COMBO - Mini-Pull Combo

Butterfly and breaststroke can be a struggle for some swimmers, especially if they try too hard to have a big, powerful kick and a big, powerful pull. A big pull and a big kick may FEEL productive, but they create a lot of resistance that you have to overcome to go forward. And the problem only gets worse as you get more tired. That� because there� a tendency to try to pull harder and kick harder when you feel like you�re slowing down. If you focus too much on POWER and not enough on RHYTHM, your efforts can quickly become non productive. The tendency

Mini-Pull Combo can help you develop a more productive stroke. It helps you focus less on POWER and more on RHYTHM. Mini-Pull Combo teaches you to follow the rhythm of the body, NOT the power of the arms and legs. By setting up a comfortable rhythm, and adding the pull TO that rhythm, you'll realize that following the body is more important than following the arms.

The most important aspect of this drill is remembering that the rhythm of the body MUST be maintained. Reducing the size of the kick and pull will be instrumental in accomplishing this task.

How To Do It:

1. After you've had a chance to play with your slinky move rhythm for a while, push off, and take a quick stroke of fly.

2. Without pausing, gliding, or reaching too far forward, go directly into a stroke of breaststroke.

3. Continue this process for the entire lap, breathing only on the breaststroke strokes.

How To Do It Well:

If you do this drill correctly, your coach shouldn�t be able to tell which stroke you're about to take.

1. Set up a body rhythm and stick to it! Fit your arm movements (breast or fly) INTO THE RHYTHM of your body.

2. Take a mini pull on breaststroke.

3. Take a mini pull on butterfly�by not pushing back quite so far.

The picture shown to the left is preparation for a breaststroke.
The picture shows to the left here, is preparation for butterfly.

Can you tell the difference?

We can't stress enough the importance of rhythm in this drill. Continue to make the pull smaller rather than larger in order to maintain your body rhythm. We're not advocating a really small pull for racing; we're simply trying to teach you that the core body is an integral part of butterfly and breaststroke. Setting up the rhythm of your swims with the body first, then taking the arms and legs along for the ride, gives you a more powerful, productive stroke.