Breathe with the Pull
Timing drill: the head starts to turn as that arm begins to push back, and returns as the arm recovers.
- Stages
- Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Front Crawl Breathing, Stroke Timing
- Equipment
- None, Float
- Age
- 7–99 years
- Group size
- 1–12 swimmers
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
What it develops
- Front crawl with breathing timed to the arm action
- Efficient front crawl with rotation and rhythmic breathing
- Efficient front crawl over distance
How to run it
- Single-arm front crawl on the breathing side.
- Start turning the head as the hand passes under the chest.
- Breathe in as the arm finishes at the thigh.
- Return the face as the arm comes over. Progress to full stroke.
Teaching cues
- Turn as you pull.
- Breathe at your hip.
- Face back as your arm comes over.
Make it easier
- Side Kick Breathing with one stroke to trigger the breath.
- Count 'pull-turn, breathe, back'.
Make it harder
- Full stroke, bilateral breathing, same timing both sides.
Common faults
- Turning after the arm has recovered (late breath).
- Holding the arm still at the front while breathing.
Corrections
- Assistant says 'now' as the hand passes the hip.
- Go back to single-arm and slow down.
Assistant / L1 role
- Watch one swimmer at a time from the breathing side and call 'now' at the right moment for three breaths, then stop calling.