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Learn breaststroke in minutes, and here is a timing that makes this stroke powerful instead of exhausting.
Learn breaststroke in 5 clear steps with Olympic swimmer Alex Coci for smooth, powerful swimming and perfect timing.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.
Key Takeaways
- Proper streamline glide is the foundation for an efficient breaststroke.
- Controlled arm pulls and a strong kick generate power without wasting energy.
- Breathing must be timed correctly to avoid breaking streamline and maintain rhythm.
- Body position with a smooth wave-like motion enhances stroke flow and speed.
- Consistent practice and focus on these five steps can transform breaststroke technique quickly.
What the video covers
- Introduction to breaststroke timing for a powerful, less exhausting stroke by Olympic swimmer Alex Coci.
- Step 1: Master the streamline glide position to maximize momentum and reduce drag.
- Step 2: Learn the arm pull technique focusing on controlled, efficient movements with a pull buoy drill.
- Step 3: Develop a powerful breaststroke kick emphasizing proper foot movement and knee positioning.
- Step 4: Coordinate breathing with stroke timing to maintain streamline and rhythm: pull, breathe, kick, glide.
- Step 5: Integrate body position and flow with a subtle up-and-down wave motion for effortless stroke efficiency.
- Use drills such as breaststroke kick on your back and pull buoy arm drills to isolate and improve technique.
- Emphasizes the importance of keeping hips near the surface and maintaining a tight core for better body alignment.
- The video compresses months of training into focused 3-week practice steps for rapid improvement.
- Alex offers a free swimming community for ongoing feedback, tips, and support.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
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Hi, I’m Alex Coci. I swam at the 2012 Olympics, and look, I’m going to show you five steps that build on each other.
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We’re starting with a glide position, and we’re going to go all the way to the full stroke.
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This is the foundation. Get these things down, and breaststroke becomes smooth and powerful instead of a constant fight.
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Steps, underwater video, super slow so you can see everything. You can try this in your next swim.
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Now let’s get into it. Alright, step one, the streamline glide. So here is where you learn how to hold that long, tight position between the strokes.
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And here is where you rest and let your momentum carry you. That’s the foundation for everything.
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And here is what we’re going to do. Streamline push off. Now push off the wall on your stomach.
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Arms extended in front of you. Your hands are stacked on top of each other and squeeze tight against your ears.
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Now here is the key. Squeeze everything tight. Your arms should be pressing against your head, and your head is down between your arms looking at the bottom of the pool.
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Your body is completely straight, not bent at your hips. Legs together and straight behind you.
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Now hold this position and glide as far as you can. Think about making yourself as narrow as possible, like you’re sliding through a tube.
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The tighter you squeeze, the further you glide. Quick check. If you’re gliding far and your body position feels tight, you’ve got it.
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If you slow down fast, then squeeze tighter, especially your arms against your head. Once you get the streamline locked in, then you’ve got a position to return to after each single stroke.
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Now let’s add the arm pull that sets up everything else. Step 2. The arm pull.
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So now we’re adding the pull that catches the water and brings your head up to breathe.
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Think about pushing a beach ball apart. Your hands should be pressing wide, then scoop back together, small and controlled and not huge.
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Now here’s a drill that I want you to do. A breaststroke pull with the pull buoy.
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Now put the pull buoy between your legs so you can focus just on the arms.
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Now you start in that streamline from step 1. Arms extended forward and hands together.
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Now your hands are pressing out and slightly down, like you’re pushing a bit sideways.
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Your hands should go out, your elbows should stay high. Don’t let them drop. And sweep your hands back together under your chin or at your chest.
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This is like you’re trying to scoop water back and towards your face. Your hands come together in a prayer position under your chin.
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Your elbows should stay close to your body at this point. From this position, we shoot your hands forward and back into the streamline.
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Arms extend fast and straight. Now you’re back in that streamline position again. In an easy way, think about making a heart shape with your hands.
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And your hands should come back together under the chin before shooting forward. Once you get this pull rhythm, then you’ve got the timing whenever you need to breathe.
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Alright, so you got the streamline and the arms. Now let’s add the kick to this power.
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Step number 3. The breaststroke kick. So here is where you generate the most amount of power.
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Think about drawing your heels up to your butt, then snapping your feet out and around.
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Your feet should push the water back and not down. And here is what I want you to do.
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Breaststroke kick on your back. So lie on your back, arms by your side or with a kickboard holding on your chest.
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And this position lets you see exactly what your legs are doing. So pull your heels to your butt, then your knees stay about hip width apart.
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Don’t let them come way too wide. Your feet should flex and toes should be pointing to the side.
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Then snap your feet out and around in a small circle. Your feet should push the water backwards as they sweep around.
