Can you use breaststroke in triathlon
Does anyone use swim using breaststroke? I feel like I can go just about as fast and for sure longer. For those who don't understand, no explanation is possible. Quote Reply. Post 2 of 38 views. Very few people use breaststroke. Here would be my advice. If you have to use breaststroke to get into triathlon - don't let it deter you! Just positions yourself in the back of the back and be conscience of what's going on behind you. The biggest problem with breaststroke is the power of the kick.
As long as you are respectful of other's right to compete and finish, swim breaststroke. Also, keep working on free! Post 3 of 38 views. I faced the same problem as you when I started training for my first tri But I can at least complete the distances freestyle now. Sure, you can swim breaststroke and do it if you need to. But what worked for me was to simply try and swim an extra bit in free every time I swam.
So let's say I was doing a m set. Began basically swimming it using breaststroke. Then after a week, I would add in a couple of lengths doing free. Before too long, I was swimming the entire distance free.
Dunno if this was the "correct" approach or not, but it worked. I also found that using paddles but not pulling too hard was a great way for me to increase my endurance. Could swim farther doing free with them and that helped me both physically and gave me confidence. Post 4 of 38 views. I have always been a Du person. Took swimming lessons last winter and did my first Tri last summer. Breathing during swimming sucked for me.
I did breast stroke the whole way and did fine. No one said anything or made fun of me. No problems. I have worked on things since and the freestyle is coming. This seasons Tris will be done freestyle, but I have a heck of a breast stroke just in case. Also not a bad thing in choppy open water. Makes sighting a breeze!!
Post 5 of 38 views. Any stroke is legal in triathlon and, especially when you are starting out, a choice that provides you with oxygen is usually preferred.
Unlike backstroke, breaststroke allows you to see where you are going so it's not a bad backup option.
As the above poster said, be mindful of the space it takes for you to kick as the majority of the field wave or mass starts will be freestyling. I got passed in the pool last year by a breaststroker fresh out of NCAA swimming That's the exception, not the rule Post 6 of 38 views. The advice to stay out of the pack is good for anyone new to triathlon - until you're comfortable in open water and swimming in close proximity to others, stay back and take it wide.
As for breaststroke in a tri, even if you could keep up with the pack, because of the typically wide and potentially dangerous whip kick, as a courtesy it's probably best to either work on a narrow kick or stay back. Keep practicing the freestyle though - you'll get it. Head down, thumbs up, give'r barrettdj.
Post 7 of 38 views. Sully wrote:. Post 8 of 38 views. I don't know if this will help you, but it's worth a try. I struggled with the problem of not getting enough air in learning how to freestyle swim for speed.
My best friends wife, who has asthma, also had this problem. I taught her that which helped me get more air. Recently, I watched from the shore as a swim spotter for a full Iron man 2. No doubt they were well-intentioned when they set out to finish their race for the day - but they spent hundreds of dollars on their wet-suit, nearly a thousand dollars on the race entry, and too many did not even make it to their multi thousand dollar bicycle waiting for them at the shore because they got a DNF.
That is, with all the energy of the start of the race and a few hundred meters into the race they were too exhausted to finish Did Not Finish. Breaststroke is a more comfortable stroke for me to swim too.
Breaststroke is much slower than front crawl, it also takes more energy for your body to do since in breaststroke there is more resistance when compared with freestyle. One important thing to consider when swimming open water breaststroke, swimmers breathe forward as opposed to the side.
This means that if there are waves from the environment it may be more difficult to breathe. As well, if there are other swimmers who are kicking in front of you, there may be no protection between your head and their legs.
Investing in learning freestyle over a series of weeks is something your body will not forget. It will be a skill you can take with you, not only at race time, but also swimming in the ocean, or even in a backyard pool or lap pool.
If you are interested in the pure technical rules, per convenience below are the actual rules from the triathlon rule books. It may be a little technical in language, but the essence of the rules is that any stroke is allowed so long as a person is unassisted by anything other than themselves giving forward progress in the water.
USAT 4. Excluding the bottom, a participant shall not use any inanimate object to gain forward progress. If you are asking this question, perhaps you are thinking of doing your first triathlon. No doubt you want to be as prepared as you can be. Need assistance from a professional swimming instructor? Hire a Sunsational Swim Instructor to come to your home or community pool today and just keep swimming!
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Written by Michael Swain. The Pros And The Cons Professional and Amateur even beginning triathletes choose and learn to swim freestyle over breaststroke because of a multitude of benefits, some of which being that freestyle is 1 much faster 2 conserves energy 3 easier to breathe to the side during a race and with waves.
Straight From The Rule book Itself If you are interested in the pure technical rules, per convenience below are the actual rules from the triathlon rule books.
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