Heart-Shape Arms
Breaststroke arms that draw a small heart in front of the shoulders – stops pulling too far back.
- Stages
- Stage 4, Stage 5
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Skills
- Breaststroke Arms
- Equipment
- None, Pull Buoy
- Age
- 6–99 years
- Group size
- 1–16 swimmers
- Time
- About 4 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
What it develops
- Show breaststroke arms linked with breathing
- Breaststroke with effective kick, glide and timing
How to run it
- Standing, arms stretched forward, draw a heart: out, down, in to the chin, then shoot forward.
- Hands never go past the shoulders.
- Walk forward practising, then try with a pull buoy or flutter kick.
- Finish every stroke with arms long in front.
Teaching cues
- Small heart.
- Hands in front of your shoulders.
- Shoot forward.
Make it easier
- Practise standing or walking only.
- Assistant stands behind and guides the arms.
Make it harder
- Add the breath as the hands come in (Pull and Peek).
- Full breaststroke with heart-shape arms.
Common faults
- Pulling right back to the hips.
- Arms stopping at the chest instead of shooting forward.
Corrections
- 'Your hands should always be where you can see them.'
- 'Pray and push forward.'
Assistant / L1 role
- Stand facing a swimmer and mirror the heart shape, pausing where they go too far back.