If you’re committed to mastering breaststroke, be prepared to do lots of technique work!
Drills allow you to focus on specific aspects of your stroke so you can swim faster and more efficiently. You should incorporate drills into most of your workouts!
Our five favorite breaststroke drills will help you improve your body position, refine your timing, find your rhythm and perfect your kick. Give them a try during your next swim!
1. Streamline Kick (Stomach & Back)
Streamline is the most fundamental position in swimming. Every stroke relies on a streamlined body position, and breaststroke is no different! Breaststroke is the most inefficient stroke of the four, so streamline is especially important, as is your kick.
To build a strong kick and practice your streamline, try doing breaststroke kick in a streamline position on your back or your stomach.
Related: The 5 Most Common Breaststroke Mistakes Swimmers Make
To kick on your stomach, push off the wall in a streamline position. When you reach the surface of the water, maintain your streamline and start kicking. Between kicks, lift your head to breathe.
To kick on your back, push off the wall in streamline on your back and make your way to the surface. As you kick, try to keep your knees under the surface of the water. Look straight up, rather than at your toes, to keep your hips up.
Whichever streamline kick option you choose, try to keep your knees narrow – they should never go wider than your shoulders!
You can kick with a kickboard as well, but we recommend trying it in streamline!
2. Heel Tag (Stomach & Back)
To continue building your kick, try the heel tag drill next. This drill emphasizes pulling your heels to your butt, setting you up for a powerful second phase of the kick.
Related: Analyzing Adam Peaty’s Breaststroke Technique
With your hands at your sides, try to touch your heels to your hands with every kick. If you don’t have the mobility to actually make contact with your hands yet, that’s ok! You’ll get there.
You can do this drill on your back as well. On your back, keep your knees under the surface, just like in streamline kick. On your stomach, lift your head to breathe between each kick.
3. 2 Kicks + 1 Pull
This drill is a crowd favorite! 2 Kicks + 1 Pull helps build your stroke rhythm. The extra kick slows down the stroke to help you find a nice glide.
Related: How to Swim Breaststroke with Perfect Technique
Take one regular stroke, then do two kicks with your arms in streamline. You will have to dive down a little bit deeper than usual to get your two kicks in.
You can do different versions of this drill: 3 Kicks + 1 Pull or 1 Kick + 1 Pull are good options, too.
4. Butterfly Kick with Breaststroke Pull
Continue building your rhythm with this advanced drill.
Related: How to Drop 10 Seconds in the 100 Breaststroke
Instead of a breaststroke kick, swap in a dolphin kick! Stay close to the surface of the water, and avoid diving down too much with each dolphin kick. Think about driving your hands forward rather than down. Wear fins to make this drill easier.
5. Flutter Kick with Breaststroke Pull
Similar to the butterfly kick variation, flutter kick with breaststroke pull will help you build stroke rhythm and tempo.
Related: How to do a Breaststroke or Butterfly Turn
Swap your breaststroke kick for a freestyle kick in this drill. If you’re doing this correctly, your stroke tempo will be very fast, so we recommend limiting your distance to a few 25s at a time to avoid fatigue.
Try This Breaststroke Swim Set
This swim set is one of MySwimPro CEO Fares Ksebati’s favorites! With a focus on stroke efficiency and speed, it’s a great workout to keep in your arsenal. If you try this set, add a warmup and cooldown before and after to make it a full workout!
- 8 x 50s (Odds: Breaststroke/Freestyle by 25; Evens: Breaststroke)
- 100 Freestyle Easy
- 8 x 25s Breaststroke Countdown Drill
To do the Countdown Drill, swim the first 25 and count your strokes. On the following four or five 25s, reduce your stroke count by one until you can’t go any lower. When you hit your lowest point, work your way back up! For example, if you start with 10 strokes on the first 25, the set would look like this:
- 10 strokes
- 9 strokes
- 8 strokes
- 7 strokes
- 6 strokes
- 7 strokes
- 8 strokes
- 9 strokes
Finish with the following 200 pace set. To find your 200 pace for a 50 breaststroke, divide your goal 200 breaststroke time by four.
- 6 x 50 Breaststroke Hold 200 pace +1 second
- 100 Freestyle Easy
- 4 x 50 Breaststroke Hold 200 pace
- 100 Freestyle Easy
- 2 x 50 Breaststroke Hold 200 pace -1 second
- 100 Freestyle Easy
- 1 x 50 Breaststroke Hold 200 pace -2 seconds
If you liked this workout, you’ll find more just like it, plus personalized Training Plans and coaching, in the MySwimPro app! Use code SWIM35 for $35 off your first year of MySwimPro Coach >