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Think about pushing the water with the inside of your feet and lower legs. Finish by snapping your legs together straight.
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Legs come together fast, and this is where the power happens. You should feel a strong push as your legs straighten and come together.
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Now quick checks. Your knees should stay about hip width, and if they are coming way too wide, then keep them narrower.
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Then you should feel that your feet are pushing the water backwards and not towards the bottom of the pool.
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And once you get this kick down, you’ve got that engine that powers your breaststroke forward.
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Now let’s add the breathing and timing, and this is where it all comes together.
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Step 4 breathing and timing. So here is where you learn how to breathe without messing up your streamline.
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Think about this rhythm. Pull, breathe, kick, glide. Everything happens in that order. Now here is the drill.
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Breaststroke with that emphasis on timing. Swim breaststroke, but we are going to break down the timing.
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First, your hands are pressing out and starting to scoop back. As you start to pull back, then your chest and head come up naturally.
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This is whenever you breathe. Quick breath through your mouth as your hands are under your chin.
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As your arms shoot forward back into the streamline, your head goes back down. Your face goes in the water as your arms extend.
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This is critical. Your head goes down before your kick. Then your legs kick. Your arms are already extended in a streamline whenever you kick.
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Heels up, feet out and around, snap them together. The kick happens while you are still in a streamline position.
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Then your glide. Hold that streamline and let the momentum from your kick carry you forward.
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This is the glide where you rest. And the rhythm is, pull and breathe together.
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Arm shoots forward and the head goes down. Then you kick, then you glide. Really emphasize that glide.
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And here your head should be going down before you kick. If you are breathing while you kick, that means you are breaking your streamline.
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And make sure that you are actually gliding. If you feel like you are starting the next pull right away, then hold that streamline longer.
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Once you get this timing down, breaststroke stops feeling frantic and it starts feeling controlled.
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Alright, so the last step is putting it all together with body position. And this is what makes it feel effortless.
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And step 5 is the body position and flow. And this is where you add a subtle up and down body movement that makes breaststroke have a flow.
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Think about riding a wave. Your body comes up to breathe, then it slides down into the streamline.
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Everything stays connected here. And here is what we are going to do. Pull breaststroke with a body wave.
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Swim full breaststroke with all pieces from 1 to 4. You’ve got the timing, the pull, breathe, kick, and glide.
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So as you pull and breathe, your chest and shoulders come up out of the water.
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Your hips stay near the surface. Don’t let them drop too much. And think about coming up and over the water, not just lifting your head.
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And as your arms shoot forward into that streamline, then your body slides down and forward.
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Your chest is pressing down and slightly as you reach forward. And you’re diving into your own streamline position.
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And as you kick, your body levels up. You’re flat and streamlined as your legs are snapping together.
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And this is your fastest moment in breaststroke. You’re like an arrow shooting forward. Then you glide into that flat streamline position.
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Your body stays level and straight. No extra movement. Just glide and rest. And here think about riding a wave.
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Up and forward to breathe and down and forward into that streamline. Level out and glide.
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Here should feel like a flowing motion, not a choppy one. And your hips should stay near the surface the whole time.
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And if you’re dropping whenever you breathe, then keep your core tight and don’t lift your chest too high.
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And you should feel the rhythm. Up, down, level, and glide. And once you get this body position flow, breaststroke becomes this beautiful, powerful, rhythmic stroke instead of exh...
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And that’s the complete stroke. Streamline, pull, kick, timing and flow all together. Alright, so here is how you put all together.
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Here you’re gonna make sure you feel comfortable with each level before moving on. So honestly, I spent years perfecting brushstroke.
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These 5 steps are compressed to what it took me months into 3 weeks of focus practice.
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Now get these 5 steps down and you’ll swim brushstroke with a powerful rhythm and long glides and you’ll actually rest during the stroke instead of fighting with the frontal resistance.
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But the big difference between just knowing these steps and actually mastering them is feedback.
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Having someone to show you what you cannot see. And because of that I run a free swimming community on school, where you can ask me questions, get feedbacks, tips and much more.
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It’s completely free, link down below. Now let me know in the comments down below which of these 5 steps are you actually going to try this week.
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Is it the streamline, the kick or the timing? I read every single comment and I would love to see how you guys are progressing.
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If this thing helped you to understand brushstroke technique, hit the like button and subscribe for more swimming tips just like this.
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Now that you’ve got the backstroke foundation down, next week watch how I’m breaking down how to swim backstroke and see you then.
Topics:breaststrokeswimming techniquebreaststroke kickswimming drillsswimming tipsOlympic swimmerbreaststroke breathingswim trainingstreamline glideswimming timing
