I could use some advice from experienced breaststrokers on the proper pull technique. I have a naturally good breaststroke kick, which probably makes up 90% of my propulsion at this point. I know that breaststroke is the stroke with the most potential for me, but I seem unable to get the right feel for the pull. Every once in a while I have one of those really smooth swims where I can feel myself riding the wave, but I cannot recreate that at will.
I've tried the hand paddles drill where I swim BR with the paddles on backwards so they are not attached to my hands at all. I can keep the paddles on pretty easily. I think I'm using the right basic technique, at least based on all the descriptions I've been able to find. Yet when I swim ***, my coach says that my arms look "stiff", like I'm not turning them in enough.
I would like to understand what the proper pull should look like and feel like, before I start increasing my yardage and intensity.
TIA
The video I was referring to is one of these, posted by Ande in the sprint thread:
forums.usms.org/showthread.php
youtube.com/watchyoutube.com/watchyoutube.com/watchyoutube.com/watch
That is precisely why this forum has great value... The speed of shared idea's. Awesome... Thank you... Ya, Ande has posted some very good quality links in many threads, no wonder his blog is so popular...
Here is a great underwater link of Hansen:
youtube.com/watch
I think that as the insweep finishes that the momentum naturally turns your palms.For awhile some coaches were discouraging breaststrokers from doing this believing it gave less feel for the water at the end of the insweep.That never felt right for me and it evidently didn't feel right for most of the breaststrokers as the palm up seems preferred.
I've always thought of that palms up movement as the very last spin of the elbow-to-finger-tip propeller blade, a quick sculling movement that has a forward propulsive movement.
It also forces my elbows together, which initiates the streamlined recovery.
When I tried to stop it, I usually fell down in the water.
Mark
I think that as the insweep finishes that the momentum naturally turns your palms.For awhile some coaches were discouraging breaststrokers from doing this believing it gave less feel for the water at the end of the insweep.That never felt right for me and it evidently didn't feel right for most of the breaststrokers as the palm up seems preferred.
I was just watching a video of Hansen posted in another thread, and I noticed it was very obvious he was ending the recovery with his palms turned up. I know that most of the best breaststrokers do this, but I don't understand the rationale for it. Why is turning the palms up good? What happens between the catch and the end of the stroke that results in upturned palms?
To me whenever I do it I feel like I'm missing some of the propulsive part of the pull. It just doesn't feel like I'm getting the most out of the arm stroke. I know that must be wrong.. obviously it's good to turn up your palms, if that's what Hansen is doing. But why?
I'm going back to palms up...instead of fighting it... it's how I was taught as a kid...someone on here said not to do this...though I can't recalll who.
I think the palms down idea is a theory that makes more sense to coaches than swimmers.It can be taught,but the best now seem palms up.Hands over the surface,at the surface,or just under the surface on the recovery doesn't seem to matter as long as you shoot forward,not up.
My hands go over the water at my 50 speed as I ride higher in the water.At 100 and 200 pace they are at the surface.What feels comfortable is probably right.
