How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 08:53:16 GMT

Vendt seems to me to have a really unusual pull with very little true insweep.I'd like to get an underwater view of him. This is the best one I could find: www.youtube.com/watch look at it between 44-49 seconds br Per

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:35:08 GMT

Talking about the close relationship between fly and ***...Anyone have seen Erik Vendt's breastroke style??? www.youtube.com/watch He is almost flying; I don't like that style though, mine is closer to phelps style.... www.youtube.com/watch when you compare the two, watch the elbows - I think that is where you will notice a difference..... I'm sorry to hear about your knee, I think hurting your knee ranks higher on the *** stroke injury list than the groin muscles :(

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:23:01 GMT

Yesterday I got injured on my left knee, I'm not sure if it is from the tough *** kick set I did yesterday or from the weight lifting... The only thing I know is that I can't swim breaststroke, obviously including 200im and 400im which are my events It hurts even when I push off the wall, and while stretching, not that much though. Well, I'm not doing any set that involves breaststroke for one week, also I have to change my weight's routine, and stop doing some stretches. :shakeshead: --------------------------------------Anyway Talking about the close relationship between fly and ***...Anyone have seen Erik Vendt's breastroke style??? www.youtube.com/watch He is almost flying; I don't like that style though, mine is closer to phelps style.... www.youtube.com/watch

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Allen Stark — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:30:55 GMT

Vendt seems to me to have a really unusual pull with very little true insweep.I'd like to get an underwater view of him.

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:51:34 GMT

I, too, am a breaststroker, who returned to swimming after about a 15 year layoff and I'm 36. I started swimming masters about 4 years ago, and over the last 2 I've been tailoring my workouts more to breaststroke than I used to. When I first started doing this, I had some knee pains, and also some groin pain. Usually when this happened, I would cease kicking for a while until the area healed, and then slowly get back at it. Now, I can do half of a 3,000m workout breaststroke, and haven't had any knee or groin pain in almost a year. I think after your body gets used to using these muscles and the general strain that a breaststroke kick puts on the legs, you'll find you have fewer issues. I think it's been stated already, but warming up VERY slowly with breaststroke, especially the kick is very important, and some stretching will also help, but only when your muscles have warmed up. Basically, I'm was in the same boat you're in now about a year and a half ago, and I no longer have any issues with training, so keep at it, and you'll be fine, just stop and rest the legs when you experience any pain or soreness...

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:14:44 GMT

until i figured out how to swim *** stroke correctly i never realized how closely related it was to the fly(and i loathe the fly)-but when you think of it both use a wave motion that suits its self nicely to dolphin kicks what has me wondering thought is when i see kids at AG practice and they are doing *** stroke arms+flutter kick drills-how can you coordinate those 2 very different movements?

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:18:51 GMT

no no no..... i don't mean do that in a race. it's a breaststroke drill that I use instead of breaststroke kick during practice when my knees hurt. both butterfly and breaststroke has a curve that is started with the pressing of the chest underwater. practicing it with dolphin like form will help you glide and actually accelerate underwater after your kick because you are riding part of your own wave.

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:12:39 GMT

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:24:22 GMT

When does this kick become illegal for breaststroke? It almost sounds like a mini dolphin kick. It sounds legal for old folks butterfrog stroke but not too legal for breaststroke..

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:10:50 GMT

i am a breaststroker myself. when doing breaststroke, use some dolphin kicks instead. I don't mean really hard ones, but just lunge your body with your pull, and you should follow that in a dolphin kick position. It helps a lot with your glide and underwater breaststroke movement. When you kick, keep your knees close together. during your entire breaststroke race, your knees should never come more than 1 ft apart, and they should aways be closer together than your feet. Squeeze from the knees instead of the groin. My groin hurt before too, but after i kicked correctly, it went away. But if it's bothering you a lot, rest it for a while. Well, i don't know how legit my advice is, seeing that i'm only 16, but I think it's what you should do. and you go 1:09 lcm? i only go a 1:05 scy, i think when converted, ur time is faster...

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 17:09:35 GMT

Consider eliminating the breaststroke kicking from your warm up and do more full stroke or eggbeater if you need to. When you do the kick alone you have more acceleration/deceleration which puts more strain on your knees and groin.Also make sure in your kick that you don't kick out at the start after your recovery(I doubt if you are given your times,but that is a common stroke flaw that increases strain on the groin.) I agree. I have found that I tire more quickly from the kick only than from the full stroke or stroke only.And when you tire your technique suffers and you are more likely to get injured.Limit how much *** stroke kicking you do with the board since it only works your kick and concentrate more on your stroke/glide/recovery with a dolphin kick or no kick at all.

