How to Swim the Breaststroke

The breaststroke can be a tricky stroke to master, but once the steps are coordinated correctly it can be a very leisurely way to swim.

EditSteps

1. 
   1
   Place yourself laterally in the water with your arms extended straight in front of you and your legs behind you. Then do an underwater pullout and go as far as you can.

   • Pullout- When your arms are out in front of you pull your arms straight down past your thighs while doing a butterfly kick. Glide until you slow down. Then sneak your hands back up in front of your body while doing a breaststroke kick. Then start your stroke.
   • Don't forget to do a pullout. Pullouts give you a head start and make your stroke faster.
   • Do pullouts off of starts and turns.
2. 
   2
   Push your arms apart so that they create a diagonal with your body. Make sure your palms are facing out and your elbows are straight.
3. 
   3
   Pull your elbows into the sides of your body, then bring your hands together in front of your chest. Now simply push your hands forward so they return to where they started. Do not make your arms go wide open, but do not make a tiny circle either. Also, when both of your hands get to your chest, breathe, and shoot them out quickly side by side, palms up.
4. 

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   4
   While completing step 3, lift your head, neck, and upper chest out of the water to breathe. Do not remove your hands from the water.
5. 
   5
   Bending your knees, bring your feet towards your bottom. Make a circular motion with your feet until they meet with your legs fully extended once again. Complete this step as fast as possible.

   • Start your kick about when you are breathing. You can start a little earlier but no later.
6. 

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   6
   Glide! But not for too long. In competitions, DO NOT go over 1 or 2 seconds, as it will slow you down a lot.

   • Without gliding for too long don't forget to glide and don't a short glide. Give yourself a fair glide time.
7. 
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   Do not take 2 strokes with 1 breath. This WILL give you automatic disqualification. If you want to take your breath every other stroke, then you have to lift your head up and put it back down. If you don't and just do 2 strokes without lifting up your head, you will be disqualified, so make sure that you at least lift up your head. Also, when you take a breath, do not look up. Instead, look down at the water. With every stroke of your hands and arms, it will take your head up automatically so don't move your head, as it will waste your energy. When you are almost finished, touch the shore with both hands at the same time, or else you will be disqualified.

Resource: wikihow.com