Fin Fast Hands Breaststroke

Important Note to the Viewer

LESSONS: 4 VIDEOS

Step 1 - Fin Fast Hands Breaststroke

While we’ve all worked on “fast hands” in breaststroke, slow, non-directed hands are still a norm with most swimmers. Here’s a short progression that can help to get some direction back in your breaststroke. First, put on some fins. Using fins takes the focus off the kick and moves all the attention to the front, the hands. Start by taking very quick strokes of breaststroke with the head high. While this isn’t “head-up” breaststroke, the rhythm will require that you stay very close to the surface. Do your best to reach FULL EXTENSION prior to the hands dipping under the surface. This is where you’re going to have to really move your attention to the ATTACK of the hands. One detail that can help is making sure you WATCH the hands going forward. This will require your head being higher than normal. This will also impact the depth that you land in the water, causing you to stay very shallow... which also allows you to get to the next stroke right away. A Tempo-Trainer is great in this drill as well. It helps you find out where you are now, and you can reduce the time between beeps over time to increase your stroke rate. Just be careful that you understand the focus of this specific part of the progression... YOU MUST REACH FULL EXTENSION!

Step 2 - Fin Fast Hands Breaststroke

In moving forward, this only works IF you maintain the exact same attack and line that you just set up in Step 1. Step 1, the attack of the hands forward MUST continue. That is the absolute most important aspect of this progression. With that in mind, push off the wall, take one stroke with the attacking recovery... but now land forward for three dolphin kicks with the hands held in full extension. From underwater, what we’re looking for is the direct line of the hands as they move into full extension. They should continue to shoot directly forward, and not have any downward angle. When the hands reach full extension, the body falls to the point of balance or settles. At this point, drive that line forward with two additional dolphin kicks. Make sure you’re focused on the stability of the hands out front, and that you’re not leading the body up and down with the hands. While in the breaststroke line, the hands do nothing but extend the body. While you’re in the line, gliding with the aid of the dolphin kicks, this is where you review what just happens, and rehearse what’s about to happen. While many feel this is a place to relax, the opposite is the case. This is where you determine if you’ve gone too deep, or stayed too shallow. The head gets back into swimming line more naturally when you focus on the resistance created IN that line. The extra time awarded with the additional kicks gives you a bit more time to determine if you’ve sent the hands into extension the right way.

Step 3 - Fin Fast Hands Breaststroke

The next couple of steps are pretty simple, remove one of the extra kicks, using a total of two dolphin kicks within the sequence. When progressing to each next step, the important thing to remember is that the attack to the line has to be the EXACT same action as the step before. It’s focusing on getting the hands directly to the line as quickly as possible, and making sure you’re not diving DOWN into the water, but rather throwing the hands forward. Remember, the additional time you spend in the line allows you to review and rehearse. Think about what you just felt. Did the hands go directly forward? Did you throw them, or push them softly? Are the arms completely extended out front? How far back did you pull and did you focus on the pull or the throw? Fighting instinct will also become very important as you progress forward. You have to remember that nearly EVERY swimmer will automatically think about the pull, but only a small percentage will put their focus on the extension forward. Without complete extension and a clean line... the pull doesn’t matter nearly as much.

Step 4 - Fin Fast Hands Breaststroke

Finally, take out the additional kick. You get a dolphin kick where the natural breaststroke kick would be. With the fins giving more of a downward press, this can artificially send the front of the body down as well. This overloading and the requirement of compensating for that to keep the line straight requires more thought and physical practice than just the standard dolphin kicking breaststroke. While the hands are throwing into extension, the body falls between the arms with the eyes landing just below the arms. This supports the body line the swimmer will be aiming for when they get to this step. Also, remember that without the resistance the recovery of the kick can create, swimmers can achieve a higher degree of flow in this part of the progression. Focusing on that flow can also help them understand the stops and starts that can come with too much kick. While there are many drills that focus on “fast hands”, we have to understand that fast hands aren’t enough on their own. Fast hands with no direction can be more detrimental than helpful if they send the swimmer's body line in the wrong direction, or if they don’t achieve full extension.