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How do you describe the breaststroke pull and recovery, including hand pitch, direction and head position?

Brushstroke is not much different from other strokes, and people can get held back by overthinking it. Remember to take smaller breaths and focus on the kick to find what works for you.
 
Transcript: "So this is interesting. I think for a lot of people the biggest thing that holds them back in brushstroke is that they overthink it. In reality, it's not really that much different from all the other strokes, you know? In the pool, you're still trying to get that high elbow catch so catching early in your stroke and then pushing forward. When I was younger, I had a lot of trouble because I would stop here with my breath. But I think just remembering that you get to breathe every stroke so it doesn't have to be a big breath, that can also hold people up because they go here then they're breathing, and then it takes them a while to get back up. But just remembering smaller breaths so that you can move your arms around. For me, since my kick is kind of the stronger part of my stroke, that's also the driver for my stroke, so I kind of base the rest of it around the kick, which is different than a lot of people. So just finding what works for you, and yeah."
3 Answers
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Lydia Jacoby

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธOlympic Champion ๐Ÿฅ‡๐Ÿฅˆ
So this is interesting. I think for a lot of people the biggest thing that holds them back in brushstroke is that they overthink it. In reality, it's not really that much different from all the other strokes, you know? In the pool, you're still trying to get that high elbow catch so catching early in your stroke and then pushing forward. When I was younger, I had a lot of trouble because I would stop here with my breath. But I think just remembering that you get to breathe every stroke so it doesn't have to be a big breath, that can also hold people up because they go here then they're breathing, and then it takes them a while to get back up. But just remembering smaller breaths so that you can move your arms around. For me, since my kick is kind of the stronger part of my stroke, that's also the driver for my stroke, so I kind of base the rest of it around the kick, which is different than a lot of people. So just finding what works for you, and yeah.
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David Marsh

NCAA National Champion Swim Coach
Well, I love the topic and I'm going to get temp to answer it to walking in the streets here. Barcelona hard to do without the actually watching somebody swim. But basically the hands part of the job for them is trying to set a platform, you're going to get some propulsion but not a lot of the pull. So warm portent. You don't make mistakes in the pool and cause extra resistance and create situations where you don't get back to. Full line, extended line, and land that stroke and the proper timing depending on type of style. You have either a higher Tempo, semenovich Solace, a we some sort of swimming butterfly will do in breaststroke. That's very important. Also, the more traditional longer length, breaststroke more 200 style, really important that you get back to here. So getting back to here. First of all is the main thing and there should be just barely under the surface of the water and fully Attended lighting belly button towards the towards the spine. The pool itself is to me, a little Pitch Out, turned a big corner and then you begin the acceleration, which is where some of the actual propulsion comes from. And then key is getting an arrow inside the elbows and extending again. All you BAC on your line. The head-to-head. Timing is not a consideration. I think about the shoulders more than the head and as A raised up in a natural sort of butterfly motion. Your shoulders will come up and then drop back down. And that's really what you're looking to do. You're not trying to actually lift lift the head. Let the head just stay on the shoulders, but have the full, the face, your shoulders, all land on the arms as you extend. Land it down so that you're right on top of it and you're creating a nice boat, like bottom to your stroke long answer. Hope that helped. It was actually a good thing. Think about it.
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Sergio Lopez Miro

2x Olympic Swimmer, 4x Olympic Coach
Hey, ciao, in my opinion, the brushstroke pool would be your star thumb. Perpendicular to the bottom of the pool like this, as you Glide. And you head down, always eyes looking towards the bottom of the pool. So in a perfect streamline, you know, when you start the pool, you want to turn your thumb down to the bottom of the pool. You're going to press up once you. You hands have past your shoulder with, you know, and you had still down. Then you start lifting your head. And as you start lifting your head, you're going to find, you know, where you need to press down for a moment just like butterfly and then squeeze everything. You see my elbow. It's in front of my body. So, I press out then down and then bring everything and then I go forward like that and then I found my hands. So that would be how I would teach the rest of pool. There's another way that you can press down right away. But when you press down right away, your body lifts up, and you have to be very powerful. And sometimes very light, unless you have a very high stroke rate. But normally people the press down and lift themselves up. I'm not that good of 200 breaststrokers normally this exceptions. And then also you using your bicep all the time when you press down this way, and when you press out your thumb down, you using your forearm first, and then you switch to buy sell. So those little tenths of a second that you use different muscles, are very good because you switching muscles, all the And brush stroke is a is a stroke that you analyze it. You should be switching muscles and muscle groups as you go to District. So hopefully that helps. Well, sorry, I forgot about the head. The head should be always looking down. You is perpendicular to the bottom of the pool as you press out and you shoulders pass, you, you hands past your shoulder width, then you're going to blow your air and then you're going to start looking just for a moment straightforward. And as you look at straightforward and you hands, and your arms are coming in. Here. Then I'm going to throw my head or my hands go, so my back is going to go from concave to convex very quickly. Hopefully make sense. The head is the heaviest part of your body. So use it.