03:50
Faizan
In a swimming competition, every second counts. Whether you're participating in a freestyle swimming event, a triathlon or some other event, choosing one stroke over the other can vastly alter your time. As a general rule, the breaststroke is among the slowest strokes in swimming -- though that can depend on the person and the training you've had.
The Breaststroke
If you practiced both the breaststroke and sidestroke equally, chances are you'd be faster with the sidestroke. At least part of this has to do with the amount of time your body spends under the water for each stroke. With the breaststroke, all of the motion is under the water. You press both hands and arms outward from your chest and then circle them back in so that both hands are in front of your chest once again. Your legs, meanwhile, perform a similar movement, starting in a "frog" position with your feet close together and close to your trunk before kicking outward and back in toward the center.
The Sidestroke
The sidestroke, meanwhile, has two variations. Both have your facing to the side performing a scissor-kicking motion. Your hands come together near your abdomen and wrap around one another, before your bottom hand and arm shoot forward to drive your body in the direction your body is headed. In the slower variation, you pull your driving arm back in toward your abdomen under the water. The faster of the two variations has you reaching your top arm out of the water in an arc as you bring it back in. This second version results in reduced resistance, or "drag," making it faster than the breaststroke.
The Water Resistance Factor
Water has a lot more resistance than air, so any stroke that involves more underwater motion is going to be slower than a stroke that involves more above-water movement. With the breaststroke, all of the arm strokes and leg kicks are under the water. Because of that, it's naturally a slower stroke than the sidestroke with the above-water arm recovery. In fact, the breaststroke is the slowest of the competitive strokes. In the 1930's, an American coach modified the breaststroke to force both arms out of the water -- thus making an attempt to overcome that drag that made the breaststroke slower. This became the modern-day butterfly stroke -- now an entirely different stroke and an entirely different competitive event.
Adaptive Training
In the world of fitness, there's an important principle called "SAID," or specific adaptation to imposed demands. It means that when you train in a specific way, your body adapts and you get better at whatever you're practicing. The sidestroke may be a generally faster stroke, but if you consistently practice the breaststroke, chances are you're going to be faster at the breaststroke. If you're training for a certain event, practice the stroke you plan to use in competition. If you're struggling to improve your time on one stroke or the other, have a swim coach analyze your stroke and give you pointers on how to improve.
The Breaststroke
If you practiced both the breaststroke and sidestroke equally, chances are you'd be faster with the sidestroke. At least part of this has to do with the amount of time your body spends under the water for each stroke. With the breaststroke, all of the motion is under the water. You press both hands and arms outward from your chest and then circle them back in so that both hands are in front of your chest once again. Your legs, meanwhile, perform a similar movement, starting in a "frog" position with your feet close together and close to your trunk before kicking outward and back in toward the center.
The Sidestroke
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| Faster Sidestroke Than Breaststroke |
The Water Resistance Factor
Water has a lot more resistance than air, so any stroke that involves more underwater motion is going to be slower than a stroke that involves more above-water movement. With the breaststroke, all of the arm strokes and leg kicks are under the water. Because of that, it's naturally a slower stroke than the sidestroke with the above-water arm recovery. In fact, the breaststroke is the slowest of the competitive strokes. In the 1930's, an American coach modified the breaststroke to force both arms out of the water -- thus making an attempt to overcome that drag that made the breaststroke slower. This became the modern-day butterfly stroke -- now an entirely different stroke and an entirely different competitive event.
Adaptive Training
In the world of fitness, there's an important principle called "SAID," or specific adaptation to imposed demands. It means that when you train in a specific way, your body adapts and you get better at whatever you're practicing. The sidestroke may be a generally faster stroke, but if you consistently practice the breaststroke, chances are you're going to be faster at the breaststroke. If you're training for a certain event, practice the stroke you plan to use in competition. If you're struggling to improve your time on one stroke or the other, have a swim coach analyze your stroke and give you pointers on how to improve.
Posted in: swimming
