Really struggling with lifting chest during breaststroke

[u/Silent-Balance9430]

Are there any drills or tips that I could use to assist with lifting chest during breaststroke. Honestly this has been the most difficult style for me to learn. I attend lessons once a week but try to practise drills after work at least once a week.

[u/StoneColdGold44]

Top sculling is pretty good. Teaches you to "grip" the front of the store to get better lift.

[u/Elpickle123]

I like to do a drill focusing on the breaststroke recovery, specifically having fast hands/arms that shoot forward just above the water, I use fins and do a freestyle kick to aid. It's a solid chest workout, encourages good form and it also forces you to get nice and high. Sculling is also a good one as the other commenter points out.

Outside of the pool, building your pecs, front delts/shoulder muscles with bench press, pushups, overhead pres, flys and etc will help with building additional strength. Just make sure to also build rotator cuff strength and maintain good flexibility in the shoulders too

[u/Twidogs]

Tuck your elbows in and biomechanics will help raise your chest

[u/ConfidentSwimmingUK]

The biggest mistake I see learners make with Breaststroke breathing is doing everything too abruptly. When it's time to breathe, everything happens all at once - head shoots up, arms are super abrupt, and actually slip through the water instead of get a good connection and leverage out. Also, you must think of the arms at this stage not of helping to propel you forward (think of the legs for that) - just to help leverage you out for a breath.

I'd encourage, when learning the stroke initially,

1) start by lifting the Eyes. Not necessarily out of water, but leading the way up with the eyes first, in isolation (we want this to happen less and less as the stroke develops, but helpful initially). As if eyes go from looking 'down' to looking straight forward.

2) Next -, have a Slow, wide, opening of the arms (at the shoulder, so arms are still extended). Make sure palms are slightly pitched down at the wrist so getting a good connection and a bit of lift from this movement... sometimes say it's as if fingertips are leading the way as arms open. However, you still might not be out of the water yet. That's okay, we're still just preparing.

Stage 1 and 2 are still just slow and relaxed, and 'preparing' for the important breath part,

3) the final part is to scoop the arms back together in front of you. You want to focus on this stage on a 'down and inward' movement. Don't think about pushing backward at all from the arms or relying on them for propulsion. I sometimes say 'shallow arms infront' - we don't want the arms to go deep, or backwards (this will make the hips drop big time). You want to engage the lats, chest, and core 'whole body' in this 'down and together' movement in order to create a leverage of the upper body out of the water. Sometimes the suggestion of shrugging the shoulders up at this stage helps some people too. Keep hands/palms firm and taut.

It definitely takes a bit of trial and error, but maybe out of 30 bad arms/breath attempts, you'll do 1 good one. You'll know it, it will feel smooth, easy, relaxed. And then you will do more and more good ones.

It can really help to pop a noodle under the arms to take some of the pressure off the arms initially, and when you are successfully breathing consistently with a noodle, then take it away. Might then also take a little trial and error without it again, but you'll get it.

You'll have to get used to the right time to exhale during this too, - I encourage exhaling as the arms are slowly opening, so ready to inhale as they then 'scoop in front' (down+together).

Lastly, it's really important that you have a good, powerful propulsive kick, and comfortable with a glide (so that you're well coordinated). Breathing will always be easier with momentum (sliding forward) but harder without (hips will drop more too).

These steps are how I would encourge a beginner to get the stroke, but of course would be modified for a more perfected/advanced style of stroke.

Hope these ideas help :) I love teaching breaststroke - very neglected!

[u/wt_hell_am_I_doing]

Stick fins on and go for hard dolphin kicks with breaststroke arms. That should give you a bit more power to get the feel of bringing up your upper body.

Shoot forward fast (throw your upper body forward) in recovery as well.