I practiced a few lenghts of breaststroke the other day and had an instructor watch me. He suggested pulling the arms in almost a dog -paddle like fashion, with the hands going no more than shoulder width all the way through the stroke. It did this a few times and it felt pretty good. However, it looks like recommendations on this site and others is to open the arms much wider and higher in the water.
Is this the newer method? Perhaps, he just knows the way that he was taught many years ago. I assume that stroke technique recommendations change over time and there's some debate over what works and what doesn't. Is this an accurate statement???
As always, thanks for your insight!
:wave:
Actually, someone recommended I work on breaststroke to serve as a "recovery" stroke during an open water freestyle swim. Seems like it would take more energy to do this stroke for a given distance, maybe he was just saying "if you get tired or frustrated do something different for a while"?
I'm also trying to learn breaststroke. My wife teaches swim lessons and she told me that you can do it in open water to help you get through waves. It seems to me that if you swim it leisurely then it doesn't take a lot of energy, but if you try to go fast you've got to really work at it.
It's work for me fast or slow because I'm rotten at it. :violin:
Actually, someone recommended I work on breaststroke to serve as a "recovery" stroke during an open water freestyle swim. Seems like it would take more energy to do this stroke for a given distance, maybe he was just saying "if you get tired or frustrated do something different for a while"?
I'm also trying to learn breaststroke. My wife teaches swim lessons and she told me that you can do it in open water to help you get through waves. It seems to me that if you swim it leisurely then it doesn't take a lot of energy, but if you try to go fast you've got to really work at it.
It's work for me fast or slow because I'm rotten at it. :violin:
