How To Swim Breastroke

When you learn how to swim breaststroke, you add another way that you can get up and down the pool. You can do the breaststroke for competition or just for a relaxing swim. Either way, this is an easy stroke that most people can pick up quickly.  

1. Get in the water. You can not swim unless you get in the water. Be sure to get used to the temperature before starting out. If you are not comfortable with swimming yet, you may want to stay in the shallow end until you are more confident.
2. Stand facing the edge of the pool and hang on. Move your body into a horizontal position so that you are floating right below the surface of the water with your legs stretched out behind you.
3. Bend your knees. When you swim the breaststroke, your knees should be pointing towards the bottom of the pool and your feet should be near the surface. Begin to separate your feet so that your toes are pointing inward and your ankles are as far away from each other as possible.
4. Using the inside part of your feet, push your ankles together. Your legs will end up extended all the way out. If you are swimming the breaststroke, you need something to push you forward and this kick will get you moving. Some people find it easier to create a separation at the knees in order to give more of a push. The breaststroke kick, which is sometimes referred to as the frog kick, looks just like a frog moving through the water.
5. Stand in the middle of the shallow end and work on your arms. Duck down into the water so that your head is above. You are going to place your arms out in front of you. The best way to get the arm movement right is to pretend that a giant bowl full of the leftover cake batter is in front of you. You want to use your forearms to get as much of the batter as possible. Then, with your hands palms together press them through the water and begin again. These are the arm movements for when you swim breaststroke.
6. The timing is one of the most difficult parts of learning how to swim breaststroke. You want to do the arm movement so that when you push your arms, palms touching back in front of you, you are going to kick. The sequence is arms, legs, arms, legs. You can choose to put your head in the water or leave it out. If you put it in, you are going to be under as you move your arms and kick. Quickly lift it up to take a breath and put it back in as you are moving your arms.

Learning how to swim breaststroke may take a little time and a lot of practice, but if you work hard, it can become second nature.