Breaststroke - Band Kick

Too often, especially when kicking with a board, many swimmers search for the most power possible, which causes the legs and knees to go too wide.  While this may feel like it's giving good propulsion, it's creating a huge amount of resistance in the set up for the kick.  The use of this little stretch band can really help.

 - Check out Brendan Hansen's breaststroke kick on his DVD!

Why Do It:
Subtle reminders are great when it comes to learning, and the subtle reminder to keep your legs a bit more narrow is very productive. You may feel a loss in power with this drill, but the loss in power is overshadowed by the loss in resistance.  Creating less resistance will pay more dividends than creating less power. 

How to Do It:
1.  Take a short piece of theraband, tie the ends together, and twist it around the ankles.
2.  Start by kicking with a kick board.  Kick as you normally would, and you'll probably feel a loss in power.
3.  Don't let the band keep you too narrow, fight it a bit and feel it stretching apart as you kick back.
4.  Next, move to swimming breaststroke, and kick as you normally would.  The band will do its part to keep the kick more narrow.

How to Do It Really Well (the Fine Points):
Use this drill for full breaststroke kick sets, and swim sets.  For those trouble kickers, don't be afraid to leave this tool on for a longer period of time to really get them used to kicking BACK... not just out and around.  One added benefit is how well this tool helps all swimmers finish the kick with some snap.