Why do most masters swimmers hate breaststroke?

Knee damage, I think the only ones who hate it can no longer do it. But George, I'm not in this category... I told you my knees are in a blissful state since I've stopped running a 10K every day or so.

I actually did most of my swimming breaststroke, b/c I couldn't do free for more than, let's say, 50 yards at a time. Then while an injured runner in '02, I missed competition, so decided to try an open water mile--and I figured my breaststroke would mean that the rescue boats would be out looking for me after sundown.... So I weaned myself of breaststroke, trying to add more and more freestyle laps, until I could go a mile with free only. (Let's just say, I had no masters swimming/coaching advice at the time, just doing a lot on my own. Breaststroke remained my comfort stroke, but it isn't now b/c my knees are torn up from running and hurt when I try breaststroke. But do I hate breaststroke? Absolutely not. I wish my body allowed me to do it better, but that isn't the fault of the stroke. The people I really envy are those I see swimming breaststroke while I do free--and passing me! :frustrated:

If it is swam right, it takes a whole lot of energy to go all out but yet you don't go fast! I love the feeling off the underwater pullouts but feel like I'm moving in slow motion between the walls! I've learned some "new" techniques (wave breaststroke) that have helped my speed but I still feel S-L-O-W. It is such a finesse stroke and I don't seem to have it!:dunno:

I think it's just that breaststroke-haters tend to be very vocal. *** is my best stroke, but whenever we do it, all of the fast people who aren't breaststrokers moan and complain. Sometimes I make fun of them when we switch to freestyle again, saying, "Oh freestyle, oh no! I can't believe we have to swim freestyle." Maybe all the breaststrokers are just quietly waiting in the shadows while the outspoken other-strokers complain ...

I cant' really say that I hate it. Maybe I hate those who are good at it because I'm jealous. My stroke stinks...It takes a lot of effort and I'm not very fast and it's frustrating. :frustrated: As one who started swimming just before 50, I want to be able to swim all the strokes proficiently. I guess I should be happy with 3 out of 4.

But I can quote an argument of a frient of mine. He said that breaststroke is a frustrating stroke. The speed you can develop is hardly relevant to the amount of energy you put into your performance./QUOTE] EXACTLY! When you go all out on the other strokes, you "feel" fast. I don't get that feeling when I swim *** all out.

Not sure if 'most' masters swimmers hate ***, but there are several that do... Personally, I think it's all about the kick. Breaststroke kick is either a natural movement (for me and I would bet just about every breaststroker) or an unnatural movement (for the majority). Breaststroke is the only stroke where the majority of your propulsion comes from the kick. I.e., there is no way you can fake the kick. In the other strokes, the majority of propulsion comes from your arms (yes, yes, there is core strength involved, but in the end your arms and hands are moving more water than your feet and legs.) People without a natural kick can still become very very fast (think Michael Phelps) but usually those swimmers learned *** young, when the body is still flexible and easier to train to do 'unnatural' movements. Plus, as you get older, the body loses flexibility making it harder to 'grip' the water with the instep of your foot and ankle if they don't natually turn that way. And those fast Michael Phelps-like breaststrokers out there trained trained trained. A good streamline, wave, and rhythm can get you very far in ***, even with a so-so or not natural kick. But you have to really work to get these things. How many masters programs are out there that really work and train all 4 strokes? I'm willing to bet the majority of masters programs are very distance freestyle oriented. (Or at least, very freestyle oriented.) My 2 cents. FYI, I should mention that my flutterkick and dolphin kick really really really utterly suck...

Maybe all the breaststrokers are just quietly waiting in the shadows while the outspoken other-strokers complain ... Precisely.

AquaFeisty: I agree. Most masters programs have "ready go" coaches that don't coach the strokes. My team actually does a lot of stroke/IM work because we don't have that many triathletes, but we never focus on getting the breaststroke right. (But we only have a couple breaststrokers -- again, my point about there not being many.) When I grew up, we separated age groupers into sprinters, strokers and distance free. I wish masters groups would do that instead of the fast to slow lane breakdown. I feel no need to anything over a 200 free no matter "how good" it's supposed to be for me. (I was told this the day we did 3 x 1000 ---yuck). Chlorini: I am actually a vocal distance free hater. I always say, "oh no, not another 400 free." I'd much rather work on *** than pounding out junk yardage doing long free. I agree with what someone said on another thread -- if you're going to swim the 1500 free, it should be in open water. Lindsay: Exactly right. Breaststroke requires a ton of energy to do it correctly. I find myself gasping for breath even though I'm technically breathing every stroke. Just thinking about how exhausting it is makes me want a :coffee: .

I hate breaststroke because I suck at it. Truer words were never spoken. But I suck more at distance free. I'd rather do a 50 *** if I could ever figure out how to do it properly.