Common mistakes during the outsweep of the armstroke in breaststroke

The armstroke of the breaststroke is divided into three parts, the outsweep, the insweep, and the recovery. During these parts swimmers can make mistakes that they should avoid. Today I’m going to list down the common mistakes that can be done during the outsweep of the armstroke. The mistakes that are more common during the other two parts will be described in the following days.

Common mistakes during the outsweep of the armstroke

• Sweeping the arms out too little. Swimmers who use a short outsweep tend to turn the hands down and push against the water before the arms have moved out to the side enough to achieve a backward orientation to the water. As a result, they push down against the water in the classic dropped elbow position. Swimmers should wait until the arms are out wide enough to be facing back against the water before they start the insweep.
• Sweeping the arms out too much. A second mistake occurs when swimmers sweep the hands out too wide before starting the insweep. Swimmers who pull too wide generally sweep the arms out and back during the outsweep and in and forward during the insweep. While used by many skilled breaststrokers, this type of armstroke is potentially inferior to a stroke in which the arms sweep out and forward during the outsweep and in and back during the insweep.
• Putting too much effort into the outsweep. The final mistake swimmers make during the outsweep is to push water sideward with the arms. This will only decelerate their forward speed. Swimmers should not push outward with the arms or palms during the outsweep. They should wait until both are outside the shoulders and facing back before they try to exert any force with them.

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