breaststroke head movement

Matt The best swimmers move their head barely at all. Keep it as close to neutral as you can at all
times. I did an article about Kurt Grote when he was the best breaststroker in the US. He told me
two things about his head position:
1. He never saw the other end of the pool as he was swimming toward it. He was always looking down
toward the water.
2. He said that he used to swim, feeling as if he was wearing a neck brace. Cheers, Terry Laughlin
www.totalimmersion.net

I once heard it described as a tortoise looking out of its shell. Extend your neck and breathe;
avoid jerky head movements that can give you a whiplash type dizziness and aches!

"Matt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

i have heard different things from different coachs. some say that you should look forward when
you breath on breaststroke, making sure to keep your chin close to the water. then, when you
recover, you throw your head forward. others say to do the "chicken neck" approach and bring your
head up, and flop your neck over so your head is facing towards the bottom. which is correct, if
any, or is it a combination?

thanks,

matt

"Matt" left this mess on Wed, 5 Mar 2003 18:54:07 -0500 for The Way to clean up:

Quoted message said:

i have heard different things from different coachs. some say that you should look forward when you
breath on breaststroke, making sure to keep your chin close to the water. then, when you recover,
you throw your head forward. others say to do the "chicken neck" approach and bring your head up,
and flop your neck over so your head is facing towards the bottom. which is correct, if any, or is
it a combination?

Matt, this is a hot topic issue, for sure, and you'll get plenty of opinion supporting both. I think
it comes down to a matter of personal preference.

For me, it's always simpler and cleaner (and in my mind, more efficient) to keep your eyes on the
line at the bottom, so I never moved my head much. However, I've seen a few good swimmers who
looked like, well, this is a family newsgroup. Let's just say of one that she was exuberantly
sucking a banana.

I asked her about this, and she said she felt the gain in keeping her stroke rhythm was worth the
extra movement, and too, she felt she swam stronger, that the neck movement forced her shoulders
forward in the water thus increasing her stroke length.

No coach seemed to be correcting this "error", but then again, no coach ever corrected me, either.
Six of one, half dozen of the other. I don't think there's a "one best" rule here.

Tao te Carl

"Matt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

i have heard different things from different coachs. some say that you should look forward when
you breath on breaststroke, making sure to keep your chin close to the water. then, when you
recover, you throw your head forward. others say to do the "chicken neck" approach and bring your
head up, and flop your neck over so your head is facing towards the bottom. which is correct, if
any, or is it a combination?

thanks,

matt

The head doesn't move by itself. It's part of your body.

I watched a TV program about cougar racing. It seems that the cougar contracts and expands its spine
to help its speed.

I don't know if a good swimmer do the same thing. Though I doubt it since our spine isn't that
flexible. The contract and expend motion is a good mental image to have.

Disclaimer: a rec swimmer with no credential at all.

"Matt" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

i have heard different things from different coachs. some say that you should look forward when
you breath on breaststroke, making sure to keep your chin close to the water. then, when you
recover, you throw your head forward. others say to do the "chicken neck" approach and bring your
head up, and flop your neck over so your head is facing towards the bottom. which is correct, if
any, or is it a combination?

thanks,

Clarification about my previous post.

"the spine curl up like a ball and then straighten out like an arrow" may be a better picture than
"contract and expand" in describing corgar running technique.

I guess female swimmers have more flexible spine, whose head "movement" may be more visible than
stiff necked male swimmers.