Technique Tips

How to Swim Breaststroke: A Technique Guide for Adults

Published 11 August 2026

12 min read

The short version. Breaststroke is a four-part cycle: pull, breathe, kick, glide. From a long float, your hands press out and round and sweep back towards your chest; your shoulders rise so your chin clears the water to breathe; your heels draw up towards your bottom and your feet kick out and back in a circular action; then everything stretches forward and you glide. Unlike front crawl, most of your propulsion comes from the legs. Get the sequence right and the stroke works — the single most common reason adults go nowhere in breaststroke is pulling and kicking at the same time.

Breaststroke is the stroke most British adults swim, and the one most of us learned informally — heads up, chatting, working our way down the slow lane. It is a genuinely good way to swim. In our view it is also, done properly, a more demanding stroke than front crawl, and the gap between the version most people swim and the version that actually moves you efficiently is wide.

This guide covers the stroke from the beginning: body position, the kick that provides most of your propulsion, the arm action, breathing, and the timing that ties the whole thing together. It is written for adults, and it uses Swim England's published guidance throughout, since they are the national governing body for swimming in England.

Already swimming breaststroke and want to fix what is wrong with it? This page teaches the stroke from scratch, building it up from body position through to timing. If you can already swim a length and want targeted corrections instead, the fault finder near the end points you to our common-mistakes guide.

Before You Start

Strokes come after the basics. In Swim England's Adult Swimming Framework, the first stage is Be Water Confident — safe entries and exits, buoyancy, balance and aquatic breathing — and you are swimming independently over short distances of 5 to 10 metres by the second stage, Be a Swimmer. Stroke work belongs in that second stage and is refined through the third, Be a Better Swimmer, where you build up towards 400 metres. If putting your face in the water still feels like a hurdle, that is the thing to work on first, and it is not a detour: it is the foundation the stroke sits on.

Swim England are also candid that this takes time — their own guidance notes that while getting breaststroke right “isn't easy,” the strokes “can take a lifetime to master.” That is not discouragement. It means nobody expects you to have it in a fortnight, and the version you swim next month will be better than today's without ever being finished.

Not sure you are ready?

Work through the five basic swimming skills first — entries and exits, buoyancy, balance, breathing and travel. Everything below assumes you can float on your front and put your face in the water without panic.

1. Body Position

Swim England's guidance is to keep your head facing forward in line with your body, with shoulders, hips and legs “as horizontal as possible” — but with your body sloped slightly so the leg kick stays beneath the surface. A kick that breaks the surface is a kick throwing water into the air instead of pushing you forward.

One point matters more in breaststroke than in front crawl: your hips. The breaststroke kick draws on your core and abdominal muscles more than a front crawl kick does, and Swim England is explicit that you should not let your hips drop. Your legs should be behind you, not below you. Once your hips sink, you are swimming uphill and every kick has to lift you before it can move you.

Keep your neck and shoulders relaxed to help the arm action and reduce strain, and look downwards during the glide rather than staring ahead. Neck strain in breaststroke is nearly always self-inflicted by holding the head up.

2. The Kick — Where Most of Your Power Comes From

This is the reverse of front crawl. Swim England states that in breaststroke “the majority of propulsion comes from the leg kick,” so this is the part worth investing effort in.

Recovery — heels to your bottom

From a long, stretched position, bend your knees slowly and bring your feet towards your bottom, soles facing outwards. Swim England's cue is precise and worth memorising: concentrate on bringing your feet to your bum rather than your knees to your chest. Tucking the knees forward drops your hips and destroys the glide.

Knee position

Knees just a little over hip-width apart, facing down, slightly out behind the hip line. Not splayed wide — that is the “frog kick” that pushes water sideways rather than backwards.

The kick itself

Turn your feet out as they sweep out and backwards in a circular action, keeping your feet flexed rather than loose. Flexed feet present a surface that grips the water; pointed or floppy feet slice through it and achieve nothing. This one detail separates a kick that works from a kick that tires you out.

