I am attempting to perfect my start and turns for the breaststroke. I recently reviewed three articles on the breaststroke turn which I found on the USMS web site. All had different recommendations for the turn pullout. The article by Budd Termin and David Pendergast recommended holding for 1 second after pushing off the wall before beginning the pullout. Another by Wayne McCauley recommended 3 seconds. Another by John Moffet just says "as you begin to slow down, start your pullout." I know there has to be an optimum time and it may be somewhat swimmer dependent, but the difference I see between these three authors is huge. Can anyone help me understand this dilemma. Ray
Parents
Former Member
I agree with scyfreestyler (why is a freestyler giving breaststroke advice?? ;) )
.
Very good question!
Generally there is little advice I can offer in breaststroke but what little bit of *** gets included in my workouts tells me that a count is no way to determine when a pullout should begin.
A simple example would be my practice yesterday. I wound up swimming in the 4 foot section in a lane near the wall. For some reason there was a current at that end of the pool that was quite noticeable...perhaps due to the 25 MPH winds that had the backstroke flags flying about 5-6 feet from where they should have been. Anyhow, my pushoffs from one end of the pool were wonderful but from the other end it was downright horrific. If I used a 3 second count to time my pullout I would have been at a near standstill when going against the current. If I were going with the current the 3 second rule would have initiated the pullout prematurely.
I agree with scyfreestyler (why is a freestyler giving breaststroke advice?? ;) )
.
Very good question!
Generally there is little advice I can offer in breaststroke but what little bit of *** gets included in my workouts tells me that a count is no way to determine when a pullout should begin.
A simple example would be my practice yesterday. I wound up swimming in the 4 foot section in a lane near the wall. For some reason there was a current at that end of the pool that was quite noticeable...perhaps due to the 25 MPH winds that had the backstroke flags flying about 5-6 feet from where they should have been. Anyhow, my pushoffs from one end of the pool were wonderful but from the other end it was downright horrific. If I used a 3 second count to time my pullout I would have been at a near standstill when going against the current. If I were going with the current the 3 second rule would have initiated the pullout prematurely.
