How to Swim the Breaststroke

In this video lesson, Swimming Instructors, Rotem Agame and Olga Tzinker, give an introduction on how to swim the breaststroke.

Video Transcript: "Hi, I'm Olga and I'm Rotem. We're former professional swimmers and we're here on behalf of Expert Village. In this lesson we'll accomplish the breststroke, we'll divide each lesson into two parts. The first lesson we'll show you how to do the kick movement and the second part you'll practice in the pool. It's important to start with the freestyle as we've mentioned before, then to move to the breaststroke and just after you feel comfortable with those two strokes we move to the breaststrokes."

In this video lesson, Swimming Instructors, Rotem Agame and Olga Tzinker, teach the leg movement for the breast stroke kick, which is similar to the way a frog kicks when it swims.

Video Transcript: "Hi, I'm Olga and I'm Rotem. We're former professional swimmers and we're here on behalf of Expert Village. Okay so now we're going to show you how the kick is done. We're going to start outside of the water using a kick board that you can get at any swimming pool that you're going to and then we're going to get in the water and show you how it is done inside the water. So if you're parent trying to teach your child how to swim or an adult trying to learn how to swim for the first time, it's a good tool to use. Okay, so we're going to put this kick board on the floor and lay with your stomach on the kick board. The feet are close together when you start the stroke. Alright, you open slightly your knees and bend your knees towards your body as much as possible. It's real important that it be as close as possible cause you want to get a strong kick. Then you open your legs, the knees don't move they stay in the same position. In a circular motion you bring the feet back to the same position you started from. Okay, so one more time, you bring your feet close to your body with your knees slightly open, you circle the knees outside and bring it back. Make sure you don't do this and this, because you're not going to get any kicks out of it. Now, we're going to show you the same thing but in a different angle so you can see how it works. In the breaststroke kicks simulates to the frog, okay in the water. If you ever see a frog in the water, how a frog swims. So the same thing one more time, you start with your feet, you're bending from your knees, both feet together and make sure the knees are slightly open. Okay, then you circle the knees outside of your body and bring it back straight from the position you started from."

In this video lesson, Swimming Instructors, Rotem Agame and Olga Tzinker, teach that you must practice the leg movement for the breaststroke kick out of the water first, then move into the water when you feel comfortable.

Video Transcript: "Hi, I'm Olga and I'm Rotem. We're former professional swimmers and we're here on behalf of Expert Village. Before entering into the water and trying to practice the breaststroke kick, it's better to start from sitting outside on the edge of the pool and try to practice it. Sit outside with your legs a little bit inside the water and try to practice it. So we're going to bend the knees towards your body the same we did outside the water with your knees slightly open. It can't be too much open and not really close, okay slightly open. Then open with your feet outside in a circular motion and close. Okay, one more time, bend towards your body in a circular motion, open outside and close."

In this video lesson, Swimming Instructors, Rotem Agame and Olga Tzinker, teach that the arm movement for the breaststroke kick involves starting in streamline position, moving the arms out and to the sides, then returning to streamline.

Video Transcript: "Hi, I'm Olga and I'm Rotem. We're former professional swimmers and we're here on behalf of Expert Village. So now we're going to show you the pull part of the stroke. It's really important to take it slow and go through the movement we're explaining. So you start from the streamline position like in every other stroke, remember freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke all require the streamline position. You start opening your hands out to the sides with the elbows slightly bent. So you see the elbow is not straight it's slightly bent and you bring your hands into your chest and back to the streamline position. One more time, open to the side with the elbow slightly bent, bring your hand to your chest and back front. Okay, now from a different position and I wanted to add something, if you're a parent teaching your child, you can place your hand slightly under your kid's hand and actually move with his hands showing him the motion. As we showed you before, you open your hands out to the side, bring it to your chest and back to the streamline position."

In this video lesson, Swimming Instructors, Rotem Agame and Olga Tzinker, teach how to practice the breaststroke arm movement in the water.

Video Transcript: "Hi, I'm Olga and I'm Rotem. We're former professional swimmers and we're here on behalf of Expert Village. Now we are in the water trying to practice the same movement that we showed you outside the water. Now, you open your arms to the sides making your elbows closer to your body and closing. Again, open your arms making your elbows close to your body and close. Now you can practice it while walking in the water and Olga is showing you now. Make sure all the time your elbows are getting close to your body."

In this video lesson, Swimming Instructors, Rotem Agame and Olga Tzinker, teach the full arm movement. Bring your head out of the water to take a breath as you're returning your arms to streamline position.

Video Transcript: "Hi, I'm Olga and I'm Rotem. We're former professional swimmers and we're here on behalf of Expert Village. Now the way the breathing works, you actually breathe every stroke. Okay, you start from the streamline position, open your hands out to the side. When the hands are here you raise your head up, take a breath and when you bring the hands back you breathe out. Okay, one more time, open your hands, breathe in and breathe out."

In this video lesson, Swimming Instructors, Rotem Agame and Olga Tzinker, teach the pulling and breathing in the breaststroke. The breathing rhythm in breaststroke involves releasing your breath during the pulling part of the arm motion, and taking a breath when you are returning your arms to streamline position.

Video Transcript: "Hi, I'm Olga and I'm Rotem. We're former professional swimmers and we're here on behalf of Expert Village. The next step we'll practice again the pulling part of the breaststroke, but now we'll add also the breathing. So you start with your arms closed, when you open your arms you take the head outside of the water and then back inside. When the head is outside you take in air, when it's inside you take the air out again. Make sure you take the head outside just when your arms are already open and before you close your arms make sure your head is back into the water."