The finish

The legs finish together, long and streamlined, with the feet in-toed. Snapping the feet together at the end is what completes the propulsive phase — stopping with your legs apart leaves the last of the power unused and adds drag.

A note if your knees complain

Breaststroke asks more of the knee joint than the other strokes because of the outward rotation in the kick. A narrower kick with the knees closer to hip-width is usually kinder than a wide one. If you get knee pain that persists, that is worth raising with a GP or physiotherapist rather than swimming through — and front crawl or backstroke may suit you better in the meantime.

3. The Arm Action

The arms do less work than you think, and that is the main thing to understand about them. Swim England put it plainly: “Try not to sweep your arms too wide — remember much of the propulsion comes from the legs, not the arms.”

From the glide position, the hands are pitched down and out. Keep your elbows high as you scull your hands out and round, then sweep them back in towards your body as though they were going to meet at your upper chest. Your hands can recover under or over the water, but your elbows should stay below the surface. Then stretch forward again, hands close together, to restart the action.

A beginner-friendly version of the same movement, from Swim England's learn-to-swim guidance: stretch your arms out in front, turn your hands so the thumbs point down and press out and round, then turn your hands so the thumbs point up and draw them together in a small circular action in front of your shoulders. Small circles, not big ones.

4. Breathing

Breaststroke breathing is easier than front crawl breathing because it is built into the stroke. Your face clears the water once per cycle as a consequence of the arm action — you do not have to time a sideways turn against a rotating body.

The technique: lift your shoulder to bring your face out of the water, not your head. Swim England is specific that you should let the head rise naturally with the shoulders so your chin rests just above the water. Inhale through your mouth as the arms come together, then let your shoulders drop as you sweep forward, breathing out into the water during the glide. Swim England describes that exhalation as usually “explosive” — that is the competitive pattern, and a steady breath out works just as well while you are learning.

Why head-lifting costs you twice

Swim England notes that lifting your head rather than your shoulders “can lead to back pain and lowers your hips which will increase resistance.” So the habit that feels safest — keeping your head up to see and breathe — is simultaneously the one that makes the stroke harder work and the one most likely to leave your lower back aching. Back pain has many possible causes, though: if yours persists or is sharp, see a GP or physiotherapist rather than assuming it is a technique fault.

Does your face have to go in? Swim England's two sets of guidance differ here, and the difference is instructive rather than contradictory. Their beginner learn-to-swim material describes lifting your head to breathe in and returning it to the water to breathe out. Their Masters material — written for club swimmers — is stricter about leading with the shoulders and not the head.

For a recreational adult swimmer, head-up breaststroke is a legitimate way to swim, and plenty of people cover real distances that way. It is simply slower, draggier and harder on the neck. If you want to progress, getting your face into the water during the glide is the change that unlocks the most.

5. Timing — The Part That Makes It Work

You can have a decent kick, decent arms and decent breathing and still barely move. When that happens, the problem is almost always timing.

Swim England describes the principle clearly: time your arm action and leg kick so that there is always something propelling you through the water. The arms are propulsive while the legs recover; the legs are propulsive while the hands recover. Do them at the same time and you get one burst of power followed by a dead spot, and you stall.

The rhythm to hold in your head

Pull · Breathe · Kick · Glide

That is Swim England's own phrase for it, and it is worth saying to yourself as you swim. Four beats, in that order, one breath per stroke. Most adults who feel they are working hard and going nowhere are compressing the four beats into two — pulling and kicking together, then gliding. Separate them and the stroke starts moving you.

The glide is not a rest — it is where you collect the speed the kick just gave you. Cutting it short to start the next stroke is the most common way adults make breaststroke harder than it needs to be.

Putting It Together: One Full Stroke

Start stretched. Float on your front, body as long as possible, hands together out in front, legs long.

Pull. Hands pitch down and out, elbows high, scull out and round, then sweep in towards your upper chest. Small circles.

