Pools Have Walls:
Turns, Part 3 - The Breakout

Past articles looked at open turns (Turns, Part 1) and at variations of the open turn (Turns, Part 2). Now that you have turned around, pushed off of the wall in a tight streamline to reduce drag, what are the transitional steps (or kicks and pulls) to surfacing and swimming again? That's the subject of this article - breakouts. Breakouts, with minor modifications are also used after a start.

Shared Steps
Each stroke has its breakout or transition - and not all coaches believe in the same ones. But whether you are swimming for fitness or racing for the gold medal, there are a few things to remember:

Streamline - make your body as long and thin as possible.

• Think pencil, torpedo, submarine, or rocket as you push off the wall.

• Place your hands one on top of the other, palm of the top hand on the back of the lower hand.

• Stretch your arms with fingers pointing the way you want to go.

• Squeeze your head between your arms (with your arms either near your ears or behind your head - one of those coaching differences).

• Feel your body extend and stretch from the tip of your extended fingers, down your arms, shoulders, back, hips, legs, and toes.

Submerge - push off underwater to get under the turbulence at the wall and to avoid creating more that could slow you down.

• Leave the wall on your side or back, with enough rotation so you are legal (towards your back for backstroke, towards your chest for the other strokes). You will complete your rotation after pushing off of the wall.

• Push off with a slightly downward orientation  - deeper for breaststroke.

• The "depth sequence" is push off down, then level off, then up.

• In backstroke, freestyle, and butterfly races, your head must break the surface of the water at or before a line 15 meters from the turning wall (backstroke flags are 5 meters from the wall). But you do not have to stay underwater that long. Determine your submarine ability in practice as you refine your skills.

• In breaststroke races, you are allowed to complete one "pullout" underwater, regardless of how far you travel - but your head must break the surface of the water before you complete your next arm stroke. 

Hold the streamline until just before you begin slowing to the speed of the next step - you have to figure this out in practice.

• It is better to begin the next step too soon - when you are still moving fast - than to wait too long - when you have lost too much speed.

• Breaststroke usually has the longest period of time before the streamline is disturbed and begins with a pull.

• Backstroke, freestyle, and butterfly begin with the legs - all three use a modified, waist down, dolphin kick while the upper body streamlines.

The Specifics
Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle, also have unique steps. The individual medley, since it includes all four strokes, uses some combination of everything, depending on the length of the event and the pool.

Butterfly - begin with the dolphin kick, then add arms, surfacing just as you complete the first pull. Work on taking one more full stroke cycle (one pull and with two kicks) before that first breath; you need to establish a good body position first and you want to avoid inhaling water from a passing wave! Remember the 15 meter rule, but don't make yourself stay under until you reach that mark.

• Push off on your side, rotated towards your chest as your feet leave the wall.

• Push off slightly down, level off after a few kicks, then begin to surface as you rotate and kick into the first stroke.

• Stay at an angle off of the wall - don't rotate fully to chest down quite yet.

• Begin dolphin kicking while at an angle, but control the motion; keep your upper body streamlined while your waist and legs undulate.

• Now finish the rotation. As you learn this breakout, pick a number of kicks to signal each step; for example, three kicks before you rotate, two more while rotating, one to start the pull, then into your normal butterfly rhythm and cycle.

Backstroke - begin with the dolphin kick, then a flutter kick, then arms as you complete the first pull, the shoulder and head surfacing as the hand exits the water. Don't forget the 15 meter rule - before it was "law" some backstrokers (and butterfliers) would stay underwater for almost the entire length of an Olympic size pool - 50 meters - and move as fast or faster than the others in the race swimming at the surface. Just by kicking in a streamline!

• Push off on your side, rotated towards your back as your feet leave the wall.

• Push off slightly down, level off after a few kicks - but before you transition from dolphin kick to flutter kick - then begin to surface as you rotate and continue to flutter kick into the first stroke.

• Stay at an angle off of the wall - don't rotate fully to back down quite yet.

• Begin dolphin kicking while at an angle, but control the motion; keep your upper body streamlined while your waist and legs undulate.

• After several dolphin kicks (experiment at practice, start with at least four) switch into a small fast flutter kick. You should begin to level out towards the mid-point of the dolphin kicks, then begin to go up as you flutter kick.

• Start a backstroke pull with one arm, time the finish so your shoulder is lifting above the surface as you complete the stroke, allowing for a normal recovery.

• Start your second arm slightly early to add more "oomph" to your breakout - once you are moving from under to up, get there and establish your body position.

• As you learn this breakout, pick a number of kicks to signal each step; for example, six dolphin kicks before you flutter, then six flutters into your first two arm pulls, then into your normal backstroke and body roll.

Breaststroke - here you will start with your arms, followed by a return to an upper body streamline and then a kick. Breaststroke even has a special name for the breakout - the pullout.

• Push off on your side, rotated slightly towards your chest, then complete the rotation to a fully chest down shortly after you leave the wall. Push off at a downward angle.

• Before you slow down, begin your pull - but this one is a long one, all the way to your side. You maintain your head in line with your spine, even though your arms have moved; you are trying to stay as streamlined as possible. As you pull, level your body.

• The pull follows a pattern similar to butterfly - hands sweeps out, turn and press back and in under your body slightly while you keep your elbows high   (point them towards the side walls of the pool), then press back, finishing by pushing the water back past your thighs, arms extended and tight against your sides.

• After a brief pause, slip, slide, and sneak your hands back to the streamline position. keep your elbows and hands close your body as you move them forward.

• As soon as you are streamlined, pull your heels up and take one strong kick up to the surface.

• Begin your pull as you surface, being sure to break the surface of the water with your head before you begin the in-sweep of your regular stroke.

• Start your pull and take your breath in its normal sequence; don't breath first, pull later; it's like dropping an anchor.

• Timing is everything (not just in breaststroke, but it sure matters a lot here). Try different variations and pauses to find what works best for you.

Freestyle - much like "upside-down" backstroke; dolphin to flutter to pull. You want to take the first pull with the lower hand - and that means the hand attached to the arm attached to the shoulder that was closest to the bottom of the pool when you pushed off of the wall. Here we are looking at the freestyle breakout following an open turn. If you do a flip turn, you should push off more on your back - this can allow you to perform a faster flip turn. since you do not have to rotate as much as you summersault to reverse direction (more on this in some future features).

• Push off on your side and rotate towards your chest as your feet leave the wall.

• Begin dolphin kicking while at an angle, but control the motion; keep your upper body streamlined while your waist and legs undulate.

• Push off slightly down, level off after a few kicks - but before you transition from dolphin kick to flutter kick - then begin to surface as you rotate and continue to flutter kick into the first stroke.

• After several dolphin kicks (experiment at practice, starting with at least two) switch into a small fast flutter kick. You should begin to level out towards the mid-point of the dolphin kicks, then begin to go up as you flutter kick.

• Time the first arm pull to finish so your shoulder is lifting above the surface as you complete the stroke, allowing for a normal recovery.

• As you surface,some swimmers lift their head and peek forward either over or under the water, then lower the head into it's normal position. This lets you "lead with your head" to help re-establish body position. Try it, then decide if it is right for you.

• Start your second arm slightly early to add more "oomph" to your breakout - once you are moving from under to up, get there and establish your body position, just like backstroke.

• Use a strong kick from the breakout through the first several strokes to also establish your body position.

When doing breakouts, use the speed you gained off of the wall to your advantage. It can help you make significant gains in performance, allows for a short amount of muscle recovery (at least some of them), and it feels great to flow from the turn into your stroke.

Good luck and let me know how you are doing!

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