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Tip of the Week |
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This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week comes from Henry Fryczynski of Scarlet Aquatic Club in Piscataway, N.J. Fryczynski was New Jersey’s 2005 Age Group Coach of the Year. Here, he offers some of his favorite breaststroke drills.
Fryczynski’s Tip: As a former breaststroker, I’d like to share a few breaststroke drills that I enjoy doing.
First is the 1-Pull/3-Kick drill. This is very good as a general training drill for breaststroke. Things to focus on are a good stretch and three strong kicks. Go underwater for the three kicks, and really work on driving forward off of each kick. Feel your body slide through the water. Besides helping develop a strong kick, this drill is excellent for working on the breath control, which is so very important in breaststroke. If you have trouble doing three kicks, try starting with just two kicks.
Next is breaststroke arms with flutter kicking. The emphasis here should be on the pull. Use a continuous pulling action. There should be no glide when the arms extend in front of you. Kick hard, but let the pull control the stroke tempo, not the kick. Work on good “hand speed.” If done properly, this drill will get your heart rate up, so it could be useful during warm-ups when that is the goal.
Finally, my favorite drill of all – Long Glide Breaststroke. I mean really long glides. Count how few strokes it takes you to swim the lap. I can do 25 yards in 4 strokes pretty well. See how few you can take. I’ll bet you can make it in less than 10 strokes. Do this for short, easy swims, such as warm-down 25s, or even to relax just before a race once you are already warmed up. |
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