In this drill, the swimmer will swim with normal breaststroke arms, but instead of a breaststroke kick, they will instead drive their legs with a strong flutter kick. This might be a challenge for some swimmers because it requires a great amount of coordination. National Champion 200 breaststroker Laura Sogar demonstrates and teaches this drill on the Swim Videos app.

This drill works on several very important technical skills in breaststroke.

• Body Position: Swimmers often drag their legs in breaststroke or allow their hips to sink. By driving a strong flutter kick and trying to make a splash on the surface of the water, swimmers will feel what it’s like to keep their legs high throughout the breaststroke pull. This action reduces drag by allowing the swimmer to remain high in the water.
• Fast Hands: The breaststroke pull should accelerate from glide and back to the glide position in one smooth movement. Instead of slowing or stopping the hands at the finish, this drill forces swimmers to maintain “fast hands” for more momentum to transfer into the lunge forward with every arm pull.
• Focus on the Arms: Breaststroke arms are often overlooked, but they should achieve the same high elbow catch as in all of the other strokes. Grabbing water with more than just your hands and achieving maximum surface area is what allows a breaststroker to increase the power of their pull. Watch Laura Sogar’s elbows and forearm position as she demonstrates this drill.

This is a great drill to gain a lot of power out of your breaststroke pull. Notice the way the Laura uses her forearms with firm wrists to grab onto a lot of water every time she takes a stroke.

Add this drill into your next breaststroke set and let us know what you think in the comments! To see the whole video and access hundreds of amazing drill videos from the best swimmers and teachers in the world, click the button below.