills that will help get you into shape for both strokes and teach you the fundamental movements for each. Hook'em Blue

be sure to check out this website: http://www.breaststroke.info/ one of my favorites on breaststroke, and a darn good coach :)

Sidestroke is another very interesting utility stroke you can learn esp. for lifesaving. Are there any DVD's or videos that teach Sidestroke? I haven't seen anything about Sidestroke on the web.