Breathe. Shoulders rise, head follows, chin just above the surface. Inhale through the mouth as the hands come together.

Kick. Heels to your bottom, feet turned out and flexed, sweep out and backwards in a circle, snap together long and streamlined.

Glide. Arms stretched forward, face down, body long. Exhale here. Hold it until you feel yourself slowing, then begin the next pull.

Quick Fault Finder

What you feel	Likely cause	What to change
Working hard, going nowhere	Pulling and kicking at the same time	Separate the beats: pull, breathe, kick, glide
Lower back aches afterwards	Lifting the head instead of the shoulders	Let the head rise with the shoulders; look down in the glide
Hips and legs sitting low	Knees tucking to the chest on recovery	Bring heels to your bottom instead; keep legs behind you, not below
Kick feels powerless	Feet loose or pointed rather than flexed	Flex the feet and turn them out so they grip the water

These are the faults that stop the stroke working at all. For the narrower corrections that come later — pulling too wide, skipping the glide, the classic wide frog kick — see the five most common breaststroke mistakes, which covers each one with a drill.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the correct technique for breaststroke?

Breaststroke follows a repeating cycle: pull, breathe, kick, glide. From a stretched float, your hands press out and round while your head rises with your shoulders to breathe, then your legs recover and kick backwards in a circular action as your arms stretch forward again, finishing in a streamlined glide. Unlike front crawl, most of the propulsion comes from the legs rather than the arms.

Should my head go underwater in breaststroke?

For recreational swimming, it does not have to. Swim England's own guidance differs by audience here: their beginner material describes lifting your head to breathe and returning it to the water, while their Masters guidance for club swimmers is stricter about leading with the shoulders. Many adults swim breaststroke with their head above water throughout, and that is perfectly valid for fitness and enjoyment. Putting your face in during the glide is more efficient, because it keeps your hips higher and reduces drag. Both are legitimate — the head-up version is simply slower and harder on your neck over distance.

Why do I not move forward when I swim breaststroke?

Almost always timing rather than strength. Breaststroke only works if something is propelling you at all times: Swim England describes the arms being propulsive while the legs recover, and the legs propulsive while the hands recover. If you pull and kick simultaneously, the two phases cancel out and you stall. The fix is the sequence pull, breathe, kick, glide — never pull and kick together.

Is breaststroke or front crawl easier for adults?

Most adults find breaststroke easier to start with, because breathing is built into the stroke rather than bolted on. Your face clears the water once per cycle as a natural consequence of the arm action, so you never have to time a sideways head turn. The trade-off is that breaststroke is harder to do well: the timing is more demanding and the kick is more technical than a front crawl kick.

Why does my back or neck hurt after breaststroke?

Usually because you are lifting your head rather than your shoulders. Swim England notes directly that lifting your head instead of your shoulders can lead to back pain and lowers your hips, which increases resistance. Let your head rise as part of the shoulder movement, with your chin just clearing the surface, and look down rather than forward during the glide. Persistent back or neck pain warrants a GP or physiotherapist, not just a technique change.

How wide should my breaststroke kick be?

Narrower than most beginners assume. Swim England places the knees just a little over hip-width apart, facing down and slightly out behind the hip line. The common fault is a wide "frog kick" that pushes water sideways instead of backwards. A useful cue is to bring your feet towards your bottom rather than your knees towards your chest — the latter drops your hips and stalls the glide.

Sources

Swim England, Improving your breaststroke technique — body position, arm action, kicking, timing and breathing guidance.
Swim England, Tips for getting breaststroke right — the beginner stroke sequence and the “pull, breathe, kick, glide” rhythm.
Swim England, Adult Learn to Swim Awards — where stroke work sits in the adult learning pathway.

Timing Is Hard to Fix Alone

Breaststroke timing is the one thing that is genuinely difficult to self-correct — you cannot see your own stroke, and the fault feels identical from the inside whether you are early or late. A teacher watching one length will tell you in seconds.