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 16:06:28 GMT

...and to all of you that recommend me to switch my stroke I can say only this: "breaststroke is for swimmers who find the other strokes too easy" ;) but in real life the fact are the following: -I reeeaaallly s**k at backstroke -I hurt my right knee really bad last year in butterfly kicking with fins (leg bent in the wrong way and i had to go out of the pool for 2 months)...this pretty much makes all out free and all out butterfly impossible for the coming year until i dare to go full speed on these strokes again. /Per

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 16:01:21 GMT

You could always haunt garage sales until you find that inner thigh exercising thingy that Suzanne Summers used to hawk on late night t.v. What was it called - Thighmaster, something like that? hahaha..there is a limit to what I am ready to stand up against in form of humiliation from my fellow master swimmers but also my wife...i think i will rather start doing some similar excercises in the gym...thanks anyway! :)

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 15:59:34 GMT

How much of your workouts is actually breaststroke? I've never had any groin problems, but have had shoulder problems. When I was actively training for breaststroke, maybe 25% of a 3,000 yard workout was ***, with free, drills, etc filling in the remainder. But then again, I never had times anywhere close to yours (even yard times close to your meter times), so maybe I didn't do nearly enough. I typically swim 3000-4000m per day. If we have a "sprint day" (more likely to be 3000m total) the normal warm up *** swimming is about 300-400 m slow kicking and 200-400 slow br swimming. Then about 6-8 x 50 all out *** or 4 x 75 or 2 x 100 or 1 x 200 or something with the first one being 80% and then fully all out on the rest. Before I even go into the water I normally do some squatz without weights (10-15) and then jog around the pool and some stretching after that. So I say I have maybe 1/3-1/2 of total distance being *** on a sprint day. If we have a distance day the warmup is always 200-400 m less warmup and I never ever hurt my groin those days. So the problems only occur when I try to swim really fast. I have changed my technique rather drastically the last 6 months to 1) be faster (I had a really old school technique from my past that I am know trying to adopt to the new rules) but also 2) to avoid getting my groin hurt all the time...(more narrow kick etc etc) and it works to some extent but I still need to be groin pain free to really be able to train my sprint *** stroke....I cant only go 80% because then I wont be training what I want to be good at...being fast :cry: /Per

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Allen Stark — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 11:42:03 GMT

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:01:04 GMT

The following websites may help you develop, add, or simply tweak your strength and stretching regime. I ‘m also a breaststroker and have had a groin problem before but so infrequently I consider it a non-problem. You sound like you’ve got loads of potential and you’re on the right track. If the problem comes back, I think one of the muscle groups in the groin area may be overpowering an opposite muscle group. So, correcting the problem will require you to experiment a little to find the exercise and muscle group that is deficient. Please look at the following list of your leg exercises and try to determine what you’re missing. It may take some time (2-3 weeks) to find which one you’re neglecting but it's time well spent. Please be sure to go slow and take your time because doing too much could aggravate your problem. Good luck to you and good health this New Year. Coach T. exercise.about.com/.../bllegsbuttthigh.htm sportsmedicine.about.com/.../hip2.htm www.usaswimming.org/.../ViewMiscArticle.aspx www.exrx.net/.../ThighWt.html

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:37:59 GMT

You could always haunt garage sales until you find that inner thigh exercising thingy that Suzanne Summers used to hawk on late night t.v. What was it called - Thighmaster, something like that?

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 11:40:06 GMT

My entire workout is *** stroke and I find that my biceps hurt before my groin muscles. I'm usualy fine for the first 2000 but after that I throw in more kick board work. You can do drills like sculling and *** stroke w/dolphin kick just to change up the muscles you use in case the kick starts to hurt.

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:29:46 GMT

keep the *** stroke to a minumum, only use a breastroke kick in drills and in race pace stuff. Don't do any descend stuff or kick work.

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:17:02 GMT

I have the best solution to the problem, don't swim breaststroke.... Also never stretch cold muscles.

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Former Member — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:47:55 GMT

wow great links! Thx!!! I looked at your invention-video as well. Two questions: Is it worth for a semi-oldtimer to use that paddle as well? Isnt the streamline phase of every push off tricky with that paddle on? Thx BR Per

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Allen Stark — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:32:43 GMT

Although I had some groin problems last year,thats unusual for me and I think it can generally be avoided.I worry more about my knees.I am a pure breaststroker and have been competing 45 yrs and I NEVER do more than 500 full stroke in a workout and 200 of that is in my warmup when I start REALLY slowly and slowly build up.You want to be really warmed up to swim BR as it puts alot of strain on the joints.I do a good amount of BR pull/dolphin kick with fins to work on timing and eggbeater kick to work on leg strength and foot speed. I find eggbeater puts less stress on my groin and knees than BR kick.Then stretch after workout. As to those that don't like BR-thats their loss:thhbbb::banana::banana:.

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

Kurt Dickson — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:38:28 GMT

Don't do it--it's the slowest most inefficient stroke there is.:bump:

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

aztimm — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:09:12 GMT

RE: How to prevent groin injury from breaststroke

pwolf66 — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 04:56:19 GMT

Your order is wrong, #3 should be #1 Paul