Why do breaststrokers struggle with backstroke so much…?
Details??
I used to be a competetive breaststroker primarily, and also did IM - back was my second strongest stroke. What have you been observing?
myself…and just about all other breaststrokers I’ve known.
The competitive swimmer in our family strongest stroke is the breast and she also does the IM, but she hates the back and it is her worst stroke, Don’t know why.
IM I used to have to go as hard as I could in breaststroke to make up all the ground I had lost on backstroke. Same thing with Fly, had to mitigate the losses I’d make on back…
Same here, and I have no idea why. Never had the patience to really try to improve my backstroke, either. I will swim breast and fly over back any day.
My best time ever for 50 back was doing 50 back buildup pull!!! haha for some strange reason my backstroke was flying for around 2-3 days, then it sucked again.
Well - I could make some guesses here - but without seeing the stroke that is all they are - so take them for what they are worth. So various points to consider.
Backstroke kick is generally pretty propulsive. It is also obviously fundamentally biomechanically very different from whip kick. First check I would do is a drill with your hands joined and pointed in the direction you are swimming on you back and just try kicking. If you are bending your knees at all in backstroke - you will haul yourself to a dead stop in no time. This is even worse than bent knees in freestyle. Head position - most people struggling with backstroke are tilting their chin towards their chest. This has the same effect as a high head in freestyle, plus it restricts the shoulder movement. Swimming with your shoulders square to the water. This is the normal attitude for a breaststroker - but really screws up backstroke. Your baby finger should enter first, with the arm straight. You need to roll your body a bit so the shoulder drops so you can get a proper catch at the top of the stroke and initiate the bent arm pull straight back in line with the body. Your thumb should be able to make contact with your shoulder on this part of the pull. If you are square in the water you will have your catch and pull very lateral to the rest of you, and will increase drag and decrease pull strength. Don’t underestimate the power of the push phase of the stroke. It should be close to the body and sightly below the torso. Body position awareness. You really have to feel your body position. Many people have a tendency to sit in the water. You should hae your hips high, giving the back a slight arch.
I don’t know that this is unique to breastrokers. I knew a lot of other storke specialists that have difficulty with backstroke. I think the orientation is so different that many of the other skills have difficulty transferring over.
As I said - guesses only.
Mine was breast, fly, freestyle, and backstop… 
I think jriosa summed it up pretty well. They’re two totally different strokes, with different kick and arm action!
I like backstroke, but I’m not very good at it, my left arm never curves through the push phase correctly. I like it… and I like IMs… but it’s slow slow slow.
Actually distance free is really the only thing I can do well 
As a kid, backstroke was my strongest stroke (i’m talking about when I was 8 or 9)…As I got a bit older, I became more of a butterflyer and freestyler. Now as an adult, my breaststroke and free times are my strongest strokes. I can’t swim back worth a shit and my butterfly is pathetic.
Agree with you - bodyroll, kick (hips dropping) and extension. And, not to mention, the ability to go straight. I was about the same speed breastroke and backstroke.
as a kid back was naturally my best stroke as well.
my butterfly is only good nowadays if I am doing it fresh. when you’re fit for fly there is no better feeling.
Suggests a loss of shoulder flexibility. Most adults tend not to strech this area much, and of course have often bluked up from when they were younger. Used to really note the difference when I taught martial arts. I still have pretty high flexibility through my shoulders even at 46.
What I like about backstroke is it is a nice way to strech out tired muscles from freestyle. Also, since I am new at this tri game, I can still be put of my stroke if I am being pounded in a group. It amkes a nice recovery stroke for me that gives up very little time over freestyle. In fact, last year I did a couple of 1500m time trials - 24:30 doing straight free and 23:10 doing 450 free and 50 back. Basically it gave the muscles a bit of a rest and recovery and I could come back at a stronger clip as compared to just grinding away. I think it is a good stroke for any triathlete to cultivate, expecially since breastroke should be banned when in a wetsuit (ok, not if you dophin kick, but you just cannot do whip kick with a wetsuit on).
Who cares about slackstroke and restroke? You shouldn’t be doing either during an open water swim.
Jeez, I thought it was just me. I swam IM in HS and College and my backstroke split was/is always my slowest.
I had a great backstroker coach me for a full season and now I suck… but less than before.
I’m with you on this one - swam 200 and 400 IM in high school and college. Backstroke was definitely my weakest leg - breaststroke was my strongest by far (also swam the 100 and 200 breaststroke). It seems to me that good IMers either specialize in back or breast - anyone can get through the fly leg without losing too much time…and for the free, you just have to suck it up and give it everything you have left!
I never put a connection together… But I was a breastroker and I hate backstroke. Add me to your list of evidence!
Hmmmm…
Because breastrokers aren’t so much swimmers as they are freaks of nature.
Breaststroke > other strokes.