Pull Inside the Shoulders
A compact breaststroke pull: hands sweep out and in, staying in front of the shoulders, with elbows never passing the chest.
- Stages
- Swimming – Stage 9
- Difficulty
- Developing
- Skills
- Breaststroke Arms, Stroke Efficiency
- Equipment
- None, Pull Buoy
- Age
- 8–99 years
- Group size
- 1–16 swimmers
- Time
- About 5 minutes
- In a lesson
- Skill Development 1, Skill Development 2
- Shared by
- SwimShare Resource
Safety notes
- Check the pool's policy on pull buoys; space swimmers so arms don't collide in standing practice.
What it develops
- Breaststroke: compact pull and well-timed breath
How to run it
- Standing chest-deep, lean forward and scull the hands out and in a little wider than the shoulders.
- Make the in-sweep quicker and bring the hands together under the chin, then shoot them forward.
- Swim widths of breaststroke arms with a pull buoy or a gentle flutter kick, keeping the hands in view.
- Finish with full stroke, keeping the pull small.
Teaching cues
- Hands stay where you can see them.
- Out, in, shoot forward.
- Elbows stay in front of your chest.
Make it easier
- Practise with the face in the water and a breath every second pull.
Make it harder
- Count pulls per width and keep the count while lengthening the glide slightly.
Common faults
- Pulling down to the hips.
- Wide pull with no in-sweep.
- Pausing with hands under the chin.
Corrections
- 'Draw an upside-down heart, small enough to see.'
- 'Quick hands in, then shoot forward.'
Assistant / L1 role
- During standing practice, demonstrate the small heart shape facing the swimmers so they can mirror it while the teacher circulates.