Breaststroke has always been my favourite stroke, but I've had these questions/problems for the longest times, could someone answer them for me? By the way, I'm 15.
1) How in the WORLD is it possible to do that ankle snap thing? I've been trying to turn my ankle out and in but it just wouldn't budge. It's just stuck there, and it cannot move side to side. I've seen some pictures of breaststrokers' feet turning 90 degrees in, but how can I do that? What are some exercises to improve side-to-side ankle flexibility?
2) I have a pretty narrow kick, and I think it is decent. However, I never feel the "explosion" everyone's talking about. I try my hardest to kick hardest, accelerating, but my legs just feel like pasta at the end of each kick. I can get pretty far with my kicks, but I feel like I can do better - I sometimes don't feel a lot of water resistance against my feet.
3) I've been having a bit of trouble with slipping recently. When I'm doing a 50 or 100m *** at a faster pace, my hands will sometimes fail to grab water, and sometimes a foot, sometimes both feet! I think it has to do with my pulling too fast, but I dunno.
4) When I go into a wall during ***, I am usually not tired, not even in a sprint (Short Course). However, the minute I complete my turn and start my underwater pull out, all hell breaks lose. I feel like my lungs will explode, and right after my first breath every single muscle begins hurting like never before. All fatigue comes at this one turn, and worsens every turn, until the last turn my underwater pullout is much shorter than my first pullout (from pushoff, I can usually do 10 meters from the pushoff while still maintaining a decent speed).
5) What are some workouts I can do to improve my sprint 50m and 100m breaststroke (short course)? I think I can do a near 40s 41s for 50m short course breaststroke from pushoff, but I want to get close to and under 35s.
6) What are some dry-land exercises I can do to improve my breaststroke?
7) Any other advice for faster sprint breaststroke?
Thanks A BUNCH to everyone who replies. I am really frustrated right now. Thanks again.
Former Member
Originally posted by GoRedFoxes
One should never actually 'hold' their breath at anytime in a race, unless you like CO2 build up.
There are times when a steady exhale seems to be more comfortable, but it seems counterintuitive that having less air in your lungs would result in less CO2 buildup.
All, if you took the American Swim Coaches Association Level 3 Physiology School, page 22: "In action, anerobic glycolysis occurs first, up to 40 seconds on intense exercise, and then shifts to aerobic glycolysis over 40 seconds."
I asked John Leonard the following: Does anerobic glycolysis always come first and if so then is there any reason to breath on any 50 event (under 40 seconds)? In a 50 breaststroke there would be no physiological reason for breathing.
His answers were YES!!!
GoRedFoxes, in World Cup, where there is a LOT of money at stake, many European swimmers are beating us for the money, better starts (grab), better turns and no breathing. Someday you will find a breaststroker going 25 seconds high for 50 meters short course by holding their breathe! That is worth $5000 for the win and $25,000 for the World Record!
Wayne has a theory that swimming breaststroke without breathing is faster. I think for some people it is. It doesn't seem to be for me. Try it, results may vary. I don't exhale continously underwater in the pullout ,nor have I seen any videos of world class breaststrokers who do. I don't see how doing so would decrease CO2 build up. Its not the CO2 in your lungs that is the problem,it's the CO2 in your blood stream. A rapid exhale just before inhaling will work at least as well.Stored O2 in you lungs will also continue to supply some oxygenation so you don't want to get rid of it until you can replace it.( See the video referred to on another thread of the guy setting the underwater distance record,he held his breath throughout.)
GoRedFoxes writes: "you know when you get those pesky stitches (what some may call cramps) in your diaphram? That's from holding your breath, and not getting all the air out from your lungs between exhale in inhale."
This does not sound right to me, calling on my ancient knowledge and study of exercise physiology. My recollection is that a "stitch" in the mid-section is a result of ischemia . . . a lack of oxygen to the tissue . . . this occurs when in exercise the blood is drawn to the working muscles in the limbs and away from the stomach region . . . and has nothing to do with "getting all the air out" . . . other than more efficient breathing provides more oxygen to the system overall.
Is my recollection faulty or has the understanding changed?
Not sure if mind over matter works when it comes to co2 buildup or lack of o2 to the mid-section, but when I concentrate on emptying my lungs completely, I don't get stitches. Additionally, My coach (back in college) taught us the controlled exhale as an alternative to breath holding. It worked great then, and even more importantly, now that I am a smoker, and my lungs aren't like they were back then, works great now.
Tell me this, when you swim underwater as far as you can, and towards the end, and your lungs are aching, what do you do to get the additional yards? Just keep it in, and think dam the torpedos? Or do you slowly release the air and relish in the relief it brings.
Hey, I'm just saying try it. If it doesn't work for you, you feel more pain, you're getting less distance, then go ahead and hold your breath till you're blue.
There is a difference, as I perceived your post, between the pain of holding your breath and the "stitch" to which you originally referred. There is no doubt, in my view, that slow exhalation permits you greater comfort and an ability to continue not breathing for a longer period of time. So I agree with you there. What I took issue with, was your assertion that the "stitch" is caused by residual oxygen in the lungs from not completely exhaling. The pain of breath holding and overwhelming desire to breath (lungs feel like bursting) is not the same as a "stitch" which, as I noted, is based on lack of oxygen to the tissues. Maybe you're using the term "stitch" in a different context.
Hmmm, not sure if I have ever (in modern times) seen world class swimmers not breathe every stroke in the breaststroke. The motion is as part of the breaststroke as the hip thrust is to fly. Not my point though, what I was saying is, if you hold your breath for 10 seconds for the pull out, try releasing air from your lungs for that same 10 seconds. You will find this exercise to be repeatable more times than if you were to hold your breath.
The closer you can get to normal breathing during a race, the less winded you are going to feel.
Lindsay, you know when you get those pesky stitches (what some may call cramps) in your diaphram? That's from holding your breath, and not getting all the air out from your lungs between exhale in inhale. If you perform the slow release correctly, there will only be small amount to exhale before inhaling, reducing the risk of keeping 'old' air in your lungs.
