How to Swim Breaststroke: Pull, Breathe, Kick, Glide

How to Swim Breaststroke: Pull, Breathe, Kick, Glide

Breaststroke is a sequence, not a set of simultaneous movements. Pull, breathe, kick, glide — in that order, every stroke. Pull and kick together and you cancel yourself out. Nearly every slow, exhausting breaststroke I see in a public pool is a timing problem, not a strength problem.

Breaststroke is the stroke most Singaporeans learn first and the stroke most adults swim badly for decades. It is forgiving — you can breathe whenever you like, your face stays out of the water — and that forgiveness lets bad habits calcify.

It is also the stroke most likely to hurt your knees. We will get to that.

The Sequence, Said Slowly

Say it out loud while you swim, in rhythm: pull, breathe, kick, glide.

1. Pull. From a streamlined position with arms extended, sweep your hands out and around in a small circle — out, down, in — finishing under your chin. Small. The pull is not powerful, and trying to make it powerful wrecks the rhythm.
2. Breathe. The pull lifts your shoulders and your head follows. Do not lift your head deliberately; let the pull raise it. Inhale, then look back down.
3. Kick. As your hands shoot forward, your heels draw to your backside, your feet turn out, and you whip them round and back together. The kick is the engine of this stroke.
4. Glide. Arms extended, legs together, body long and still. Hold it. This is where breaststroke earns its distance, and it is the part everyone skips.

The commonest fault is kicking at the same time as pulling. Both propulsive phases fire at once, you get one surge and a long dead spot, and you feel like you are working hard for nothing. You are.

The Kick, Which Is Where Speed Lives

Heels to the backside, not knees to the chest. That is the distinction that saves knees.

If you draw your knees forward under your body, you present your thighs to the water like a parachute, and you load the inside of the knee joint at an awkward angle. Instead, keep your knees roughly hip-width and bring the heels up. Turn the feet out. Then sweep round and snap the legs together.

Feet turned out, toes pointing outwards during the sweep, is what lets you press water backwards. A pointed toe kicks nothing.

What Each Phase Contributes

Drills That Fix It

• Two kicks, one pull. Forces you to finish the kick and hold the glide before the arms start again.
• Kick on your back, hands on hips. You can see whether your knees break the surface. They should not, much. If they do, you are drawing them forward.
• Pull with a buoy, briefly. Isolates the small circular pull. Keep it short — the buoy hides a sinking hip.
• Count strokes per length. Then take one fewer by gliding longer, not by pulling harder.
• Separation drill. Pause deliberately between the pull and the kick until the order becomes automatic. Exaggerate it, then let it settle.

Common Mistakes

• Pulling and kicking simultaneously. The defining error. Separate them.
• A wide, deep arm pull. Breaststroke arms are small and quick. If your hands go past your shoulders, they are going too far.
• Lifting the head to breathe. Let the pull do it. A head that punches upward drives the hips down.
• Knees to the chest. Drag, and a knee complaint waiting to happen.
• No glide. The stroke becomes a frantic scramble. Stretch out and wait.
• Holding the breath. Exhale during the glide, steadily, through the water. Do not surface with lungs still full.
• Swimming it every session because it is comfortable. Comfort is why the faults survive.

Your Knees

Breaststroke kick asks the knee to rotate under load in a way few other movements do. Done well, most people swim it for life without trouble. Done with the knees drawn forward, or done in enormous volume, it causes pain on the inside of the joint.

If your knee hurts during or after breaststroke: stop swimming breaststroke. Do not stretch it out, do not push through it, and do not swim more of it to “strengthen” the joint. See a physiotherapist and let them assess the kick and the knee. Swim freestyle and backstroke in the meantime — you lose almost nothing.

People with existing knee problems are often better off avoiding the stroke, and that is a conversation with a physiotherapist rather than a coach.

Safety

Do not practise underwater breaststroke pull-outs or breath-holding sets to improve your glide. Repeated breath-holding in water can cause shallow-water blackout — unconsciousness without warning and without struggle, which is why nobody notices until it is far too late. Competent, fit swimmers have died this way. Breathe every stroke.

Swim where a lifeguard is on duty, and never alone. Children learning breaststroke need arm’s-length supervision, and floats are teaching aids rather than safety devices.

Public pool information is published by ActiveSG.

Getting It Watched

You cannot see your own kick, and breaststroke timing is invisible from inside the stroke. Every swimmer I have corrected was certain their timing was fine.

Group swimming classes give you a coach on the deck who will spot a simultaneous pull-and-kick within one length. If your knees are the concern, or you have swum the same flawed stroke for twenty years, private swimming lessons are worth a few sessions. Swimmers wanting to train seriously can find squad options through a swimming coach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my breaststroke so slow despite hard effort?

Almost certainly timing. If your pull and kick happen together, the two propulsive phases cancel and you spend the rest of the cycle stalled. Separate them and glide.

Should the glide be long or short?

Long enough that you feel yourself travelling, short enough that you do not stop. When speed begins to fall away, start the next pull.

Why do my knees hurt after breaststroke?

Usually because the knees are being drawn forward instead of the heels being drawn up, or because of too much volume too quickly. Stop, and see a physiotherapist. Do not swim through it.

Is breaststroke good exercise?

Yes, and it is the most sustainable stroke for many adults because breathing is easy. It is slower than freestyle for the same effort, which says nothing about its value.

Should my head go underwater?

Your face goes in during the glide and comes up naturally with the pull. Keeping your head above water at all times is the habit that causes sinking hips and sore necks.

How wide should the arm pull be?

Narrower than instinct suggests. Hands sweep out about shoulder-width, then in under the chin. The hands never travel behind the shoulders.

Say it in your head every length. Pull, breathe, kick, glide. When it clicks, you will feel yourself travelling for free.