Swimming is a popular recreational sports activity and an effective exercise of choice for most people because of its many physical and mental benefits. The Breaststroke – hailed as the oldest of all swimming strokes – is frequently used in training, as it requires almost all muscle groups to successfully execute the stroke. The Breaststroke gives you an option to control the pace of the stroke; you can swim at a slow pace or swim more rapidly for a challenging workout.
Good Stroke for Beginners
The Breaststroke may take time to master, but the basics are easy to understand. Swimming instructors often teach the breaststroke to new students because the swimmer’s face often stays above the surface of the water while performing the stroke. It is less stressful for a new swimmer since he/she is always aware of his/her location in the water. The Breaststroke in a recreational context can be done at a leisurely pace, which makes learning easier.
The fundamentals of The Breaststroke include pull, breathe, kick, and glide. You swim on your stomach, pull your arms outward and back in a Y-shaped movement. While pulling, the hands and arms should press out in front of the chest and recover under the surface of the water. In performing the kick, your legs should push back in a frog like motion.
Lower Body Workout
Although The Breaststroke uses many different parts of your body, its emphasis is on the lower body muscles. The powerful frog kick is the major action that propels your body through the water. Because your legs do most of the propulsion work, your hamstrings and inner thighs get a good workout. While bending your knees toward the torso, the hamstring muscles and hip flexors work together to support the action. When you extend your legs and push back at the end of the frog kick, your gluteal muscles work with your quadriceps to push your body forward.
Upper Body Workout
The Breaststroke tones the muscles in your shoulders and triceps, as well as your chest muscles. The arm movement includes an in-sweep and an out-sweep motion that build the shoulders and back. The upper body muscles that contribute most to the body’s propulsion are the pectorals (chest muscles) and the latissimus dorsi (back muscle), also known as the “lats.” If you want stronger upper body muscles, increase your speed or incorporate more challenging techniques on your swim.
Core Body Workout
Since The Breaststroke uses different parts of the body, it helps in building strength, power, and endurance. It’s considered a short-axis stroke, which means there is a desirable rotation or bending at the short axis of the body through the hip. This makes breaststroke an effective core muscle group exercise. The swimmer extends the arch of the back and elevates the shoulder to boost the kick. The upward and downward motion of the chest in a wavelike motion engages the core body muscles. The core muscles stabilize the body in performing breaststrokes, and the more your engage your core muscles, the stronger they will become.
Overall Fitness
The Breaststroke is the slowest among other swimming strokes, thus burns lesser calories. Since it does not use as much energy, it allows swimmers to swim over long distances. Longer-distance swimming is a good workout for the heart and lungs.
If you have weak knees or knee injuries, the kicking motion of breaststroke will put more strain on your knees. You can modify the traditional breaststroke technique if you want to reap the benefits of this stroke. Switch to the dolphin-style kick in butterfly stroke; slightly bend your knees and hips while keeping your legs together to propel your body forward.
This was a very helpful & informative narative. Having suffered chronic back pain for years, due to several herniated discs, resulting in very little exercise, I have recently taken up daily swimming again to help rebuild my core muscles mainly, so I was very grateful for this.
Thank you for such a wonderful content.
Really, helpful and informative
Excelent
I just turned 70. I had a pen heart surgey for quadruple bypass . The breast bone had to be cut in half and all the breast muscles were affected. After six months, I began swimming 100 yards then 209 and now I do 1000 yards three times a week. This is a life saver ladies and gentlemen. Your cardio and respiratory capacities and muscle tone will bring you to a condition of well being and fitness that I did not experience even before the surgery. I do this 3 times a week and the other 3 days I do another lifesaving routine: I ride my bike for 10 miles each time. The worst enemy you have at my age is the sofa.
Very useful article. I also like Breaststroke most
Thank you very much, I started swimming in earnest about 2 weeks ago using breast stroke only. I’m a young 60 year old. Although I have to rest a few seconds between laps. I have reached my mile stone of 500m. Any suggestions? I will be greatfull thanks
Well, breaststroke is the the best stroke. You can’t save a drowning child from butterfly. If any parents are reading this, keep your children away from butterfly. It’s for the better.
This was very informative! Thank you!
Hi
I started swimming again since November of 2020.
Mostly breaststrock, because free style breathing is difficult for me; however, since swimming regularly I have developed a chronic pain in back and around my knee and my lower back, contrary to what they say about swimming being good joint pain, etc.
I was wondering if I may be doing something wrong
Thank you for this write up. I started learning to swim recently and this was the first stroke that I learned. I suffer from Chronic Venous Insufficiency, a condition where blood does not easily circulate from lower legs to my heart, leading to ulcers in my legs. Swimming has helped to strengthen my leg muscles as well as improved the circulation. I enjoy it. Earlier I thought I was too old to learn swimming, bit fortunately with the help of a good coach I was able to learn quickly in 2 months. Age is no barrier to learn swimming. So happy to realize that. I found your article very informative.
Extremely informative and useful write up and overall information.
Incredibly helpful and informative. Thank you.
Thank you for this information. I have started swimming again after a few years of illness. I spent 30 to 40 minutes each session swimming the breast stroke. I would like to reduce my breast size will this help ?
Very detailed and informative, exactly what I was looking for. Thank you
Thank you for this article very informative and so useful and important for me to understand which muscles are activated during breaststroke. I am 67 years of age and have just returned to swimming as an overall fitness tool to aid flexibility. Coupled with pilates swimming is fantastic for strengthening my core which is really important to me as I age.
Wonderfully informative, which makes the narrative very helpful. Thank you.