Swimming Technique for Arm Action(Breast Stroke)

Your arms play a multiple role in producing a smooth breaststroke. Firstly they contribute in maintaining a balanced and streamlined position of your body in water and then assist with forward propulsion and finally enable you to obtain a convenient breathing position within a stroke cycle. Obviously the amount of extra propulsion produced by the arms largely depends on your individual strength.

The Breaststroke arm action is a vigorous movement of the whole arm. It is not just a smooth parting of the water, performed with the palms of the hands. The arm action consists of two phases, which are:

Pull

A common fault with beginners is to kick the legs and pull with the arms simultaneously. But the correct arm action is performed after the legs have done their kick and are in the straight and streamlined position. The palms of the hands are turned outwards from the streamlined position, with the fingers slightly apart. The hands pull sideways and slightly downwards to propel the body forwards through the water. For this your arms should follow a narrow, semicircular path in front of the body, extending to a point outside the line of the shoulders on each side. If the arms move too far out to the sides, the pull won't be effective. As a rough guide, keep your eyes fixed on a point directly in front of you above the water during the pull, and as soon as you lose sight of your hands out of the corner of your eye, begin the recovery.

Recovery

Recovery is the second phase. This part of the arm action is performed while your legs are beginning their kick. At the end of the pull the hands are quickly drawn up together under the chin by rotating wrists and forearms inwards. Remember, the elbows should not be tucked in too close to the sides during this movement and your body should be streamlined. From this position, your arms reach forward just below the surface to the streamlined position with fingers close together to avoid unnecessary water resistance.

Exercising can help you improve your arm action during the breaststroke. Here's what you can do:

• Practice the arm action in front of a large mirror until you think it looks right. Try to turn your palms outwards at the beginning of the pull.
• Crouch down in the shallow end of the pool, so that your shoulders are just breaking the surface. Bend forward and practice the arm action. Try working your arms together and at the same depth.
• Hook your feet over the rail and lie on your front in the water. Perform the arm action while keeping your face out of the water. Try to keep your elbows tucked into your sides during the recovery of your arms.
• Take a float and hold it firmly between your thighs. Push off on your front and swim across the pool, just using your arms.
• Now try the whole stroke, swimming several widths reaching forward after each pull.
• Try next with a pull-buoy. Swim with smooth arm movements, holding a Pull-buoy between the thighs. Make sure that your head is in the water; being raised briefly every 10 to 15 m to inhale.
• Feet first with pull-buoy is another method. For this propel yourself feet-first, using breaststroke arm movements. See that your body is stretched out holding the upper arm against the body; execute lateral paddling movements against the hips.

Try these exercises for improving your arm action during the breaststroke and watch your performance bring delight not just to you but the onlookers as well.